Philosophy
Hi, I'm Paul Freedman, a.k.a. Fossil Fool, and I like to ride my bike. Back in 2003 I invented the Down Low Glow (DLG) because I wanted to take my personal party bike, the Soul Cycle, to the next level. When I installed the first aluminum-housed prototypes of the DLG on the Soul Cycle, I wasn't doing it to enhance my safety; I was doing it because I loved the feeling of floating on neon light, and I loved the things people would shout to me when I roll by. Like: "That's what I'm talkin' about!"
Then a funny thing happened. I started to feel a lot safer when I was out partying with the Soul Cycle. I put the Down Low Glow on my regular commuting bike, and felt safer on that one too.
Before I had the Down Low Glow on my bike, I would rely on one of those standard rear blinky lights that sell in bike shops for about $15. But even though I had two or three of those blinkies, I was always forgetting them some place. Or I would leave them on by accident and let the batteries wear down. Then I'd get back on my bike and say to myself as I turned them on, "Oh Well, it's better than nothing." And when I forgot my blinky altogether, I'd tell myself, "this is cool -- I'm in stealth mode now."
But then out on the road, I'd feel my body stiffen when I heard a car's engine coming from behind. If you've ever felt this way, trust me, it's cooler to feel truly safe. When you feel safe on your bike, you can let your mind focus on the joys of the night ride: talking to your friends, enjoying the breeze and the stars, and feeling the lactic acid build in your legs as sprint to catch a yellow light, knowing that cars in the opposing direction will wait until you cross the intersection.
The night ride is quality time. Don't waste it wondering whether cars will see you. When it comes to the your safety at night, don't pick something that's "better than nothing."
Now, when I roll with the Down Low Glow, I know people see me from all directions, because they lean out of their vans and taxicabs to tell me so. "You're all lit up!" And my customers tell me they feel the same way. Steven Dreyfus, a saxophonist from San Francisco, writes: "Now, if a car hits me, you can just call the detective straight away, because you know that it's a homicide." (Steven also rides with a high intensity Niterider headlight and three rearward blinkies.)
When you have the DLG on your bike, it says two very important things to drivers, loud and clear:
- I value my life.
- I'm riding this bike because I want to.
Perhaps you've noticed a few of the articles popping up lately about Global Warming. Well it turns out that our American driving habits are to blame for a big part of the problem. Unfortunately, too many of us drive to work, and too many of us choose the car for short trips, even though walking or biking feels better and takes about the same amount of time. Now, the environmental movement has been telling us to drive less for years, and what do we do? Drive more. Clearly, laying a big guilt trip on drivers isn't the way to change their transportation choices. Who wants to be the first to change their behavior when they perceive it to be a sacrifice?
If only people knew how fun and social bicycling is, how safe it can be, how easy it is to meet people when you're not thundering by in a 3000 pound metal and glass enclosure. How, when you ride a bike to work and back, you always seem to get enough exercise. How bicycling helps you relax so you don't bring the stress of your day home to the people you care about each night. If more people knew these things, they'd make the decision to ride a bike for personal reasons, not because some environmentalist told them to.
When you roll with the Down Low Glow at night, you're communicating something very important about bicycling. You're helping to spark a change in our culture, a change that will make our country's communities stronger, a change that will slow the disturbing advance of Global Warming, a change that will also be a whole lot of fun. You can't shout through the window of a passing SUV, but you can ride with a light that delivers the message for you.
Photo: Music Man Mike
