Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Better to Light a Single Candle



The old proverb advises that it is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness. That's the spirit behind programs like Get Lit and while I've been involved in various organized versions of Get Lit, I also like doing my bit as an individual, one on one. I'm a sucker for a deal on a batch of lights cheap enough that even a poor bike mechanic can afford to give away. Forty lights shipped to my house for about what I'd pay for a single light is a good deal in my book. Yeah, they're cheap and one of them was DOA and I'm not quite sure what I'll do with the blue and green ones (turn signals on my fingers maybe?) but they are light and I'll pack some in my bags to give away to unlit riders and walkers.







Keep 'em rolling,

Kent Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

11 comments:

Marcy said...

A brilliant (no pun indended) idea! I have been having so much trouble lately with not being able to see people who are dressed in all black, have no reflectors or lights. I would really like to know how well your offer of a light is received by people. People generally love free gifts, but for some reason I anticipate a few surly folks not being appreciative, but I hope they just graciously accept.

z-man said...

Kent,
Stupid question of the day-I'm using the same (Google) template but can't seem to be able to cut/paste my pics the way you can. Am I missing something (probably) simple?

Kent Peterson said...

z-man,

Everytime I upload a picture to Blogger it insists at placing it at the top. I switch to the HTML view and cut and paste the image to where I want it. Amazon links and stuff like that get hand-pasted as well. There is probably an easier way, but I know HTML coding so it's pretty quick for me to do it.

Kelt said...

These lights look cool and the price is right: can you post the link for the supplier?

Kent Peterson said...

Kelt,

You probably read the post via RSS. If you go to my actual blog at:

kentsbike.blogspot.com

you'll see a link that will let you order the lights via Amazon. I don't have a direct link to the supplier.

CFB said...

Three winters ago, I was lucky enough to get 100 promotional blinkies. The unlit cyclists I handed them to (always kept a bunch clipped to my bike, not in panniers) were rarely surly and hopefully felt as invisible, when the lights died, leading to getting some lights. I've been watching for another cheap source and you've provided it...thanks!

Barb Chamberlain said...

The ultimate bling! Are they adjustable so they can be worn over gloves? Hitting record lows here in Spokane.... (which is actually lobster-claw glove weather and I don't imagine they fit those!)

I use Blogger too. As long as I put my cursor where I want the picture to insert it seems to show up there (with occasional variations).

@BarbChamberlain

Kent Peterson said...

Hey Barb,

The elastic tab on each light is kinda stretchy but I use a zip-tie or a bigger rubber band cut from an old innertube to secure the light to larger things.

I keep the tone light (ha!) when I offer lights to folks and saying something like "Whoa, it sure is dark out here! I've got this weird habit of giving out lights to folks, you want one?" works pretty well.

Finally, you know how I said I had one dud light out of the batch. I futzed with it, gave up and threw it away. The next time I went to toss something in the garbage, there it was, glowing away. I guess it just needed to have a good shock to the system!

Anonymous said...

Off topic, but how is that Tour Divide/Washington route coming along? Have you got her going yet? Looking forward to hearing about it....take care

MELI. said...

those finger thingslook like way fun! may have to head to the amazon site shortly... =)

Arleigh Jenkins said...

Ordered!