Got bike lights?

FREE bike lights – tonight, 8 PM on the corner of Mass Ave & Vassar Street. Christina Clarke Genco Foundation totally made it happen and they were kind enough to invite us along.

10258145_747999498584923_1973564955134626487_o

The point was to increase road safety on Massachusetts Avenue by installing free bike lights for cyclists riding past with a missing front light, back light, or both. We waved them down, yelled “free bike lights!”, chased them down until they were visible (ok, maybe not the latter), but the idea was to get everyone more visible and, thus, safer.

What I learned? There are probably some fascinating psychological social experiments that could be conducted here, probably around the idea of studying the differences between diverse cultural and social perceptions cyclists have without lights. While the vast majority of cyclists were thrilled to have lights (“Free bike lights? Heck yeah!”), even wondering if this were too good to be true (“Really, free bike lights? What’s the catch?”), there was an occasional odd occurrence of a cyclist momentarily hesitating before shaking his* head and leaving the scene without any added visibility (*most, if not all, of these incidences occurred with males, but then again, the sample size probably was not large enough to draw any significant conclusions about male vs. female nighttime negligence).

So, this brings up the question: When cyclists knowingly cycle without lights, what would their mode of thinking and rationale be, given that they are not price-sensitive (i.e., “free” is not a strong enough enticement)? Maybe they think:

– “Oh, these will just get stolen anyway”
– “Free? No such thing.” *pedals away in denial*

At any rate, more of these bike light giveaways can only be beneficial right now. Here’s to saturing this city in blinking red and white!

10369082_748000671918139_7707672393442929878_o

 

Link to bike lights giveaway with CCG & PN2K photo album

Pizza for PN2K

For the first time ever, PN2K is partnering up with Kendall Bertucci’s for a Dine for Dollars Night, this coming Wed, May 21st. Bring the coupon below with you to Bertucci’s in Kendall. If you order take out/delivery and tell them about PN2K, 15% of what you pay for will go towards buying bike lights, helmets, and other bike safety equipment for the MIT community. Treat yourself to a good meal and support a good cause while you’re at it!

bertucciswed
And of course, a BIG thank you to Bertucci’s for making this event possible!

Cat is out of the bag

Finally, PN2K makes its first public appearance! 

On Wednesday, May 14, we worked with Robynn from the MIT Parking and Transportation Office and received their blessing to move forward with setting up a table for PN2K during their Bike Awareness Day event. So from 11 AM - 2:30 PM on MIT's Student Center Plaza, Juan from Sigma Nu (Phyo's former fraternity) and I were out there handing out fliers, bags of chips (courtesy of Star Market) and getting the word out about PN2K and our intentions for setting up an MIT chapter (MIT PN2K) as we hope to establish a presence at MIT focused around bike safety. 

During this event, many cyclists brought over their bikes for registration, receiving minor bike repairs, winning bike-related giveaways, and enjoying refreshments (popcorn!), and T-shirts, courtesy of MIT Parking & Transportation's Commuter Connections. In the end, MIT logged 7,037 miles, pushing it into first place as the winning school for the Masscommute Bicycle Challenge 2014. Very well-organized, and it is exciting to find that the interest (and community support) are definitely there! 

Bike Awareness Day full photo album

906279_747318728653000_7506639545853909096_o

1961852_747319031986303_6043479430917998691_o

PN2K Achievement Award 2014

PN2K ANNOUNCEMENT: A big CONGRATULATIONS to LUCIE SANON, recipient of the 2014 PN2K Achievement Award, and first girl in her family to attend college! This award includes a $500 check written out to Lucie that will go towards her college expenses.

The Award, set up in memory of Phyo, is presented to an Achiever to continue encouraging him/her to pursue college and cover educational-related expenses. Candidates are assessed along the following criteria: dedication, potential, vigor of character as demonstrated through scholarship and athletics, commitment. 

10321202_737685752949631_1394849978492815091_o

Lucie Sanon (left), PN2K Achievement Award recipient with Ye Yao (right), PN2K Foundation Co-Director

 

Lucie: We welcome you into our PN2K community with wide, open arms. We are proud of your achievements, but most of all, we are very proud of YOU for your dedication, commitment, potential to overcome life’s obstacles, and vigor of character as demonstrated through your improvement in academics and rowing.

Rock on, Lucie!

******************
If you are an Achiever of Amphibious Achievement, you might be eligible for the annual PN2K Achievement Award. Check out our website for more info (www.pn2k.org) and make sure you don’t miss our Spring application deadlines.

Where did the $500 come from?

From the erg-a-thon fundraiser organized by Amphibious Achievement on Thursday, April 17, 2014, $500 of the total raised was allocated towards The Phyo Nyi Nyi Kyaw Achievement Award, a joint scholarship award made possible in 2013-4 through the collaborative efforts of MIT Amphibz and PN2K.

 

[Video] Bike Safety Movement

In preparation for the Masscommute Bicycle Challenge (May 10 – 18)

A tremendous thanks to Will Beale in Malaysia, Diana Birdsall from the US, and Shorts And Sweet Productions for working with us on such a tight deadline and producing this amazing video!

Stop by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Stratton Student Center Plaza on Wednesday, May 14 from 11 AM – 2:30 PM and celebrate Bike Awareness Week with PN2K and MIT Parking and Transportation Office. You will have the chance to register your bike, receive minor bike repairs, win bike-related giveaways, and enjoy refreshments, courtesy of MIT Parking & Transportation Office. See you there!

STEAM #2: It’s Rocket Science.

These past few weeks leading up to Friday, May 2, PN2K worked with Dipul Patel, CEO of EcoVent to conduct some master-mind brainstorming. That afternoon, things fell into place (literally) as we all ended up having a blast launching rockets outside Killian Court on a sunny Friday evening.

I met with our partners, MIT Amphibious Achievement, who had rounded up their group of curious and excited "Achievers" (high school mentees) and mentors. In total, there was about 12 of us meeting with Dip at the MIT Entrepreneurship Center. If there is any association you should have in your mind with PN2K, it's that we are all about "hands-on" learning and tangible take-aways. It should be natural then that Dip had an amazing surprise waiting for Achievers - each person would be building (and taking back home) their own rocket-ships! 

906540_733853326666207_7987454227636484156_o

So after some brief introductions, we all headed to MIT Killian Court (under the famous MIT dome where, yes, there was once a firetruck hack) and refueled with chipotle, chips, and soda! Then we prepared for take-off and LAUNCHED. 

10255177_733853609999512_6343026578936239600_o

Yes, we did have way too much fun, and yes - we totally went over our planned time. We attracted spectators, experimented with ideas, and finally wound down with coffee while debriefing (led by Dip) back at the E-Center. 

Well, I certainly learned a lot! First, I learned that kids are naturally curious and very action-oriented. Engaging projects will ignite that spark that leads to enthusiastic learning and creative experimentation. 

Achievers, you were awesome today. A HUGE thanks to Dip and EcoVent for such a brilliant time. Thank you to ALL of our wonderful sponsoring partners for helping to make this event possible, and most importantly, HUGE thanks to Amphibious Achievers for coming and making this experience GREAT for everyone.

Link to PN2K EcoVent Rocket-Launching photo album

Thanks to PN2K's community partners: EcoVent, Chipotle, Shaw's, Starbucks, Cambridge Bicycles