The Chainlink

Father of Ghost Bike victim wants daughters bike removed, still there though.

Damen/Wellington- Her Dad says enough is enough and wants her name and bike removed. Tired of the reminder. What can we do? The city won't do it and no one from ATA or chainlink will do it- do we remain selfish and leave it up for our own purposes or honor the family's wishes? Most cyclists I talk to say 1 year on the street is enough time.
Discuss.

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update from tiny phone on shaky bus..mother and sister absolutely do not want bike removed.

Imagine my surprise. Thanks for following up.

h' 1.0 said:

update from tiny phone on shaky bus..mother and sister absolutely do not want bike removed.

Yes. Thanks h for sticking to your instincts or accumulated wisdom or whatever it was on this.


While we are discussing it, I wonder if there could be - or perhaps already is some kind of middle ground where a person's name could be removed but the bike left standing. The Ghost Bikes are not just for the family of the victim. Drivers especially, but everyone needs to be reminded that life is precious and fragile and that your hurry, or your drunkenness or your text messages or phone calls are all things that simply can not be happening when you are driving a motor vehicle on the public way.

Kevin C said:

Imagine my surprise. Thanks for following up.

h' 1.0 said:

update from tiny phone on shaky bus..mother and sister absolutely do not want bike removed.

A bike without a sign does not "look" like a memorial to most people and gets picked apart or taken whole by scavengers rather quickly.  There have been varying levels of information on the various signs, from "Male, age 50" to first name last initial to full name depending on family involvement/wishes/etc.  Back to the situation at hand-- father is supposedly "tired of the reminder" but also appears to live in far NW suburbs.  Would the whole family be satisfied with a sign that didn't have her name? I don't think that's something that the city, the bike community, or collective membership of The Chainlink need or want to be involved in deciding.  If the father feels strongly that the bike should be removed, there is absolutely nothing stopping him from removing it, or sending a friend to do so (just as there is nothing stopping anyone from having a replacement in place within a few days, as has happened elsewhere.).  But I certainly see the cleverness, if not the ethics, of tricking the bike community into doing the dirty work with an anonymous message board post. 

Tony Adams 6.6 mi said:

Yes. Thanks h for sticking to your instincts or accumulated wisdom or whatever it was on this.


While we are discussing it, I wonder if there could be - or perhaps already is some kind of middle ground where a person's name could be removed but the bike left standing. The Ghost Bikes are not just for the family of the victim. Drivers especially, but everyone needs to be reminded that life is precious and fragile and that your hurry, or your drunkenness or your text messages or phone calls are all things that simply can not be happening when you are driving a motor vehicle on the public way.

Kevin C said:

Imagine my surprise. Thanks for following up.

h' 1.0 said:

update from tiny phone on shaky bus..mother and sister absolutely do not want bike removed.

the screen name is from the movie "spies like us" and this is his only posting

Conspiracy theories abound but the conversation still demands an answer.

Father wants the bike removed.
So, per Ms. Hochstadter's advice I'm to tell the Father he can remove it any time.

He just doesn't want to see it anymore.

This smells like hooey; h' seems to have it right. Seems unlikely he's ever going to get a phone call from 'Austin Milbarge' but I could be wrong.

Austin, or maybe Mr. Ghostbuster himself (clever pun username),

Read h's responses below and throughout this thread. 


h' 1.0 said:

Back to the situation at hand-- father is supposedly "tired of the reminder" but also appears to live in far NW suburbs.  Would the whole family be satisfied with a sign that didn't have her name? I don't think that's something that the city, the bike community, or collective membership of The Chainlink need or want to be involved in deciding. If the father feels strongly that the bike should be removed, there is absolutely nothing stopping him from removing it, or sending a friend to do so (just as there is nothing stopping anyone from having a replacement in place within a few days, as has happened elsewhere.).  But I certainly see the cleverness, if not the ethics, of tricking the bike community into doing the dirty work with an anonymous message board post. 

Tony Adams 6.6 mi said:

Yes. Thanks h for sticking to your instincts or accumulated wisdom or whatever it was on this.


While we are discussing it, I wonder if there could be - or perhaps already is some kind of middle ground where a person's name could be removed but the bike left standing. The Ghost Bikes are not just for the family of the victim. Drivers especially, but everyone needs to be reminded that life is precious and fragile and that your hurry, or your drunkenness or your text messages or phone calls are all things that simply can not be happening when you are driving a motor vehicle on the public way.

Kevin C said:

Imagine my surprise. Thanks for following up.

h' 1.0 said:

update from tiny phone on shaky bus..mother and sister absolutely do not want bike removed.

The irony here is that the father could have removed it any time and nobody would have known who did it.

But thanks to this thread, if it disappears, everyone will assume the father took it down against the wishes of the rest of Liza's family.

And, of course, we get dirty laundry aired that most of us probably would rather not have known about.

"Austin", you have a little toggle available at the top of this discussion that would allow you to close this thread so we can let it sink out of sight.  Your call.

Riding by this bike regularly, it always strikes me how well it is cared for. It really is a unique ghost bike within the Chicago city limits. Always freshly painted and in the spring it has pansies and other flowers planted in the grass around it. It always gives me joy to ride by there. Not because Liza died there, but because it is abundantly clear that Liza had family and friends who loved her and cared for her and continue to spend the time in maintaining the bike.

Do whatever you feel is necessarily, but be a man about it. Don't hide behind some fake screen name and try to get approval from the Chainlink community for your plans. I doubt that anyone who knows the complete story of this bike would approve of your plans.

Austin Milbarge said:

Conspiracy theories abound but the conversation still demands an answer.

Father wants the bike removed.
So, per Ms. Hochstadter's advice I'm to tell the Father he can remove it any time.

He just doesn't want to see it anymore.

lets not assume that it's a fake screenname, and even if it is, let's not pile anything more on top of his head. he lost his daughter. if nothing else, this thread educated me a bit more about ghost bikes.

I notice the same thing. There always seem to be fresh flowers in that bike.  I always look at it and think about it. 

As a parent I can only imagine what the family of this poor girl has felt over the years. I think I would want the bike to stay but cannot say for sure.  One thing I know for sure- its not for me, or any of us to say whether the bike should or should not remain. This is a concern for the family and  perhaps for Liza's close friends. If the folks who continue to keep the flame burning as regards that ghost bike want to keep the bike I would suggest that they speak with the family. Hopefully some agreement can be made. 

Duppie 13.5185km said:

Riding by this bike regularly, it always strikes me how well it is cared for. It really is a unique ghost bike within the Chicago city limits. Always freshly painted and in the spring it has pansies and other flowers planted in the grass around it. It always gives me joy to ride by there. Not because Liza died there, but because it is abundantly clear that Liza had family and friends who loved her and cared for her and continue to spend the time in maintaining the bike.

Do whatever you feel is necessarily, but be a man about it. Don't hide behind some fake screen name and try to get approval from the Chainlink community for your plans. I doubt that anyone who knows the complete story of this bike would approve of your plans.

Austin Milbarge said:

Conspiracy theories abound but the conversation still demands an answer.

Father wants the bike removed.
So, per Ms. Hochstadter's advice I'm to tell the Father he can remove it any time.

He just doesn't want to see it anymore.

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