This cabbie though has the royal thing down to a science. He has a big heart, is able to separate the useless foolish from foolishness that demands a change or repair.
Check it out. He can be found at King of New York Hacks
Recognizing the hazard of working as a bike messenger, and as a cab driver, likely the participant in many close calls with bikers racing to get documents and stuff from one office to another location, his post on ghost bike memorials touched me. I've lost friends in bike accidents, and have had a few very close calls myself.
For example, it is unlikely that this memorial is the cause of anything other than a moment of thought for the poor biker that died on that spot.
Bicycling for a living can be dangerous. Chicago is fortunate. We have Mayor Daley and the Mayor likes his bike. Thus, Chicago has lots of bicycle lanes, but we need more. The Second City has too many places where memorials, like this from New York, could be erected to the memory of a biker whose life was taken too soon in an encounter with a car, truck or bus.
The New York Sanitation Department, as is true in most cities, also picks up bikes that are abandoned on the street, sometimes getting a very expensive bit of work equipment for those bike messengers. Bikes, used by professionals like messengers, can cost an arm or a leg, and one bad accident can literally remove the appendage from the biker.
It might not look like much here, but it could be valuable. If such a bike is truly abandoned, or hasn't been used in days and days, it could be one of those random acts of kindness to try connecting the bike with its owner before the garbage man sends it to rot in a landfill.
I found a beloved bike just that way, though I was strolling through an alleyway when good fortune struck me in the form of the perfect city bike for just riding around. After it was overhauled, repaired and got new tires (mine still had wheels), I was suddenly the proud owner of a new bicycle for everyday trips to the grocery, the library and for riding along Lake Michigan.
Keep an eye out for those abandoned bicycles, because sometime you are looking at a thousand dollars of bike frame (wheels and other bits are extra), and keeping those abandoned bikes out of landfills is a service. It keeps a good machine from being wasted, and sometimes a grateful biker will have a day of happiness when they are reconnected with their frame.
On the other hand, sometimes bikes are on the street, locked up, and are just a funny bit of sculpture. Mayor Bloomberg, lighten up! Realistic sculpture doesn't have to be a Rodin to be beautiful.
Thank you Your Excellency, King of the New York Hacks. The post you wrote reminds us all, no matter where we live, that bikers are part of the transportation system and need our respect. Respect keeps us all safe.
And best wishes to you. To all readers, get the bike out. Go for a ride. Be safe, and enjoy the road.
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