Fortunately the cyclists could enjoy a lovely late summer evening on 21 September. Although the sun had not yet set when the tour began, several electronic light ornaments could already be admired: the first ones are switched on at 19.00 hours every day. The decorations on the lamp posts do not start burning until the street lights are turned on.
Although some of the cyclists had already seen some light ornaments in the city center, many did not know that they formed part of a route. This ‘ignorance’ is partly due to a poor provision of information: the available descriptions of the route are in Dutch and the site that has been set up especially for the Lights route is wholly Dutch. In addition, many participants had been in Eindhoven just a couple of months and were therefore unaware of activities organized by the city.
The foreign participants had been approached to take part in the bicycle tour via the ISN mailing list. Some managed to kindle enthusiasm in friends and colleagues to join in and follow the tour along the Lights route. The invitations secured a turnout of nineteen cyclists of Dutch and foreign descent. However, the latter group formed the vast majority, fifteen of them coming from countries like China, Bulgaria and Germany.

Opportunity
Some participants who have lived and worked in Eindhoven longer already knew the route. José Villegas, a PhD student of Mathematics and Computer Science: “I like cycling and do it a lot. Last year I missed out on the Lights route, so this night was a great opportunity to see it yet.”
Rather than an opportunity to admire the light ornaments scattered along the whole route, the tour formed an occasion for many TU/e students and employees to get to know colleagues and fellow students better, or as Allwijn Bousthem, a PhD student of Mechanical Engineering, puts it: “A good opportunity to be among other people on a Friday night.”
One or two people indicated they wanted to study the history of Eindhoven better by means of the Lights route. Set up after the liberation of Eindhoven in World War II, the route has a direct link with the history of the city. It is not without reason that the tour starts on 18 September every year: on this day in 1944 Eindhoven was liberated from the Nazis. This is why some references to the British and the Americans, such as the Airborne emblem of the allied forces, have been incorporated into the route.
Still, nowhere along the route may anything be read about the background of the Lights route or of individual ornaments. Some ornaments raised question marks as a result. For instance, why is the greatest light installation of the Lights route in the H. de Keyzer pond devoted to the Smurfs? Through the grapevine the group heard later that a primary school located behind the pond had been the source of inspiration for the design. The children of the school thought the Smurfs were a fun design.
The position of an electronic Evoluon (see photo above) also raised some questions, because the ‘real’ Evoluon is not located in the district Woensel -where the ornament may be seen- but in Strijp.

Photos: Irene Wouters

Pedaling
Although the duration of the tour was longer than planned, the participants kept pedaling on until the very end. Efang Kong, a Eurandom employee: “Cycling in the Netherlands is easy. There are hardly any hills and facilities for cyclists in the city are good.” One item does qualify for improvement, though. Many Eindhoven traffic lights are green for just a few seconds, so that the group often did not succeed in crossing all at once. Together with the stops made at a number of ornaments and a small break this resulted in the long duration. In spite of ‘delays’ the tour was finished in time at 23.00 hours: exactly the time when the electronic light decorations are switched off every night.
Although the participants were pleased with the tour, many of them are not sure whether they will do it again next year. Ondrej SvacÝina, a student of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry: “I had a good time and got to know some new people, but the route itself was not that spectacular.”/.

The Lights route will be illuminated until Sunday 14 October. For English-language information about the route you may contact the Eindhoven Tourist Office.
A plan of the Lights route may be found on: www.lichtjesroute.org/lichtjesroute_2007.pdf.