'Ghost Bike' Memorial Placed for Bicyclist Killed Last Week

They didn't know Christine Reeves. But they wanted to come together to do something to make sure her death is not quickly or easily forgotten. With little fanfare, they chained a bicycle, painted white, to a sign post where a makeshift memorial adorned with flowers had already been created. 

Placing a 'Ghost Bike' at the site of the fatal accident that claimed the life of Christine Reeves on Aug. 23 was an idea that Nashua resident James Vayo had a few days ago. Not an original idea, by his own admission; one that he had seen in other places, like Boston, where bicyclists and motorized traffic coexist, and sometimes, collide.

Ghost Bike Memorials are meant to be dignified and somber tributes to bicyclists killed on the streets, said Vayo. A bicycle painted all white is locked near the crash site accompanied by a small plaque or sign. 

It's part of a larger effort, detailed on  ghostbikes.org, designed to do three things: honor those who die suddenly, sometimes without much public information, on bicycles; remind the public of a tragedy that occurred on an otherwise anonymous street corner; and make a quiet statement in support of cyclists’ right to safe travel.

>Click here to read the obituary for Christine Reeves

After placing the bike, James Vayo, Paul Shea, Tom Lopez, Karen Goddard and Basil Mansfield stood quietly for another moment. Mansfield, who is an avid bicyclist, said he was once hit by a dump truck in Nashua, and escaped serious injury by rolling to one side as his bicycle was dragged along the road.

Goddard said her 23-year-old daughter recently had a bike mishap while riding in Boston, and ended up banged up and hospitalized, but not seriously injured.

"It's important to raise awareness that bicyclists are out there," Goddard said. 

"I don't believe any sort of policy would have changed the outcome of this accident, but it's as good a time as any to think of developing a bicycle master plan for the city," Shea said. "It's needed."