Bike Fort Collins would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for helping protect two local Ghost Bike memorials.
During routine roadside checks, CDOT crews discovered two Ghost Bikes that had been displaced from their locations. Rather than leaving them on the roadside, the crews carefully brought the bikes back to a CDOT warehouse, where they kept them safe while working to determine who to contact about returning them.
Eventually, CDOT connected with Bike Fort Collins, and we were able to pick up the two Ghost Bikes and make sure they were cared for appropriately. We are grateful that their crews took the extra time and effort to recognize that these were more than abandoned bicycles—they were memorials honoring people who lost their lives while riding.
This experience has also helped establish a new connection between CDOT and Bike Fort Collins. Going forward, if CDOT crews encounter a Ghost Bike or another bicycle memorial that has been disturbed during their work, they now know they can reach out to us so we can help determine the appropriate next steps.
We greatly appreciate CDOT for treating these memorials with care and for working with us to help keep them safe and in place. These memorials hold meaning for families, friends, and our entire cycling community, and partnerships like this help ensure they continue to be respected and remembered.