Impossible to miss them: two bikes painted entirely in white are installed at the scene of two fatal accidents. The first, at Fleury-les-Aubrais, had claimed the life of a cyclist, and seriously injured a second, on June 12, 2021. The other, inSaint-Denis-en-Val, had resulted in the death of a young Dutch woman in August.
“It’s been a while with the Vélorution collective that we were thinking of organizing this tribute. But last summer, with these two accidents almost in quick succession, we thought it was time”, explains Nicolas Guilmain, from the Vélorution collective, which campaigns for the place of cycling in the city. With the DAMMO association, they are the organizers of this event. “It was also about time that Orleans joined the movement of cities all over the world that are paying this kind of tribute.”
We don’t have the right to die because we choose to ride the bike
A tribute “simple” and “sober“, adds the cyclist. Without speech. Simply with a gathering of around forty cyclists, first place du Martroi, then in Saint-Denis-en-Val and finally rue Marc Sangnier in Fleury-les-Aubrais. Hanging from a tree, the white bicycle is a strong symbol, like the black silhouettes that we could see blooming on the sides of the roads to mark a fatal accident, whether it involves a pedestrian or a motorist. At the handlebars, a wooden sign is engraved “Here, a cyclist died hit by a motorist on June 12, 2021”.
– Cecile Da Costa
This bike is a tribute to the victim, but also more broadly to all cyclists dead or injured on the roads, as explained by Annick Loschetter, member of the collective and of the DAMMO association. “We always hope when we put this kind of bike in homage that it will be the last, but as everyday cyclists, we know our vulnerability on the roads “, she regrets.
“It was important to show that we don’t have the right to die because we choose to take the bike”, says Jérôme Barret, also a member of the Vélorution collective. “We feel the danger of being a cyclist on a daily basis.“
Lack of safety for cyclists
Obviously, on the edge of this busy road, there is a lot of talk about the lack of safety for cyclists. Jérôme Barret is also a member of the Vélorution collective. “Here, we are on a street where the width of the space dedicated to bicycles [la bande cyclable] is 50 centimeters. Me, the handlebars of my bike are 70 centimeters wide. Already, my bike protrudes from this space“, he emphasizes. “We must give back space to cyclists.”
– Cecile Da Costa
An observation shared by Alain Lefaucheux, municipal councilor in Fleury. “This cycle lane on rue Marc Sangnier dates from 1993. And since then no reflection has been made on it, not even with the metropolis“, he says. “So I think there is a lot of work to be done, and a work of cohesion between pedestrians, cyclists and traffic on the road.”
To continue to pay tribute to the victims of these accidents, and to raise awareness about the safety of cyclists, the two ghost bikes will remain at the scene of the tragedy.