ghostly

Just as the rest of the world is gearing up for Halloween this appeared next to the office.

I'd noticed the flowers yesterday when walking in - I went out to meet friends for dinner last night so didn't cycle in and walked from Moorgate to the office past Ludgate Hill and then past the flowers.

You get used to seeing flowers tied to fence posts, trees or lampposts in the countryside - in my mind the result of a late night crash of a car with an inexperienced or perhaps intoxicated driver - but it's usually a non-bike vehicle. In London it seems to be mainly for cyclists.

Today the ghost bike appeared alongside the flowers. An amazingly effective memorial:

The Ghost Bike Project is a very unique and symbolic way to memorialize fallen cyclists. I think it is the perfect way to pay tribute to cyclists killed on the street. It reflects the loss of a precious life and the passion of the person killed. It should serve as a vivid reminder to everyone who travels that route that the most precious gift anyone could have, the gift of life, was lost because of the carelessness and recklessness of another person. We hope that it sends a very clear and strong message to the driving public to be extra careful when sharing the road with others.

Of course cyclists aren't always blameless. Let's all be a bit less complacent and take it a bit easier and we'll all be just fine.

The ghost bike remains still while the rest of the world rushes by.

Two more days and I'll have passed my first 1000 commuting miles in London.