Philadelphia was a bust for ghost bikes!!

Today I sought after four ghost bikes in Philadelphia, PA. None of them were there. I did find some cool stuff to take pictures of along the way, and would definitely like to spend more time in Philly, but onward I must travel. Next stop: some ghost town near Pottstown, Pa. There won't be any ghost bikes, but perhaps a ghost or two.

Here are some of the things I photographed today. The city hall picture and the one of the statue are two areas where ghost bikes once stood.

First night on the road.

This is the hotel I stayed at in New Jersey 40 minutes outside of Philadelphia, and the scene across the street.

Day 1 of being on the road

This morning I woke up at 6:45a to rainy skies, got my things together and jumped on the train to go pick up the rental car. When I arrived I asked if the car I had reserved had an ipod jack and the woman said no. WoW! Was I really going to have to do this whole trip with just the radio to listen to? She said the compact cars did not come with that feature, but not to fret because I would probably get upgraded, because they did not have enough compact cars.

We all know that rental cars always cost more than we anticipate, no matter how much you think you have everything covered. My car for the whole time cost $440 more than I budgeted for...Insurance. But that is okay, I will make up for it somewhere. My budget is $126/day to cover food, gas, and motel. I should be able to make up for some of it when I can stay with friends instead of motel.

After waiting forever I finally get to go to my car. Space B4 she said. There was a Mustang in B4! I thought well, now that IS an upgrade! There was no ipod jack, I was bummed. It turns out she told me the wrong space, and I ended up with a Doge Avenger with an ipod jack. Yay!! Not as "COOL", but I would be able to listen to my own music.

I make the grueling drive back to Brooklyn, pick up my stuff, have one last real meal before I start living on my "kickstarter budget", and hit the road at 2pm. 

My intention for the day was to look for two ghost bikes in New Jersey. All my efforts in contacting people in the bicycle community in New Jersey had led me to believe that there might be one of the five that once were. One of bikes unlikely to be there was on the way to the one that might be there, so I took a chance and looked for it. It was gone. But the other one was there!! 

Ghost bike for Camille Savoy, 54 years old. On Route 9W near Alpine, New Jersey.

Tomorrow, I will try to hit the potential three bikes in Philly, and head over to a ghost town about an hour outside of Philadelphia. 

Stolen ghost bike and thief

A few days before I set out on this adventure I parked my bicycle next to a bike that I thought for a moment was a ghost bike. Upon closer inspection I discovered remnants of flowers and decorations. The chain was painted white, but the seat was no longer pained nor the handlebar grips. My guess: this was a stolen ghost bike that they had put a different seat and handle bar grips.

When I returned, the "ghost bike" was gone, and so was my bicycle seat.

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you again for all the support you all have given and shown me in this process. I will be eternally grateful for your help in making this photo trip a reality, and for supporting my dreams. I wish there were words that could convey all that I really feel, but I can't seem to find the ones that are expressive and strong enough. I leave Monday the 24th on a red eye to New york to begin the 5 1/2 week adventure in which I will attempt to travel to 35 different cities in search of ghost bikes. A little ambitious I know, but to one ever changed the world by taking it easy! On October 29th, I will fly to LA to shoot the ghost bikes ther, and will return to San Francisco on the 31st. For those of you that are interested, I have made a map of where I would like to go. I know I may not make it to all these places, but I am going to try. You can also follow my progress on instagram, facebook and twitter.

MAP
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK (GENEA BARNES)
FACEBOOK (GENEA BARNES PHOTOGRAPHY)
FACEBOOK (THE GHOST BIKE PROJECT)
TWITTER