WABA has been waiting for the bike light sets to come in for a few months and the first bike light blitz was finally here!  WIth it getting dark before 6 pm, this is definitely the time of year when many cyclists are not visible due to lack of lights and reflective clothing.   The goal was to reach those cyclists who did not have any lights on their bike due to lack of knowledge or perhaps ability to afford.

 Timeline

6:00 PM:  Arrived at WABA HQ in Admo and grabbed a bag of bike lights.

6:10 PM:  Decked out bike with a few light sets to draw attention and had a pocket full of front, rear, and WABA info cards, I headed out of WABA headquarters.  After realizing that digging them out took time, I slung a few of the sets on my finger tips, set them blinking, and rode down the 15th street cycle track looking for these invisible riders, commonly referred to as “stealth riders.”    After a few false IDs, rear light, but no front light, I decided that the “head on” approach was not the best and decided to ride around the business district hitting the streets.  I did make note to those with just a rear light that a front light not only is good for visibility, but really is required under law in all 50 states when riding at night.  A rear light is optional as long as you have a reflector.

6:30 PM: The adrenaline rush was on as I started to chase down stealth riders.  Since most riders tended to only have a rear light if any, this approach was better to locate those riders totally in the dark about bike lights.  I felt like a messenger as I pushed hard to get the word out about bike lights and got out of the saddle on several occasions to quickly close the gap between the cyclist in need and myself, hoping for a red light to give me a few seconds to enlighten them.

6:45 PM:  For a day that started with a rainy commute, I was out of the 15 light sets I was issued in just 35 minutes!  I was surprised by how many cyclists did not have lights. Many of these also wore dark clothing which certainly did not help visibility.

Rider Comments

Just a few comments from the light recipients, and in some cases those who turned down the free sets.

“I am just going across the street” said the single speed bike rider wearing dark clothing on a black bike with no helmet.

“I have a head light”  - Just not on his bike apparently.

“You don’t need them any more” said an appreciative rider when approached.

“How much?” – No, I am not outside a sports arena giving away “free hats.”  There was no trick here, just a WABA BA Volunteer shedding some light on the stealth riders of the district in an attempt to prevent collisions.

“I’m a WABA Member.  Thank you so much for volunteering.”  – as I gave her friend a set of lights.

 Success!

I have to say for my first time blitzing I had a blast and will head to WABA to get a few sets to have on hand for those times when in my normal commute I come across cyclists in need.  In fact, since walking my dog this weekend and seeing about 50% of riders without lights, I have decided to put a few sets in my coat pockets for those time I’m on foot.

Since this was a light blitz and not a time to scold riders, I refrained from getting into a debate about helmet use or verbal communication when passing, but please do encourage your friends and family to wear a helmet.  Lights, helmets, and other safety equipment can definitely save your life.

Want to Blitz?

Become a volunteer Bike Ambassador and help educate cyclists and motorists about safe cycling. Be safe, and hope to see you out there on the roads and trails!

Info Here  Signup Here

Thank you WABA and d. for making free lights possible!

Colonies are for the bees and ants?

Actually not just insects live in a matriarchal colony.  Naked Mole Rats can live in a colony of up to 300 individuals that roll in their dung and urine to maintain a distinctive smell for identification.  A single colony can span a football field.

Fast Facts

The Queen….

• Queen suppresses estrus in other females so she has exclusive breeding rights and ability.
• The Queen can have up to 30 babies 3 times a year with a 70 day gestation period.
• Queen typically only lives to be 13-18.
• Any female has the ability to be the Queen.  Once selected as the Queen, the females body will elongate and she will morph into a Queen.

The Colony..

• Up to 300 individuals in a colony.
• There is one Queen and a few husbands with the remainder having distinct lifelong roles such as food gatherers, or baby sitters :)
• Never come above ground and eat roots of plants.
• Live at 80 degrees and CANNOT thermo-regulate (aka sweat)
• While naked, they have hair in mouth which classifies them as mammals.
• Poor eyesight
• Live into 30s, though a Queen only lives 13-18 years.
• Tunnel system for a colony can cover a football field

Research?!

I sure hope we are studying Naked Mole rats to someday find a cure for cancer.  The shedding of all body fat would not be something to strive for, but certainly a way to help maintain a healthy  body weight and fat percentage would be good.  Perhaps it is the lack of light or maybe limited oxygen, or the diet of roots…maybe a new diet fad?  LOL

Medical Miracles..

• Cannot get cancer.  Any cancer cells are destroyed
• Cannot retain fat at all

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Thanks for your support!!!!

Jason

On occasion I have run into people I have known from a previous job or from college while volunteering. At the zoo an administrator from Allegheny College recognized me and said hello. At the Air and Space Museum, a co-worker from my old job which is about 7 hours driving away recognized me and chatted a bit.

Saturday

This past weekend I was at the Zoo on Saturday interpreting at the Lion and Tiger habitat and engaged in a fairly lengthy conversation with a couple who were visiting DC. He was from Connecticut and she Rhode Island. We talked about Lions, Tigers and all things zoo for a while and then they headed off.

Sunday

On Sunday, I volunteer at the Air and Space Museum in the morning.  About the middle of the morning I noticed a couple.  Perhaps it was the coat he was wearing, but they looked familiar for some reason and I was not sure from where.  He is also not the only one with a buzz cut and a long  black Cashmere coat with a girlfriend to be sure.  So I decided to come out from behind the information desk to take them a map of the museum and take a closer look.  I don’t think they recognized me, but they looked very familiar and I asked them if they were at the Zoo yesterday.  They said yes and I replied…” You are from Connecticut and you from Rhode Island.”  They immediately remembered me and asked “Do you work at every museum?”  I had to laugh and said no, just at the two you visited. They were my favorite museums as a kid and seemed logical to volunteer at when I moved to DC.  I did not want to be too creapy, so I did not talk to much with them there, and wished them a pleasant visit to the museum.

All I could think of next…..what if they showed up at World Market that night!   At that point I would need to get a restraining order, or more likely see if they wanted to be friends on Facebook :)

Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and Alan Bean Signing Books 11-2.

The daily brief for volunteers indicated a book signing today.  Usually there is a current Airforce pilot, or a previous White House Chef, but no, there were 3 Apollo astronauts signing their own book today!

Slightly reminiscent of “Jerry Maguire” where the Baseball star would only sign “Upper Deck” cards of himself per contract.  These guys were only signing their book, and in some cases where more than one book had been written, a specific book!  To make things more fun, all three were to be lined up at a table which of course means, you have to buy all 3 books in order to not make one feel bad.  LOL.   Not really, but that is the reason I shelled out $40 for Alan Bean’s book :)  which by the way is full of his amazing artwork!

Book Buying and Signing

Okay…so you need to have the 3 books.  You were discouraged from bringing in them from outside vendors as “they had the right to limit the number of outside books that were signed.”

Line 1 (Purchasing – 2 hour wait)

This is the line to get books.  The line grew past the center of the museum before 10:10 AM and extended to the other end before too long.  Not sure when they opened up the sales, but the line seemed to move at a snails pace.

Line 2 (Signing – 2 hour wait)

Okay…so you have your books.  If you at the head of the line you likely did not have to wait in the signing line too long, but by the time I was ready to get my books signed, at the end of my shift, the lines were almost even :(

There was no personalization going on, so I had no idea why signing books would take so long.  You would think in the time it took to pay for your books, someone could have had all 3 signed.  Alas, that was not the case.

If you buy a book now, you will NOT be able to get it signed.

This announcement was made at 1 PM, an hour before the end of the official signing.  As you might expect, the sales line dwindled.  I originally was past the end of the line which meant I was not going to get my signatures.  I was really upset at myself for not getting my books signed earlier, but I wanted to volunteer as much as I could not expecting the line to get so long and get advance warning of line closure.  Thankfully there were some visitors behind me that were thowing a fit.  Many of them had just bought their books and were told that “Yes, you will get your books signed.”  So, when the coordinator came down and recognized those folk behind me, Barbie moved the back of the line which thrilled myself at those behind me.

Finally, Signatures!

Just before 3 PM I was able to get my books signed.  I was in my volunteer garb and mentioned to “Buzz” that he was the reason I was here volunteering.  I have a love of space and he was one of the first explorers.  I was hoping to get some kind of response from him, but instead got nothing :(  Quite disappointing.  His designated spokesperson seemed to hear my comments though and thanked me.

Perhaps the unwillingness to talk was because it was close to an hour after the signing was supposed to end, or just that he has done so many of these that he no longer has the “spark” to talk.  He also is getting a little old, so perhaps he had already had his share of conversation before I arrived.  In any event, I now have 3 more signed books for my collection.

Marlboro coat?

When I was a kid and tobacco companies were not censored in advertising, it was not uncommon to see a heavy smoker with cigaret gear.  My Scoutmaster had a coat, portable grill, and countless other products he received free from cigaret purchases.  Looking back, it is very sad that he was addicted…..

The Point….

Today while volunteering at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, I noticed a family with kids.  The mother was carrying an empty bag which was quickly filled with coats and passed to the father to carry.  It was a bright green bag with the product logo from “Cialis!”  What?  Do they have a program where you buy a years supply and get a free bag?  Is one of them a doctor and receive the bag as a bribe?  WOW!  I could not believe it!  Perhaps they did not know what the product was?  With all the commercials on television, one would think not.

Today was a big day at the Air and Space Museum for the season.  649 persons.

To date….

51237 National Air and Space Museum

15402 National Zoo

27 Tours at the National Zoo

488.5 Total Hours

and the total is ….. 66639

Current Estimate 22 total years….. 18 months down and 20.5 years to go!

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1,000,000

For the billionaires out there, 1 million does not seem like and much.  With me talking for more than 900 people each weekend, I would not think it would take so long, but the calculator does not lie, I checked a while back and changed my estimate to 30 years and now, it looks like 21 years….still a long time, but definitely a long term goal and a fulfilling one :)

To recap…..

• 462 Hours
• 26 Zoo Tours
• 14851 Interpreting at the Zoo
• 47482 Visitor Services at the most visited museum in the world.. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
• 124 days