Lights for Bikes – Volunteers Needed!

[OneEighth]

It was fun!
Y’all are good folks. Really enjoyed hanging out doing something helpful.
Jimmy, saw you briefly but you left before I could congratulate you on your cx race (and your glamour shots courtesy of Pete).
I think Sofie learned something this evening. Not sure what, but something and I’ll settle for that.
See y’all out and about.
Tom

[MCL1981]

So now that I have the appropriate clothing and lights, I can finally drag my but out to these things. Even though I live in… gasp… Maryland. When’s the next one

[acc]

I think we’re really getting the hang of this light giveaway thing. Bike Forum Volunteers Make It Fun!

We’ve perfected the schill: “Free! Absolutely Free Lights! For You! Roll Over Here!”

We’ve got moves: As soon as a cyclist stops we surround them like a pack of hyenas moving in on a fresh kill. Some take the front, some take the rear — it’s just like a NASCAR pit crew — in less than ten seconds we’ve mounted (the bike) with several sets of lights.

We got the wave: Bend at the elbow and call out — “Thanks for stopping by to get lit. We appreciate it!”

Such an excellent night. Thanks Bike Arlington, and Pete Beers.

ann

[eminva]

Sorry I missed it — family obligations intervened — and this one was right on my way home. My light supply is running low, but I am determined to save a set to catch the bike ninja I see every morning when I walk my dog before sun up. I’ll light him up one of these days.

Liz

[skreaminquadz]

Fun night!

Tom – sorry I missed you. Would have been nice to catch up. Hopefully Mark or Tim will set up a Happy Hour sometime soon so we can….. hint hint guys.

[americancyclo]

Sorry I had to leave early, but it was good seeing those of you that were there before it got to be pitch black. count me in for the next one. Spring?

[off2ride]

Thanks for the light hook up last night. Pete B. and company…you guys rock!!!

[Dirt]

@OneEighth 11926 wrote:

I think Sofie learned something this evening. Not sure what, but something and I’ll settle for that.

She likely learned a few new and quite colorful words. That isn’t necessarily a good thing. She’s awesome! You two are awesome together too. So glad you both came to help out!

[Dirt]

What I liked about last night was the very large number of people who originally blew us off, but kinda saw that we were having fun with it and turned around to come back. I was totally blown away that some of the REALLY GRUMPY people came back… some after riding quite a way down the track. I think we had a fun tone that drew people in.

The other thing that was brought out was how isolated headphones make cyclists and runners. It takes 30-90 seconds for some people to stop and be ready to act or react. In an emergency situation they could certainly act with the headphones in, but I can’t see how that level of distraction is safe for anyone on the trail. It is so much more than peoples’ ears that are shut off. Much of their ability to to think and speak is switched off. Having a little wall up lets them build up more wall. We broke through that with a lot of people last night. That’s a big deal!

[JeffC]

Thanks so much for doing this. I saw you all last night on 12/12 at around 5:30 pmw hen I was headed westbound home to Falls Church. At first I thought all the lights were an emergerncy situation and an ambulance or police car. I have plenty of lights so did not take one and politely declined but I am so glad this is being done. I have noticed some joggers with small handheld lights or wrap around arm bands.

Totallly agree on the headphones, I never wear them while biking, jogging or walking, it’s an awful idea.

Next time I will stop to say hi and may pick up a few lights just to give out to others I see that don’t have them.

[dbb]

The commitment of the staff of BikeArlington and the support from Arlington County is superb! Thanks to both! Reinforces my idea that Arlington “gets it”.

Supporting cycling for all who use the trails is a great idea. Thanks to Tim, Zanna and all the volunteers for making this a great, fun evening that improves trail safety.

[pfunkallstar]

Dude separate thread for new handouts in the future! I would have been in last night.

[dbb]

@acc 11929 wrote:

We’ve got moves: As soon as a cyclist stops we surround them like a pack of hyenas moving in on a fresh kill. Some take the front, some take the rear — it’s just like a NASCAR pit crew — in less than ten seconds we’ve mounted (the bike) with several sets of lights.
ann

The process works far afield as well! Just scored a ninja rider in Canton, Mississippi (about 200 miles north of Biloxi) as I was driving looking for my motel. Old guy riding lightless. I got a couple of blocks ahead of him, parked, grabbed a couple of lights and then ambushed him. He left illuminated and happy.

Score for BikeArlington!

[Arlingtonrider]

Great get together last night! I’m sure I saw some of the results of our efforts this year as I rode home from work tonight, passing two cyclists and a jogger wearing BikeArlington reflective bands in the first 10 minutes of my ride. It was great to see the before and after views of those who stopped by our corner as they went from nearly invisible to highly visible in seconds after we descended on them. New bike maps were also zipped into backpacks or slipped into panniers for those who requested them and many questions were answered.
I know I’ll forget some people (and some I didn’t get the names of), but those who helped in the effort and contributed to all the fun we all had included Tim Kelley and Zanna from BikeArlington, Dirt, cyclocross racers Screamingquadz and Culimerc, Rhinestone Cowgirl ACC, One Eighth and his lovely daughter Sophie (who may have heard a few euphemisms but nothing really bad), dbb, consularrider, Mark Blacknell and Dismal Scientist, among others. If there’s anyone i missed (Chris?, Sean?) let me know and I’ll add you in. Thanks again, BikeArlington!

[americancyclo]

Apparently the mutant light that I found that had the cool left/right blink also does NOT have an ‘off’ setting. It goes:

Solid->Blink->Burst->Left/Right Blink

and then repeats, with no off setting. weird.
[video=youtube_share;Y7MX9Jk_Bt4]http://youtu.be/Y7MX9Jk_Bt4[/video]

[Author]

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