You might have heard the Festival of Lights Parade is off this year. Go Downtown Salem and the Salem Bicycle Taxi have a solution!They are sponsoring a Holiday Bike Ride on Saturday, December 11th, at 6:30pm. From Salem Weekly:
“We are open to people being as creative as they can be,” said [Michele Darr of the Bike Taxi]. The route starts at Salem Riverfront Park in front of the Christmas tree, and goes across the bicycle bridge to West Salem. At Roth’s IGA carolers will serenade bicyclers along the parade route. Hot chocolate and prizes will be part of the first annual event.
“We still want people to 'light up.' We hope to see lots of bicycle lights,” said Darr. “This is the first year, and we hope to make it bigger and better each year.”(Last year's Festival of Lights ride was sponsored by Salem Bicycle Club - whether you ride 100 miles every weekend, or have a fat tire cruiser just for summer, everyone is invited!)
The entire event is free and Salem Bicycle Taxi will be offering free pedi-sleigh rides with Santa, led by a human reindeer.
(Top Photo: Commute by Bike)
LED lights are a cheap way to decorate your bike for the holidays - and improve your visibility beyond the minimum of front light and rear reflector in the dark of winter! They take 2 AA batteries (an excellent use for rechargables!) and they come in stars, snowflakes, icicles, and "regular" holiday lights. The strands have a 3 position switch - off, on, and blinky.
$4 each at the big chain stores. Maybe the small stores, too. (If you find locally owned stores with them, please drop a comment.)Secure the battery packs and the strands with black electricians tape or the ever-handy duct tape. Just make sure they are out of way of moving parts like spokes and pedal arms.
Or make a tree or stand to strap on to your handlebars or pannier rack.
There are also other lighting systems like hokey spokes and FlexPro, some of them much higher quality. Bike fun doesn't have to stop during the winter! Come on out!
Such a great idea. I'm looking forward to seeing the colorful creations!
ReplyDeleteAnother easy way to add light is to make a Throwie. Throwies were created by graffiti artists. They would make LED that are magnetic to throw up onto buildings. You could make these for your bike as well...super easy and super cheap...Check it out on this instructable tutorial: http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Throwies/