The end of daylight saving time Sunday will leave a lot of bicycle commuters pedaling home in the dark next week.

On Tuesday between 5 and 6 p.m., bike boosters plan to intercept about 100 of those shadowy cyclists and offer to outfit them with lights.

INTERCEPTION

"At each intercept location, we will have some hot cider and cookies for the bicyclist to munch while we attach the light," said Hilary Reeves, communications manager for Transit for Livable Communities / Bike Walk Twin Cities.

Cyclists who have been certified by the League of American Bicyclists to teach bike safety will install the lights.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?

Minnesota law requires bicycles to have a front white light and a rear reflector for riding after dark.

"The giveaway to 100 select bicycle riders is meant to draw attention to the fact that all bicycle riders need to be properly lit for riding in the dark," Reeves said.

WHERE IS THIS HAPPENING?

Beyond a general hint -- Minneapolis and St. Paul -- that information is classified. "We don't want to influence the regular monthly counts we do at these locations," Reeves said. "And we don't have THAT many lights."

WHO ARE THESE FOLKS?

Bike Walk Twin Cities is a program of Transit for Livable Communities. It conducts monthly counts of people walking and bicycling, is adding nearly 90 miles of new bike ways and sidewalks, and fostering programs such as Nice Ride Minnesota bike sharing.

WHO'S IT FOR?

The monthly counts show that on nice winter days, 81 percent of people who walk are still walking and 36 percent of bicyclists still ride.

WHO PAYS FOR THIS?

The Twin Cities is one of four communities to get $22 million as part of a federal pilot program to increase bicycling and walking as transportation.

STAFF REPORT