LCSG life paint Trial ride 27th Nov 2015

Lets partayyyy 

Lor Harlus bridge - photo credit Terry 

The rain clouds around the evening threaten to wash out the event but we were very lucky. Pungol/lor harlus remained clear and cooling for us to do the life paint trial. 
 30 brave riders joined me at Lor Harlus at 8pm to try out the reflective paint.  It was made even more special with Terry joining us. He is a fellow designer at my work place Dell and would be going back to his home town Taiwan. Its good to finally show him a bit of our country. Hope you will come back again Terry!

Terry from Taiwan coming to experience the LCSG magic

After explaining the collaboration and what had worked for me and  not. I just let the folks get on with it. Just no spraying into the eyes... the rest of the places... all ok. 

Explaining why we are doing the collab

Its coming to Xmas, u can use this template done by Darren.... 

To make it more fun, I also created a few cardboard templates for the riders.  

Every one were really getting into it. Spraying at their clothes, shoes, gloves, even the bikes! It was quite a carnival like feeling and really nice way to spend a friday evening. 
After the spraying we went to a darker area to take a "before and after shot". Photos explain the effect better and here they are. 

Painted but no light source 

Flash light and every one is like a christmas tree decoration

Looks like a nuclear radioactive substance... 

Adrian our long long distance long boarder totally painted over

Every one is so helpful. Gracie looking cool under pressure

Now my turn haha 

Artist at work 

Main road and single formation with safety distance

Mook Sum lighted up. His shoes were black....  

Rolling and chatting on the quiet stretch 

Its nice to be riding!

Then it was a nice roll to Changi village, 40 mins away. As we rode, we could see the life paint "blinking" to the lights and its pretty visible.  We chatted as we rode, talking about every thing under the moon.  The cooling weather made it very pleasant and we gathered our bikes at the Changi village POSB atm.  

The folks went about for their night snack, some a full meal and some just a drink. 

Breaktime and dessert!

Lets tuck in!

relax and chat over drinks

So sweet!

Lots of chatter on bikes, life and more bikes. And then we retraced our route home. 
Summary of the Life paint trial
What worked
1) The cardboard templates was really good to have, so that the effect wasn't too messy visually. It could be a lot worse.. 

2) The visibility of Lifepaint really depend on the ambient lighting conditions. In Singapore, our streets are usually very well lit. So it would not be too obvious. Until its in a dark area, that would work well
3) The carnival like feeling and laughter from this trial is great for creating more awareness on night visibility and safety for driver/cyclist. 
4) Fabrics, gloves, rough surfaces are best for Lifepaint. I am quite surprised to see a black shoe become totally white when shined upon. This is something manufacturers could totally take up to improve their products night visibility. 

Whats didn't so well 
1) The paint overspray can make it look like a halloween party. Go easy to reduce the overspray. 
2) Life paint cannot work on painted and smooth surfaces. It would just slide off and not keep the reflective properties
3) waiting for more feedback and to add on the list. 

Lastly, thank you Volvo Singapore and 30 brave LCSG riders to test out the Life Paint. Question.... do u want to do this again? Leave your thoughts and ideas on the comment tabs. Thanks!   

Photo Credits. The photos are provided by LCSG angels, Clarence, Kevin, William and myself. 
More photos and videos below 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/taiwoon/albums/72157659428176783/with/23254203962/ 

Testing of the Life paint

This friday we will trial the life paint with 30 riders and I thought its better to do a "guinea pig" on myself or my stuff for that matter. I was assisted by my little girl Momo.  We tested a black fabric bag, Long board, shoes and helmet.
To make it more interesting, I did a heart shaped template(for obvious LCSG reason) to see how it would turn out. Just look at the instructions, shake the can for 1 min and spray it on. Thats it.
For light source, I used a small torch light to shine and the effect was not too good. But I am sure if a car headlight shines on it the surface, it would be really bright and reflective.

Take away after the test , Life paint works better on fabric, porous surfaces. It does not do well on smooth glossy surface like helmet or bike frames. Very easily the coating will come off. This are the photos of the test in action.  Want to try it out yourself, come on by here   Do bring a bag, tee to try it out. See u friday evening!

testing with Momo

in the night shadow with out the life paint 

Simple heart template 

Spray it!

Effect using a small torch light

Flash photography 

Trying it on my long board 

Adrian Oh, this is for u! 

Tried out the paint on helmet but it didn't work well. Flakes off too easily 

Engage to make SG a better, safer place to cycle

As cycling becomes more pervasive in Singapore, there will be invariably tensions arising from the common use of path and pavements.  This issues have been raised several times for many years and we see a slow progress. Its moving beyond a class room focus group setting to an experiential one. That is to role play the proposals. Its a good approach! 

Now I have been asked why I am so supportive and positive about all the focus group by LTA. Well, it because I see a change. I really do. Slowly (abit too slow for me) but surely.
There is a Active Mobility dept set up in LTA  with dedicated resource to make things better. This is a big big improvement compared to being cyclist's interest being sidelined in the view of other matters previously. Here's the dept contact which can be found on Gov.sg 

 Sometimes in my conversation with folks on this topic, I sense an air of skepticism. It's definitely taking a long time and understandably frustrating. And many doubts on how it's all not going to work.

I just have this to say.  

Let's be positive. The time for cyclists is to engage fully with the agencies. It might seem like it's taking forever but every step forward is another step closer to a better cycling condition.  

Please don't give up. I know its not easy and lets keep trying. If not for us, for our next generation. 

Please also note its not going to be solely consideration only  for cyclists  but for the  whole community at large. That means pedestrians, elderly and the children.  

We can chose to be  part of the solution and keep moving the needle. Or continue to simply whine about whats not good and be a couch potato critic. Your call. 

I have signed up for the 30th Nov slot, hope to see you there. And to those who are already signed up. Thank you for all the efforts, time to help make things happen.  

Lifepaint by Volvo comes to Singapore

This is one cool initiative by Volvo sometime back and I must say I was quite impressed by it (when I saw it in the internet). 
Essentially it is a reflective paint that can be sprayed on safely on clothing, skin, bicycle. It is transparent in the daylight and when in a dark setting, with a light source shined on, the surface will reflect back the light. Its one pretty nifty passive safety measure.  
Like many of us, I was impressed but there were no other information how or where to get it. And I kind of left it at that. 
This is a good video on how the life paint is supposed to work and why Volvo did this initiative as part of their CSR effort. 

A few months past and one fine day I received a very friendly tip off from Tony who wanted to connect me with Volvo. It was about life paint! I was gobsmacked and very touched by his gesture. 
It also validated the trust and the good work of Lovecyclingsg. 
We have been working as a community to improve the safety of cyclists by many means. 
From organising regular rides so that there are safety in numbers and the newer riders can learn from the experienced riders. We also did a collaborative mapping of road dangers and even documented the accidents in a bid to help bring awareness to the more dangerous spots for cyclist. 
In addition, LCSG have also regularly supported of Nparks team in numerous ride events. There are simply too many initiatives started by the community and it's simply awesome! Dear LCSG folks, I am really amazed and proud of you! 

So...I have a batch of life paint we will try this out the following week with LCSG  Event details here. 

Disclosure: Volvo Singapore provided the life paint FOC to Lovecyclingsg and there are no other form of compensation in exchange for the editorial coverage.