Akademik

n.

An old bicycle painted white and locked to a fence or post near the scene of an accident that killed a cyclist. Also: ghost bicycle, ghost cycle.

Bob Shenton rolled up next to a blood-stained roadway with a bouquet of white flowers for a woman he did not know.

"I'm tired of ghost bikes and I'm tired of cyclists getting killed in this city," said the veteran cyclist.

—Natalie Alcoba, " Cyclist dies after being hit by a truck at Toronto intersection: http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/07/cyclist-dies-after-being-hit-by-a-truck-at-toronto-intersection/," National Post, November 7, 2011

Around the globe, all-white bikes are being chained to street signs near the sites of fatal accidents involving cyclists.

They are called ghost bikes — somber reminders of tragedy and intended as a quiet statement in support of a cyclist's right to safe travel, proponents say.

—Kevin Clerici, " Ghost bikes aim to honor fallen cyclists, raise awareness: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/may/23/ghost-bikes-aim-to-honor-fallen-cyclists-raise/," Ventura County Star, May 23, 2011

They appeared late Monday around Allegheny County, 14 bicycles painted a ghostly white and chained to poles with a cryptic sign: "Cyclist Struck Here."

The roadside memorials are the work of Ghost Bike Pittsburgh, a loosely organized group of bicycle enthusiasts seeking to improve the lot of bicyclists in a sometimes hostile world.

Its goal with the ghost bike project is simple: "to help Pittsburgh become a city where cyclists and motorists can coexist, to the benefit of both groups."

—Jonathan D. Silver, " 'Ghost bikes' are grim reminders: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04148/322514-53.stm," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 27, 2004