Ghost Bike Ride on Memorial Day

A cycling group is having its annual Memorial Day ride, but this year it has a different reason to do so.

In late April, two NCPeloton members were involved in a serious accident while riding on S.R. 60. Brenda Hoffman of Cambridge died and Brad Hollingsworth was seriously injured after a van struck the pair.

To honor both of them, and raise awareness for bike safety, NCPeloton is having a ghost ride on Memorial Day. The group will ride from New Concord Elementary with a white bike resting on the support car. One of the riders, Kathy Normansell explained the significance behind the ghost bike.

“The white kind of just as the ghost,” she said. “So that’s that idea’s that there’s a ghost, the rider who’s no longer able to be on that bike. The bike’s kind of a ghost to represent that rider who can’t be on it.

Normansell cited several bills circulating through the Ohio House of Representatives which would get stricter rules on passing bikes on roadways. She said clear distance laws, like one currently in the House, would help to end tragedies like the accident involving the two cyclists last month.

“We’re wanting to get motorists more alert,” Normansell said. “As we were saying, it’s not just bicyclists, there are runners on the roads. A lot of people look and they don’t realize bikes have the same rights to be on the roads. They have the same rules, same responsibilities, same rights as a motorized vehicle.”

When the NCPeloton gets to Shelly and Sands around 10:30 Monday morning, they will have a small tribute to the two riders and place the ghost bike there as a reminder to watch out for bikes on the road.