Get on this. Vote NOW – Contest ends on Valentines Day. http://bit.ly/12cIGKL
We are headed up to the Seattle Bicycle Expo (booth #469) this weekned to show our new line of commuter lights and offer Expo strollers a killer deal on light purchases through Sammamish Valley Cyclery!
To add to the fun we’re running a contest to build momentum for the Expo! Take a picture of yourself in front of our booth or with a Light & Motion product between now and the end of the show and upload it to facebook and you will be entered to win a free Light & Motion commuter light!
Here’s what you do, two easy steps:
1. “Like Us” on facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Light-Motion-Bike-Lights/159269950862
2. Post your photo (in front of our booth or with Light & Motion product) to our facebook page.
We will announce the winner on facebook!
See you at the Expo Saturday and Sunday!
By Rebecca Rusch
The “Ask Reba” train keeps on rolling! November has passed and after reading almost 7 pages of questions, I have chosen 2 people to win the Light & Motion Urban 300 lights. 
That’s correct, we are giving away two! Tis the season they say. There were plenty of questions to chose from, and many were contenders, but the two I chose both made me laugh, and made me reminisce. I have been with Light & Motion for almost 10 years now, and if you are ever in the market for lighting give them a look. Their background is in underwater lighting, and after testing lights, I was sold.
The first winner is Conrad Castaneda. His question, and my answer will undoubtedly put some smiles on peoples faces.
Q: How important is a good looking kit? What’s the most hideous kit you’ve ever seen (at a race or training/fun ride)?
A: A good looking kit is KEY! It’s like a super hero putting on their cloak or a knight stepping into their armor. Your kit needs to make you feel fast and invincible! You need to WANT to put it on and be proud to stand on the start line. I hate to say it, but for me the most hideous kit was my very own 2008 race kit. I call it The Pink Year. There’s nothing wrong with the color pink. Some people love it. I do not. It doesn’t suit me one bit and despite being female, I’ve never gravitated towards pink. I’m attaching a photo for full comic relief. I looked like a highlighter and I was embarrassed. I will say I got really fast during the pink year. My theory was if I had to wear a hideous kit, then I’d dang well better make up for it by winning. It’s harder to make fun of someone if they are in front of you, right? Read More
This week Light & Motion will give away the new Urban 180 for the “Best Autumn Bike” photo. We are looking for photos that describe this biking season of long nights, changing colors and weather…. Your entry could be a still life, an action photo, a frame from a video clip, or even an abstract image – surprise us and let your imagination roll!
The “Autumn Bike” photo entries will be voted on by Light & Motion staff and the winner will be announced on Friday.
Here are the details for this week’s contest:
- Send your “Autumn Bike” photo (jpeg) and title to hhall@lightandmotion.com
- “Like” us on facebook and, if you like, post your photo on our fb page with the title or description.
- We will post the winner’s photo and name on our “Lightlife” blog next Friday!
Good luck!
Donna McMurtry is the winner of a new Urban 180! Congratulations!
Urban shines the wayCommuter is visible See and Be Seen! -Light & Motion Here are a few of our favorite “baikus” this week:
The road goes upwards
conversation stops, puff, pant
the silence of hills.
-Steve Airey
Less light in my day
A bike ride still makes me smile
Beats driving a car
-Jeffrey Kuchma
Dark cold and quiet
Speeding shadows crushing leaves
Well lit corners grin
-Daniel Limburg
Thanks to everyone who entered the contest with an original haiku! Monday we launch another contest so stay tuned!
This week we are running a Contest for an Urban 180 to bring a little love and light to your night ride!
All you have to do is submit a Haiku in the standard format of 5 -7 – 5 syllables on three lines, “like” us on facebook and send your entry to: hhall@lightandmotion.com. You can also post it directly to our facebook page but please send the email entry so we can add you to the drawing. The winner will be announced on Friday. Good luck!
Here are some of the gems received so far:
It gets late earlyBecause it gets dark late. Light
And love your commute.
-Daniela Diamente
Twilight’s curtain drops
Logs, boulders, rise to take me
Armed with light, I ride
-Sasha Visconty
Sun descends quickly
I find illumination
Ride your bike with me
-Kathryn Slater
It’s gettin’ dark…ugh
Earlier than weeks prior
must use some new lights
-Michael Green
“Hipster night out”
Mullet blowing in air.
speed so fast without a light!
come home on my bike?
-Bryan Kramer
As stars lead the way
We forget the weary day
For our wheels will play
-David Campbell
This last “baiku” says it all:
I need a new light
Not enough lumens to see
Hope I make it home
-Mike Wise
This Sunday we turn back the clocks and equip ourselves for the short days and long nights. I’ve been counting down the days because this is my favorite time to ride. When I roll out into the night, I am more attune to my surroundings, I hear my breath part the air, the leaves crunch under the tires, and I feel like I am in my private bubble with my light leading the way. Night riding feels a little secretive/illicit and sometimes I catch myself thinking I am the only one out there quietly screaming with joy to be on my bike.
To celebrate the season and help you prepare for the long nights we’ll be giving away an Urban 180 light the next 3 Fridays in November!
Here are the details for next week’s contest:
- Like us on facebook and send us an original Bike Haiku to: hhall@lightandmotion.com.
- Follow the Haiku form of 5 – 7 – 5 syllables per line and have fun!
- We will post some of the entries on facebook and post the winner’s Haiku (chosen at random) on our blog next Friday!
Get your creative wheels spinning and turn out a poem or two!
Stars rush overhead
Ghostly light sets pace tonight
Cool air, warm breath, ride.
Here is another entry from our contest asking: ”Why You Commute By Bike?”. Tomorrow we’ll announce the winner of the Urban 180 on facebook and this blog!
By Obie Miller
In 1994 I was run over by a car, a big car. The woman driving a lifted Chevy Blazer hit me head on while she turned across traffic. I was pinned under her passenger front tire when she panicked and ran away from the accident scene. A pedestrian nearby jumped behind the wheel and backed the Blazer off of me. I was lucky to survive with severe abrasions, facial wounds and a broken neck.
After that accident I spent 15 years off road. Literally, I would Mt Bike only. In 2009, I bought a road bike for training on the local labyrinth of bike trails. In 2010, I started riding back roads and by August I had planned a route for my first attempt at the 50 mile round trip commute needed to get me to work and back on my bike.
I’ve now done the trip over 20 times, and I consider it a trifecta of blessings:
- I get a solid training ride done on the work day
- I save money
- I am reminded what its like to feel alive
There is something about riding your bike to work and back that puts you at a higher level mentally and physically. Wind in the hair, lungs and heart pounding, you know the feeling. When you drive back and forth from the 9-5 day in and day out, it’s easy to feel like a sheep. I hate feeling like a sheep.
With bike commuting I can accomplish 3 goals at once and what’s not to love about that?
"Red Road Bike" by Elizabeth Graeber
Surfing through Denver on a tangerine morning, I hear that familiar windswept rhythm of the pedals keeping our beat yet again. It’s the easy going song she plays that reminds me of her reliability. I can hear thankfulness in the smooth glide of her chain as we settle into our joy hugging the contours of the road. Red is no ordinary bike. She’s been my victorious steed laboring through two cyclocross seasons and countless road races. We’ve done a lot of miles together. So when we take off to roll into work, it sort of feels like we’re crossing yet another starting line.
It’s a line that we intentionally cross, but that unintentionally changes our perspective each day. Sure, it’s just an imaginary a line without a real significance to this world, but for us, it signals our best efforts to join the ride with our desires (and yes, Red has desires). Come what may, this line is the beginning of our journey into the unknown. So we cross that line each day and in return it encourages us to believe that we can navigate the surprises that life throws our way.
Beyond the starting line, there’s always something to navigate, right? That’s where we found our tune. We explored a harmony that took us beyond race day suffering and united us in perseverance. This harmony is now our story that we laughably relive while taking in the scenery on our work day commute. It is our history as much as it is our future. The leaves are falling now and though we’ll soon be using another tread, our journey will continue. We’ll move on.
So I ride to work to feel and create the history that these wheels know so well. I’ve traversed miles in a process of discovering who I am. A process that continually begs me to answer, “why do I ride?” And you know what I’ve found? My answer is a project to make refinement a mode of being. Just like our bikes needs to be tuned to function properly, so can the human spirit. So ride your bike and you’ll see; it’s a lesson in perseverance that will set the pace for things to come.
Happy riding my friend,
-Brian Lehman
Please send your story of “Why You Commute by Bike” for the blog (no longer than 300 words) with byline, to hhall@lightandmotion.com by Wednesday 9/28/11. We will publish the winner’s name and story on our blog on Friday!
By Arleigh Jenkins
A year ago, I would say I bike to feel free everyday on my commute. These days I bike to find myself for a few moments. In order to remove myself from the constant thought that goes along in my head.
There are days that I ride my bike for the adventure. How far can I go today? Is the path I chose too long, will I make it home before dark, am I lost? All these questions are so different than the everyday questions we deal with, and it is a very refreshing feeling!
Tell us Why You Commute by Bike and win an Urban 180!
Please send your story (no longer than 300 words) with byline, to hhall@lightandmotion.com by Wednesday 9/28/11. We will publish the winner’s story on our blog on Friday!
~Arleigh Jenkins has 12 years of bicycling industry experience. She’s a Pro bike mechanic, fit guru, operations manager and lover of everyone that rides a bicycle. Read her blog at: www.bikeshopgirl.com
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