Cyclist takes on mission to spread ghost bikes all over Houston
Houston Chronicle
Published: Apr, 29 2014
A Silsbee man has taken on a unique
mission to make sure Houstonians don't forget the victims of fatal
bicycle accidents. He is driving over 100 miles into Houston to install
memorials all over the city.
Richard Tomlinson is a member of the city's cycling community, and now he's a big part of the Houston Ghost Bike group.
He spent his weekend installing 13 ghost bikes -- stripped bicycles
painted all white -- across Houston. Each bike corresponds to the death
of a cyclist, just as white crosses on the side of road mark nearby
fatal car accidents.
He's part of an international effort, complete with a website
that lists where most every ghost bike sits. The Houston Ghost Bike
Facebook group has the sad task of keeping track of local cyclist
fatalities.
So far, Tomlinson has installed close to 40 memorials. By the time he
is done, he will have attached 61 to the side of Houston roads. He
hopes to not have install any more past that.
Tomlinson is spending his own money, made mostly by doing odd jobs,
to memorialize fellow cyclists. By his estimate, he spent nearly 35
hours this weekend attaching bikes to fences and telephone poles with
heavy duty chain. Every 60 feet of chain costs him $150, he says.
"I try to find the least objectionable piece of structure to attach
it to, somewhere that won't interfere with traffic or city work," he
says.
Tomlinson, 50, gets the bikes for the somber project from area
cycling shops and from private donations. Some people have bikes in
their garage they no longer ride or that have been damaged, but they
want them to go to good, sobering use.
"One girl gave me a new bike to use but I try to trade the new bikes I
receive for older junk bikes to use as ghost bikes," Tomlinson says.
Each bike is stripped of its chain and gears, things that could get
pulled off by people passing by. He paints them with white spray paint
in his backyard in Silsbee. He welds the bikes so that they cannot be
driven, in case someone removes them from where they have been
installed.
He's not responsible for all the ghost bikes in town, but says he's
done most of the work. He says some friends and families of loved ones
who have died while cycling prefer to do it themselves, and some don't
want the bike memorial at all, for various reasons.
In case that happens, all the bikes he's installed have a sticker
with his contact information so families can reach him either about
removal or any other questions that they might have.
He says curious people stopped Saturday to ask him and a friend assisting in the project to ask what they were doing.
"People were coming up to us and taking pictures at every stop," Tomlinson said.
He's not worried about city workers tampering with them or removing them.
"The mayor assured me personally that in Houston city limts that city workers will not tamper with the bikes," Tomlinson says.
If people want to go about the trouble of stealing them there won't be much reward, he says.
"They maybe can steal and sell them for scrap metal, but I don't know
of a salvage yard that would take a white bike," said Tomlinson.
His wife doesn't want him to have a ghost bike of his own, so he's
sure to wear a helmet whenever he rides himself. He's tried to instill
bike safety in his six children and grandson when he can.
"Since I made the pact with my wife, I try to ask everyone whether they wear a helmet or not," said Tomlinson.
Published: Apr, 29 2014
A Silsbee man has taken on a unique
mission to make sure Houstonians don't forget the victims of fatal
bicycle accidents. He is driving over 100 miles into Houston to install
memorials all over the city.
Richard Tomlinson is a member of the city's cycling community, and now he's a big part of the Houston Ghost Bike group.
He spent his weekend installing 13 ghost bikes -- stripped bicycles
painted all white -- across Houston. Each bike corresponds to the death
of a cyclist, just as white crosses on the side of road mark nearby
fatal car accidents.
He's part of an international effort, complete with a website
that lists where most every ghost bike sits. The Houston Ghost Bike
Facebook group has the sad task of keeping track of local cyclist
fatalities.
So far, Tomlinson has installed close to 40 memorials. By the time he
is done, he will have attached 61 to the side of Houston roads. He
hopes to not have install any more past that.
Tomlinson is spending his own money, made mostly by doing odd jobs,
to memorialize fellow cyclists. By his estimate, he spent nearly 35
hours this weekend attaching bikes to fences and telephone poles with
heavy duty chain. Every 60 feet of chain costs him $150, he says.
"I try to find the least objectionable piece of structure to attach
it to, somewhere that won't interfere with traffic or city work," he
says.
Tomlinson, 50, gets the bikes for the somber project from area
cycling shops and from private donations. Some people have bikes in
their garage they no longer ride or that have been damaged, but they
want them to go to good, sobering use.
"One girl gave me a new bike to use but I try to trade the new bikes I
receive for older junk bikes to use as ghost bikes," Tomlinson says.
Each bike is stripped of its chain and gears, things that could get
pulled off by people passing by. He paints them with white spray paint
in his backyard in Silsbee. He welds the bikes so that they cannot be
driven, in case someone removes them from where they have been
installed.
He's not responsible for all the ghost bikes in town, but says he's
done most of the work. He says some friends and families of loved ones
who have died while cycling prefer to do it themselves, and some don't
want the bike memorial at all, for various reasons.
In case that happens, all the bikes he's installed have a sticker
with his contact information so families can reach him either about
removal or any other questions that they might have.
He says curious people stopped Saturday to ask him and a friend assisting in the project to ask what they were doing.
"People were coming up to us and taking pictures at every stop," Tomlinson said.
He's not worried about city workers tampering with them or removing them.
"The mayor assured me personally that in Houston city limts that city workers will not tamper with the bikes," Tomlinson says.
If people want to go about the trouble of stealing them there won't be much reward, he says.
"They maybe can steal and sell them for scrap metal, but I don't know
of a salvage yard that would take a white bike," said Tomlinson.
His wife doesn't want him to have a ghost bike of his own, so he's
sure to wear a helmet whenever he rides himself. He's tried to instill
bike safety in his six children and grandson when he can.
"Since I made the pact with my wife, I try to ask everyone whether they wear a helmet or not," said Tomlinson.