Replacing Houston's Missing Ghost Bikes

Ghost bikes—the stripped-down white bicycles memorializing cyclists killed on the road—are disappearing in Houston, writes Jay R. Jordan for the Houston Chronicle. The bikes, installed primarily by Steve and Melissa Sims, are sometimes stolen for parts, defaced, or removed by neighbors.

Thanks to the Houston Ghost Bike Facebook group, the Sims have accrued a sizable collection of replacement bikes. But the work of preparing and installing them is time-consuming, and the couple is calling on other Houstonians to volunteer their time and help them install the ghost bikes. "Their work is often thankless, but the memorials they place serve as solemn reminders for drivers and riders about the dangers of Houston's roadways."

Usually placed, informally, by volunteer activists like the Sims, ghost bikes have proliferated around the world as a somber memorial drawing attention to road safety and the dangers facing cyclists on urban roads. In 2017, the Chicago Tribune published a map of that city's ghost bikes.