The real story behind the video of a bicycle pulling a ‘dead body’ down a busy Auckland road
Stuff - 2 July 2025
“First Aid dummy? Actual serial killer being rather unsubtle?
Or militant cyclist who’s looking for an argument?“
These were some of the questions asked after video went viral last month showing a bicycle making its way down one of Auckland’s busiest roads pulling what looked suspiciously like a dead body, feet poking out from a tarpaulin.
“Bro, man’s got a body on his bike,” one person wrote, accurately summing up what was many viewers’ first impression.
Intrigued by the mystery shrouded figure, Stuff made enquiries and discovered the person being pulled was definitely not alive.
Nor were they ever.
The cyclist, Richard Barter, told Stuff he was moving his mate Noah, a mannequin.
“He has done quite a lot of trips around and caused a little bit of a kerfuffle at times,” he admitted.
So, can you transport a dead body on a bike?
Read more for Funeral Directors Association President Andrew Malcolm's comments....