Lee Anne Barry and Tom Hoskins
Lee Anne Barry and Tom Hoskins
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Location:
Highway 521
Charlotte , NC
United States
Motorists driving north on Highway 521 between Lancaster, S.C., and Charlotte, N.C., have been seeing a ghostly site alongside the roadway several miles south of the turnoff to Waxhaw. Two bicycles, painted all white, have recently been set up on the shoulder of the road at the location of a tragic cycling accident last fall.
Like the many crosses, often accompanied by flowers and mementos, often seen alongside country roadways to mark the places where loved ones have been lost in tragic auto accidents, these “ghost bikes” have been installed to memorialize the loss of two much loved cyclists and to serve as a reminder to motorists to remain alert for cyclists on the road.
Lee Anne Barry (43) of Waxhaw and Tom Hoskins (49) of Columbia, S.C., were struck from behind by a northbound motorist on October 21, 2007. Lee Anne, accompanied by her husband, Ben Barry, and their fifteen year old son, Christian, were on the last leg of a cross-country bicycle tour. Their final destination was Charlotte, and Hoskins had chosen to show his support for their cause by joining them on the final leg of their ride.
They billed their cause the B.I.G. Ride, for Brain Injuries Greatest Journey. Ms. Barry was the inspiration for the effort to raise awareness of brain injury prevention measures, particularly through the use of seatbelts and bicycle helmets. She had suffered a brain injury as a five-year-old child when she was hit by a car while crossing a street. Cycling had become a passion for her after years of struggling with a disability and then undergoing risky brain surgery. This was actually her fourth cross-country ride, sponsored in large part by Bellsouth. Along the way on each ride the group stopped at schools and other venues to offer an educational program emphasizing brain injury prevention to children and young people.
The cyclists who installed the memorial are associated with Ghost Bikes (ghostbikes.org), a loosely organized group of cycling advocates who seek to place ghost bikes at the sites of car/bike accidents as “quiet statements in support of cyclists’ right to safe travel.” The movement began in St. Louis in 2002, when a bike shop owner witnessed an SUV hit a cyclist and took it upon himself, without fanfare, to not let the victim and the carelessness that led to the accident be forgotten. His idea spawned a movement that spread nationally and then internationally, to forty-five cities around the world at last count.
On Thursday evening this past week a group of cyclists from the Waxhaw area rode out to see the newly installed ghost bikes. Many of these cyclists were a part of a group that was awaiting the arrival of the B.I.G. Ride group in Waxhaw last fall and were planning to escort them into Charlotte as part of the grand finale of the group’s ride. Word of the tragedy arrived in Waxhaw while they waited.
They are a small sample of the many people who have found in cycling an incredible means to stay fit and healthy, as well as to enjoy the outdoors and the friendships of fellow cyclists. They seldom go out riding without thinking of the risks involved. But they hope that efforts like the installation of these ghost bikes as well as recently passed legislation in South Carolina mandating a safe passing distance between vehicles and cyclists, and making it a misdemeanor to harass cyclists will help lower those risks. Mostly, they want to work together with motorists to reach a better understanding of cyclists’ rights to be on the road, the importance of motorists being alert for cyclists, and the need for greater consideration on the part of both motorists and cyclists in sharing the road.
From a blog post:
Finish the Ride completes bicycle tour that ended tragically
Two sons and a daughter are riding the final leg of a bicycle tour their father didn't finish a year ago when he was one of two people struck and killed near the end of the ride.
The event this Sunday, called "Finish the Ride," memorializes the final day of Lee Anne Barry's cross-country bicycle tour for brain injury awareness, the Brain Injury Greatest Journey (B.I.G. Ride). Barry and a riding companion for the day, Tom Hoskins, were struck and killed by a motorist just miles from her home in Waxhaw, North Carolina, where the tour was to end.
Rob, Ryan and Becca Hoskins are participating in Finish the Ride to support their father's desire to raise awareness about head injuries. The ride rolls out from Columbia, South Carolina, and ends 70 miles down the road in Waxhaw, North Carolina.
The fatalities came at the end of Barry's fourth cross-country bicycle tour for brain injury awareness. She had suffered a head injury as a child and in recent years found that bicycling helped her live a full life.
The 43-year-old made cross-country bicycle tours in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007. She had speaking engagements at support groups and schools on the tours.
On Oct. 21, 2007, Barry was joined by Hoskins, a Columbia man who participated in charity bike rides and had previously ridden the last leg of a B.I.G. Ride with Barry. Barry's husband had driven home in the van and was riding out to meet the pair.
Bicycling between Lancaster, S.C., and Charlotte, N.C., on Highway 521, a car struck the pair from behind. A pair of Ghost Bikes mark the spot.
According to The State newspaper in Columbia, Finish the Ride begins at 7 a.m. (cyclists will be gathering at 6:30 a.m.) at the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store at 253 Forum Drive, Columbia. That's at the Village at Sandhill. The ride will finish in Waxhaw.
The Columbia ABC affiliate also aired a piece on the ride.
Read also: "Two on charity bike ride killed in South Carolina"
See also the guestbook for remembrances.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Location:
Highway 521
Charlotte , NC
United States
Motorists driving north on Highway 521 between Lancaster, S.C., and Charlotte, N.C., have been seeing a ghostly site alongside the roadway several miles south of the turnoff to Waxhaw. Two bicycles, painted all white, have recently been set up on the shoulder of the road at the location of a tragic cycling accident last fall.
Like the many crosses, often accompanied by flowers and mementos, often seen alongside country roadways to mark the places where loved ones have been lost in tragic auto accidents, these “ghost bikes” have been installed to memorialize the loss of two much loved cyclists and to serve as a reminder to motorists to remain alert for cyclists on the road.
Lee Anne Barry (43) of Waxhaw and Tom Hoskins (49) of Columbia, S.C., were struck from behind by a northbound motorist on October 21, 2007. Lee Anne, accompanied by her husband, Ben Barry, and their fifteen year old son, Christian, were on the last leg of a cross-country bicycle tour. Their final destination was Charlotte, and Hoskins had chosen to show his support for their cause by joining them on the final leg of their ride.
They billed their cause the B.I.G. Ride, for Brain Injuries Greatest Journey. Ms. Barry was the inspiration for the effort to raise awareness of brain injury prevention measures, particularly through the use of seatbelts and bicycle helmets. She had suffered a brain injury as a five-year-old child when she was hit by a car while crossing a street. Cycling had become a passion for her after years of struggling with a disability and then undergoing risky brain surgery. This was actually her fourth cross-country ride, sponsored in large part by Bellsouth. Along the way on each ride the group stopped at schools and other venues to offer an educational program emphasizing brain injury prevention to children and young people.
The cyclists who installed the memorial are associated with Ghost Bikes (ghostbikes.org), a loosely organized group of cycling advocates who seek to place ghost bikes at the sites of car/bike accidents as “quiet statements in support of cyclists’ right to safe travel.” The movement began in St. Louis in 2002, when a bike shop owner witnessed an SUV hit a cyclist and took it upon himself, without fanfare, to not let the victim and the carelessness that led to the accident be forgotten. His idea spawned a movement that spread nationally and then internationally, to forty-five cities around the world at last count.
On Thursday evening this past week a group of cyclists from the Waxhaw area rode out to see the newly installed ghost bikes. Many of these cyclists were a part of a group that was awaiting the arrival of the B.I.G. Ride group in Waxhaw last fall and were planning to escort them into Charlotte as part of the grand finale of the group’s ride. Word of the tragedy arrived in Waxhaw while they waited.
They are a small sample of the many people who have found in cycling an incredible means to stay fit and healthy, as well as to enjoy the outdoors and the friendships of fellow cyclists. They seldom go out riding without thinking of the risks involved. But they hope that efforts like the installation of these ghost bikes as well as recently passed legislation in South Carolina mandating a safe passing distance between vehicles and cyclists, and making it a misdemeanor to harass cyclists will help lower those risks. Mostly, they want to work together with motorists to reach a better understanding of cyclists’ rights to be on the road, the importance of motorists being alert for cyclists, and the need for greater consideration on the part of both motorists and cyclists in sharing the road.
From a blog post:
Finish the Ride completes bicycle tour that ended tragically
Two sons and a daughter are riding the final leg of a bicycle tour their father didn't finish a year ago when he was one of two people struck and killed near the end of the ride.
The event this Sunday, called "Finish the Ride," memorializes the final day of Lee Anne Barry's cross-country bicycle tour for brain injury awareness, the Brain Injury Greatest Journey (B.I.G. Ride). Barry and a riding companion for the day, Tom Hoskins, were struck and killed by a motorist just miles from her home in Waxhaw, North Carolina, where the tour was to end.
Rob, Ryan and Becca Hoskins are participating in Finish the Ride to support their father's desire to raise awareness about head injuries. The ride rolls out from Columbia, South Carolina, and ends 70 miles down the road in Waxhaw, North Carolina.
The fatalities came at the end of Barry's fourth cross-country bicycle tour for brain injury awareness. She had suffered a head injury as a child and in recent years found that bicycling helped her live a full life.
The 43-year-old made cross-country bicycle tours in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007. She had speaking engagements at support groups and schools on the tours.
On Oct. 21, 2007, Barry was joined by Hoskins, a Columbia man who participated in charity bike rides and had previously ridden the last leg of a B.I.G. Ride with Barry. Barry's husband had driven home in the van and was riding out to meet the pair.
Bicycling between Lancaster, S.C., and Charlotte, N.C., on Highway 521, a car struck the pair from behind. A pair of Ghost Bikes mark the spot.
According to The State newspaper in Columbia, Finish the Ride begins at 7 a.m. (cyclists will be gathering at 6:30 a.m.) at the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store at 253 Forum Drive, Columbia. That's at the Village at Sandhill. The ride will finish in Waxhaw.
The Columbia ABC affiliate also aired a piece on the ride.
Read also: "Two on charity bike ride killed in South Carolina"
See also the guestbook for remembrances.