Solstice Sunride: Come On Down!

If at first you don't succeed...try something different...

I want to submit an entry to the 2010 Bicycle Film Festival (my 2008 entry wasn't selected...c'est la vie). I've wanted to "observe" the Winter Solstice for some time now. And, I'm fascinated with Norfolk's emerging bike culture. So I mashed up all three and present...

Solstice Sunride:
A Cycling Community Documentary & Happening

On Winter Solstice, next Monday, December 21st, I will be shooting a film at Norfolk's Plum Point Park, on the Elizabeth River Trail in West Ghent, overlooking the riverscape. I will be setting up at least one timelapse camera to record the sunrise, transit & sunset on the shortest day of the year. And, I will also be making portraits and recording interviews with Norfolk cyclists during daylight at Plum Point Park.

So ride out before work, after school, or during your lunch hour. Pose for a picture, sip a warm cup of freshly mulled cider, watch the sun slip across the sky, and answer the question,

"Why do you ride?"

If you'd like to reserve a time between 7:15am and 4:45pm, drop me a note: friendwes_at_mac.com.

Now here's the really fun part...at 5:20pm we'll get on our bikes & ride from Plum Point Park: I'll be leading a mystery ride on a spontaneous route to an undisclosed location. Riders will be invited to participate in traditional solstice celebrations, including a yule log & warm grog.

Solstice Ride? Hmm....

Even in the most artificial of concrete jungles, I still feel a connection to the natural world when I'm on my bike...so when I was listening to a recent episode of The Bike Show on Resonance FM podcast and heard about a ride from London to Stonehenge that arrived in time for the Summer Solstice sunrise...well, inspiration hit.

I dunno where I'd ride, but an endorphin buzz seems like as a good a way as any to celebrate the Solstice...or Equinox, for that matter.

Ride through the night on Summer Solstice, ride through the day on the Winter Solstice. Either way, it'd be a little less than 10 hours of riding- enough for an easy English Century. Seems like it would only be appropriate to ride a circuit...

Dunno where I'd ride, but if you're interested, let me know...