LIGHT UP the NIGHT Ride!!
December 18 - 6:00 p.m.
Marge Williams Center more...
Winter Gift Ideas for Cyclists!! more...
Include Cycling in your New Year's Resolutions more...
GET Your Bike LIT and Come Ride!!
Come join us for our very fun annual Light Up the Night Ride! Decorate yourselves and your bikes with lights, music and costumes, and ride around Winslow to help publicize lighting and safety. Meet at the Marge Williams Center at 221 Winslow Way W. across from Winslow Green at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 18. There will possibly be stuff to eat and drink afterwards. If you would like to help, call us at 206-842-5599.
Here is a pdf poster you can print out about about this event. Light Up the Night is part of our ongoing effort to protect our fellow cyclists during these very dark months: we will hand out free bike lights. Both bike shops helped us buy these at cost - thanks Tom and Jeff!!!
If you need ideas, check out your local stores, including Bainbridge Ace Hardware, where holiday lights are just hitting the shelves. sw board member Molly Griest is particularly brilliant at coming up with lighting ideas.  Here is her description of how she set up her lights last year (we will TOTALLY get a photo of her this year - it was truly spectacular):
What i have done is gotten a Vector 400 watt (800 watt peak) DC to AC power inverter. i got mine at NAPA for about $25. Next i have "borrowed" the little 12 volt battery from my Vespa motor scooter (a new scooter battery is also about $25). i hook the inverter up to the battery and have them neatly tucked in my pannier. The inverter has 2 regular plug sockets and i wanted a couple more so i plugged a power strip into one of the outlets on the inverter and that gave me another 3 outlets. This is plenty for running all manner of things. i use LED and low voltage lights to optimize the energy needs. The low voltage lights have little transformers which take up space and add some weight, so you just have to be aware of that. That's it in a nutshell. Oh, just to justify the investment in an inverter...i used this combination of inverter and vespa battery to keep my cell
phone charged and run a few lights during our major power outage last winter!
If you need help or want more information, you can contact us at 842-5599 or e-mail us. We really hope you come!
|
|
Cyclist Gift Ideas!!
Need some gift ideas for your favorite
cyclist this holiday season? Both B.I.Cycle and Classic Cycle on the island offer wonderful items to protect your loved ones in this darker winter season.
One of our favorites is, of course, the Cooper Jone Share the Road License plate. Created in commemoration of Cooper Jones, a young Spokane boy killed by a motorist while participating in a bicycle race, funds generated from the purchase of the emblem will be placed into a special safety account to promote bicycle and pedestrian safety. The emblem alone is available in a kit to put on other things.
A safety vest or jacket made of new and improved reflective fabrics will keep someone warm as well as safe.
Lighting systems ranging from simple blinker lights to more complex electrical set-ups help make riders visible in our challenging weather.
B.I.Cycle offers jerseys with the squeaky wheels logo and...
Goretex Glow Gloves recommended by the WSF dock workers. [ed: If they don’t know outdoor gear, I don’t know who does!]
Classic Cycle owner Jeff Gromen offers his amazing book The Six-Day Bicycle Races with lovely photos.
Keep your bike ssssafe with colorful steel cable locks that look like snakes from Wishingfish.
And exactly how old is that helmet? Here is replacement advice from the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute:
- Did you drop it hard enough to crack the foam? Replace.
- Is it from the 1970’s? Replace.
- Is the outside just foam or cloth instead of plastic? Replace.
- Does it lack a CPSC, ASTM or Snell sticker? Replace.
- Can you not adjust it to fit? Replace.
- Do you hate it? Replace!!
Cost for these items is minimal when compared with operating automobiles. And of course, your brains and life are, as the advertising campaign goes, “priceless.” |
Easy 2009 Cycling Resolutions
Do one errand by bike. By now everyone must have heard that most trips are within 5 miles of home. This one is good for your health, your wallet AND the planet! Three fer!!!
Volunteer for squeaky wheels. Come join us every third Thursday at the Marge Williams Center on Winslow Way. You can also check out the volunteer ideas divided by how much time you have to volunteer. Here are some of the things we do, or bring your own project!
Take your bike in and have a tune-up. Just that. And see where it leads...
|
Map/Cue Sheet library for your next ride!
If you need new route inspiration or you're looking
for some folks to ride with, check out the Seattle
Bicycle Touring Club site. This group is a tremendous resource. SBTC has a great bicycle
map/cue sheet library that you can download in the form of pdfs. Each
week, weather permitting, the club provides at least one ride for each
level of cyclist: beginning, social and intermediate. All rides are
in Seattle and surrounding areas except for the monthly outing which
is a 1-3 day excursion to places like the Washington Coast, Olympic
Peninsula, Vancouver Island, Yakima Wine Country or Mount Rainier National
Park. |
|
|
