Fava beans + photo + candy = bike safety?

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MIT PN2K was at the MIT Wellness Fair on Friday, November 7, helping to promote stress reduction and a healthy style of living via cycling. Attendees were instructed to pick up a few fava beans and drop them into the cup(s) that held true for them. At first, we only had the "I need a bike helmet" and "I need bike lights" cup -- then people started saying that they didn't have bikes - Blasphemy! So we created another cup for those who need bikes! We learned a few things:

1) Of those who visited our table, 53 were cyclists, 27 needed bikes. 
2) Of those cyclists, many still need helmets.
3) Of those cyclists, many more still needed bike lights.

We are holding an event soon to kick off our bike lights fundraiser. Students, keep your eyes peeled for subsidized lights from PN2K! 


Link to PN2K @ MIT Wellness photo album

MIT PN2K presents: Spooks & Spokes!

The most awesome aspect of our bike events? The people. PN2K strives to work with partners that truly care about bike safety and getting you in and out without spending more than needed. As a result, our events are free (admission ticket: $0 for you and your friends), including the food, music, education, and entertainment. Instead of helmets for $40-60 bucks, we have "Kyaw helmets" that go for $20. 

This October 30, MIT PN2K hosted Spooks & Spokes in which Armando and Rob from Bike Boom came out to help with free minor bike tune-ups and repairs again. If you don't know of this bike shop in Davis Square (off the Red Line), you should definitely check them out.

 

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Furthermore, we had Robynn and David from the MIT Parking & Transportation Office helping students to register their bikes with MIT (free -- just in case their bikes are stolen or random bike racks are removed, these owners can be contacted). Surprise volunteers popped up and helped with overall event execution plus fixing of bikes and making the flat tire repair stations possible! WMBR kept the energy high with the eclectic range of music and high energy in their participants. And Star Market, we thank you guys for making so many Halloween sweet treats available. 

 

The next day, Oct 31, a smaller group of MIT PN2K cyclists gathered to join 700+ other cyclists in the 2014 Boston Halloween Bike Ride, as part of a monthly bike ride organized by Boston Bike Party. Immense crowds, cycling in solidarity, wearing eclectic costumes, blasting loud music. What could be better? It was amazing to see the ginormous numbers of cyclists (they definitely surprised critical mass) who all banned together to ring their bells, shout out in support of cyclists' rights, and defend each other in the face of motorists who honk in annoyance rather than the friendly ones encountered along the way who honk repeatedly in support! Here, here! These Friday evening bike rides might just become a thing. Let us know if you want to help lead one! 

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See you guys again when it's chillier!

Never hesitate to contact us if you have questions or ideas.
Please consider a donation of $20 towards PN2K to help support our bike safety initiatives.
Let us know if you want to be part of our growing team...

... or just say hi! 🙂 

 

Got helmet?

 

October 24-25, 2014: Family Day Weekend, PN2K helmets fundraiser

In memory of Kyaw and to support bike safety, “PN2K Kyaw helmets” were available at MIT from 11-5 PM. Over the course of two days, about 52 helmets were distributed, raising $1040. 

What interested me the most was how I had a front seat towards witnessing some of the greatest outpouring of care from the community - from parents buying helmets for their kids, to students buying helmets for their friends. Strangers were helping others make sure the helmets fitted correctly. Kids became intrigued (better to teach bike safety when they're young and easily impressionable!). Even Tim the Beaver gave us the thumbs up on bike safety! 

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[Left] Will, MIT student, picking up a helmet with his family, and an extra one for his friend Carlos [Middle] MIT community (strangers) helping each other to make sure the helmet is fitted appropriately and adjusts easily [Right] me and TIM! Thanks TIM for your unwavering support! 

Thanks everyone for keeping not only yourself safe but thinking of those you care about around you and helping them to protect their noggin. 'Til next time! 

Link to Family Day Weekend PN2K helmets fundraiser photo album

 

 

MIT Bike Fest 2014 (the launch)

 

During the summer of 2014, PN2K partnered with MIT Graduate Student Council Sustainability subcommittee to organize MIT Bike Fest 2014. For the first time in MIT history, we had a bike treasure hunt (guided bike tour targeting cyclists who are first-time riders in Boston). The bike event consisted of free bike repairs/tune-ups (courtesy of Bike Boom), bike safety info, music/food, and learn to change a flat tire repair station. 

It was the first time we ordered helmets and dispersed them widely to the MIT community (and at Cambridge/Boston at large) for a subsidized $5 price (priority for those on our bike ride as helmets were mandatory). It was the first time we designed our own neon-green bike t-shirts, worn proudly by our three-member organizing team (GSC Sustainability co-presidents Becky and Cherry, plus myself), ~29-30+ volunteers, and ~40 bike riders. It was the first time PN2K co-hosted a large-scale event at MIT and managed so many logistics and people all at once -- all to great fanfare on Sep 7, 2014. 


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The City of Cambridge even brought out parade floats to celebrate bike safety and become beautiful backdrops for our cyclists taking group photos of themselves during our "Bike Treasure Hunt" guided bike tour! 🙂 (see photo below) 

Ok, we're just kidding, although a parade celebrating bike safety wouldn't be a bad idea. Our event actually coincided with the 22nd Cambridge Annual Festival, which boasted huge 18-wheelers coming down Main and Vassar Street (part of where our bike tour ran). To this end, we want to thank the Cambridge Police Department and the transportation and event planning departments of Cambridge City Council for working with us to support and approve our bike route tour and ensure its safety for cyclists participating in our guided bike tour. Thanks also to the MIT Student Activities Office and MIT Police Department for your time in meeting with us! 

Anyway, we had our firsts, and it was a blast.

Please join us again next year for MIT Bike Fest 2015! Till then, stay tuned and stay in touch with PN2K.

 

A huge thank you to our amazing community partners in 2014 for helping us to make this possible!! 

Full albums can be found here: 

MIT Bike Fest photo album #1

MIT Bike Fest photo album #2

MIT Bike Treasure Hunt photo album

MIT Bike Fest 2014 in the news: http://thetech.com/news/89556/graphics-bikefest-v134-n36

 

Congratulations to all our MIT Bike Fest raffle prize winners!!

WINNER OF BIKE FEST TREASURE HUNT TOUR RAFFLE
$100 Zipcar Gift Certificate: Halide Bey

WINNERS OF BIKE FEST GENERAL RAFFLE
$25 gift certificate to Landry’s Bicycles: Wesley Cox
$25 gift certificates to Broadway Bicycle School: Erica Santana
$25 gift certificates to Broadway Bicycle School: Jennifer Apell
$25 gift certificates to Broadway Bicycle School: Jun Yong Khoo
$25 gift certificates to Broadway Bicycle School: Harun Sugito
Bike lock from Bike Boom ($42 value): German Parada
Starbucks gift basket ($45 value): Nevin Daniel
Hubway Annual Membership ($85 value): Nadia Elkordy
Urban Adventours gift certificate (valued up to $100): Jennie Zheng
$100 Zipcar Gift Certificate: Victoria Dean

Please check your email for details on raffle prize pick-up. Thanks to all who participated in the raffle - we're thrilled everyone had a great time at #MITBikeFest. And of course, thank you donors for making these prizes possible: Zipcar, Landry's Bicycles, Broadway Bicycle School, Bike Boom, Starbucks, Hubway, Urban Adventours

Photos of our prize winners here.

 

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.

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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!

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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!

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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

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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. 

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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!

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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! 

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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. 

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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

Erg-A-Thon!

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As I came out of the MIT Z-Center this afternoon, I caught sight of a huge tent with a multitude of ergs all lying parallel along the length of Kresge lawn. Of course, this would be the much anticipated MIT Erg-A-Thon from our partners, MIT Amphibious Achievement

This Erg-A-Thon runs from 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM and is AA's annual fundraiser, except that this year, we managed to work with co-founder Noam Angrist in 2013 as well as current co-president Alice Huang to make something additionally special happen: Noam mentioned they had toyed with the idea of creating a scholarship to be awarded to one of their high school mentees (called "Achievers") on an annual basis. The idea of attributing a scholarship in memory of Phyo (who was a mentor for Amphibious Achievement) was perfect - The scholarship would embody Phyo's spirit of teaching, growth, and scholarship for youth. 

So, this year, when you contribute to the MIT Erg-A-Thon, 10% of up to $5000 raised will go towards a PN2K $500 Achievement Award. This $500 fund will be granted to a graduating Achiever to support her/his aspirations through higher education. 

 

 

STEAM #1: Danger(ously)!Awesome

PN2K and MIT Amphibious Achievement jointly held the first Amphibious Achievement company tour on April 5th, 2014. Achievers had the chance to visit the dangerously awesome Danger!Awesome, where they learned about lasers and how art and engineering can come together to make very cool things, like wooden star-shaped keychains engraved with our names! Throw in some potential new summer internship opportunities, food and games in the sun, and what more could a person ask for on a Saturday afternoon? Thank you Danger!Awesome for hosting us. Thank you MIT Amphibious Achievement for your hard-working Achievers — what a great group of students! PN2K looks forward to working with all of you more. We hope you were inspired to learn and explore.

See our full photo album for Danger!Awesome STEAM Field Trip #1

What is this PN2K initiative?

From Spring 2014-2015, PN2K started “STEAM” (science, tech, engineering, arts, maths), experiential-based learning field trips for high school students, organized in collaboration with an MIT student group called Amphibious Achievement. Learn more.

 

Fundraiser: Marie Mercado

PN2K Benefit Recital – March 29, 2014: One spring evening, 5 talented artists living in Japan came together to create a night of music and friendship in honor of PN2K. A BIG THANK YOU to performers KINAMI TSUBASA, KARI MEDALLA, MARIE MERCADO, ROBERT TAIRA WILSON, and JON BENSON for sharing your talents with the community and raising over $300 from your PN2K Benefit Recital! Thank you also to Mr. Paul Apice, owner of Z Rooms, for the event space, and director/editor/cinematographer Kaori Kamoto, as well as to our concert guests! Concert proceeds will go towards PN2K's educational and philanthropic initiatives. See highlights of the evening in the video below.