Ghost Bikes

Speaking of bikes, though in a sadder vein, I was walking down 9th Avenue tonight and saw an eerie sight: a bicycle completely - tires, sprocket and chain, all of it - painted white and chained to a post. In my sullen, Philistinish way (combined with my attempt to adopt a New York nonchalance toward all things, no matter how unusual or bizarre), I mentally noted and dismissed it as somebody's idea of Art.

Only a few minutes later I sat down in a restaurant and began reading the copy of the Daily News I'd found lying on the pavement (what, do I look like the kind of guy who goes around squandering 25 cents on a newspaper?). Coincidentally, it opened to the page where a story (unfortunately not to be found on the website) about "Ghost Bikes," which regularly appear around town as memorials to bicyclists killed by automobile drivers. Here's another account of the phenomenon.