It was a mystery unlike any other. Drivers on the A4 motorway in Maisons-Alfort near Paris in France watched in disbelief on May 28 as a motorcycle zoomed past them, in a perfectly straight line, but with no sign of a rider.
After one driver suggested his friend catch the whole thing on video, a man obliged. Referring to it as being a “ghost” on the video, a man can be heard saying in the French language that they could clearly see a two-wheeled riderless motorcycle traveling down the A4. According to Le Parisien, many drivers noticed the unusual sight that day.
And it is, to say the least, unusual to see a two-wheeled vehicle traveling a fair distance down a motorway without falling over or stopping, almost as if it had a mind of its own. Was the motorcycle possessed? Did it have an invisible rider? The mystery perplexed France.
Watch the video below.
‘Ghost rider’ on the motorway in France
Le Parisien quotes a man called Eddy, who witnessed the incident. He had just spent time with his family to celebrate Mother’s Day and was heading home when he spotted the unusual phenomenon. When video footage of the strange sight was posted online, it naturally went viral, with many people speculating about the incident and calling it a “ghost rider.”
The riderless motorcycle mystery is finally solved
As reported by the International Business Times, three weeks later the mystery has finally been solved.
It turned out there had been a road accident. The motorcycle had collided with a car on the motorway, causing the rider to fall. The driver of the car, who was uninjured from the crash, stopped and picked up the wounded biker but try as they might, they could find no sign of his motorcycle. However, it turned out that when the rider fell, the bike had simply kept on going.
Motorbike found after three weeks
The biker, who was reportedly 20 years of age, was taken to hospital and treated for a wound on his arm. However, there was still no sign of his missing motorcycle. It was some three weeks later that the lost motorcycle turned up. Police contacted the biker to tell him the good news. Neither news report knows exactly what happened to the bike over the days it was missing or where it went during its solo joyride, but it was eventually tracked down by motorway police.
Motorcycle had a low center of gravity – and no ghost rider
Watching the video footage, it is impossible to imagine the bike could go that distance – and in a straight line – without a rider. However, Le Parisien interviewed Jean-Pierre Goy, a motorcycle stuntman, who explained that the particular brand of motorcycle has a very low center of gravity. Because of that, it was able to continue on it way, without the aid of a driver. According to Goy, he had seen similar motorcycles going even further, if the cruise control was turned off and that they are capable of continuing for 600 meters (around 1,968 ft) or more even with the cruise control turned on.
So, mystery solved. Neither report said what condition the motorcycle was in when found, but no doubt the rider was happy to have it back in his possession (excuse the pun).
