Woodinville Leafers

[bradleygibson]

Ok, looks like we've got a couple of takers--it will be nice to meet a couple of fellow owners from the area.

Feel free to give me a ring on my cell if any question arise-- two oh six two eight oh nine eight five five.

For others, if your plans change, you're welcome, of course, to show up.

Best regards,
-Brad

 

[badcommand]

Hello!!
My husband and I registered for our Leaf yesterday and are expecting to take delivery in about 3 months. We live in Kenmore and though we don't have a Leaf just yet we would love to get involved with any meet ups that might be happening, I'm hoping you'll accept our Smart car till the Leaf show up.

 

[KeithFrechette]

How 'bout Duvall LEAFers (or, soon-to-be LEAFers)? My delivery date is still showing "month of September 2011". My charger (Blink) is being installed on Monday...so I'm really, *really* starting to go stir crazy now!

 

[bradleygibson]

Hi, badcommand and Keith,

Of course, Kenmore and Duvall Leafers (or soon-to-be) are more than welcome! The next meeting will be Saturday, Sep. 17th from 1-3pm, location TBD in early Sep.

The first gathering was a wonderful meeting of some terrific people--we had 5 Leafs and were definitely attracting some attention. Here's a writeup of the meeting--I hope you can make it on the 17th!

All the best,
Brad
--
Woodinville Leaf Owners Gathering #1

Today we had our first gathering of Woodinville Leaf Owners--I know, I know--Woodinville?? I was shocked too, to find out that we're like Leaf Mecca, when you consider Leafs per capita.

So we got together at the Woodinville Starbucks #1 (which, incidentally is *not* the downtown Woodinville Starbucks--true to Shrek fashion, it's a whole couple of blocks away.)

I was really surprised with the turnout! George Whiteside along with his family came out, along with Evan, Sherri, and their adorable and intelligent daughters, Wendy Wartes and Tyler joined us as well.

We talked about everything from the viability of solar (thank you, Wendy for sharing your real-world experiences!) to what the Leaf seats were made of (recycled water bottles--thank you, Rachel!)

It was really great to get such a diverse crowd with so many common interests. There were often two or three conversations going on at the same time--it was hard to catch everything!

I really enjoyed the WR1 course--(5.4mi/kWh), and we managed to get the attention of a Tesla along our run. It was great to put the EV's out there on the road--we were definitely attracting attention by bringing our cars out together. Tyler couldn't join us on the WR1 run, but as we left the parking lot, a curious bystander engaged him and was asking all about the car. This is a great way for us to get the word out!

This went much better than I had expected--I'll organize another event for Sat. Sep. 17th, 1-3pm (a bit over a month away--I'll be in Japan for a bit in late Aug./early Sep.). Of course all Leaf owners (and other EV owners) are welcome. Details to follow.

It was wonderful meeting everyone today! Here is a shot of some of us at the Redmond Farmer's Market following our WR1 course.

 

[bradleygibson]

Hi, everyone,

I'm back from my summer travels and would love to organize Woodinville's Leaf Gathering #2. As mentioned previously, the date will be Saturday, Sep. 17th from 1pm.

At our last gathering, there was a ton of knowledge exchanged around EV's, PV's and other renewable energy sources, and, of course, the Leaf in particular. I look forward to another informative discussion!

Also, it was suggested that for this meeting, while the weather is still nice, we gather in a public spot to meet folks curious about Leafs and EV's to help spread the word. I thought this sounded like a great idea.

I'm open to suggestions on where to have our public gathering--any thoughts? Please send your thoughts in the next day or two.

All the best,
-Brad

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I am tempted but it a bit too far out for me coming from Olympia. But I have to check ever map first and have charging options there to do it

 

[bradleygibson]

Hi, Dave,

According to Google maps, "Olympia, WA" is 80 miles from my house--right around the car's range limit. If you want to make the trip, my charger is your charger--ditto if you need a place to stay Friday night, to give your car a chance to fill up, overnight.

PM me, and we can work out any details.

All the best,
-Brad

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

I am tempted but it a bit too far out for me coming from Olympia. But I have to check ever map first and have charging options there to do it

I've done the Olympia round trip from Shoreline to the Oly Nissan dealer with 10+ miles left, it was 73 miles. Your are welcome to stop by and charge up at my house just a few blocks off of I-5. I'm at the 175th st Exit. do the miles based on Cambell Nelson Nissan, i'm about 2 miles closer to you than them. It was a fun gathering last time, might be worth the drive for you.

 

[Amary]

I'm open to suggestions on where to have our public gathering--any thoughts? Please send your thoughts in the next day or two.

The Woodinville Farmers Market runs from 9-3 at the Carol Edwards Center. http://www.woodinvillefarmersmarket.com/index.php. I don't know if there is a place visible from the market where we could arrange to all park, but if so, it'd be a great way to pick up some foot traffic.

Wilmot Gateway Park or City Hall are other options, but may have similar parking issues.

The folks at 21 Acres http://www.21acresgreenbuilding.org/ might be happy to host us, but I don't think a lot of people would stop by unless the event were publicized in advance.

Perhaps one of the local wineries would allow us to meet in their lots. There tends to be a lot of people out touring/sampling on the weekends.

There is (gravel) public parking right off the Sammamish trail, near Willows Lodge. Visibility from the trail is pretty good, so you might get some traffic that way.

Willows Lodge itself has some Tesla charging stations, so might be friendly to other EV's.

I've seen LEAFs parked at Red Hook in the past.

The concert series at Set Michelle is now over, so they might be open to us, too…

- Amar

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

ThankS tO all the charge offers.really do appreciate but looks like overnight is not am option as may have work conflict Saturday. I think I can get it taken case of in just a few hours though so should not really impact my day. So still a possibility

 

[bradleygibson]

Great suggestions, Amar, thank you!

The market is just a couple of blocks from there; I think the market would be ideal, because people give themselves time to browse when going to the market.

How about we all meet at Wilmot Gate Park for starters? From there, we can find a good spot near the market to park the cars, chat and interact with other folks. If the weather is bad, there are a couple of Starbuck's just down the road.

I'll be driving a blue Leaf, license plate WATT UP.

If you can make it, let me know here in this thread, or ideally, on the Facebook event I created, so we know who to look for. Hope to see you there!

Non-Woodinville residents, other EV's and/or interested people are of course, welcome to join us!


Sat. Sep. 17, 1pm
Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?daddr=47.752901,-122.165705&hl=en&sll=47.752583,-122.165815&sspn=0.002494,0.002484&vpsrc=0&gl=us&mra=mift&mrsp=1&sz=19&t=h&z=19" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All the best,
-Brad

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

Just giving this event a bump to catch any last minute folks! Should be lots of fun!

 

[KeithFrechette]

I'll be driving a blue Leaf, license plate WATT UP.

I think you met my daughter last night, perhaps while she was working at the moving theater. She said she talked to someone in a LEAF and told him that her Dad (i.e. me) was about to get his from the dealer. When she mentioned your license plate, I once again realized what a small world this is.

Although my original plan was to attend the Woodinville gathering today, I decided to spend some quality time alone with my LEAF today since I just got it last night. Hopefully I'll make it to the next one.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I'll be driving a blue Leaf, license plate WATT UP.

I think you met my daughter last night, perhaps while she was working at the moving theater. She said she talked to someone in a LEAF and told him that her Dad (i.e. me) was about to get his from the dealer. When she mentioned your license plate, I once again realized what a small world this is.

Although my original plan was to attend the Woodinville gathering today, I decided to spend some quality time alone with my LEAF today since I just got it last night. Hopefully I'll make it to the next one.

Congrats your delivery!

work went longer than expected (well, not really. did not get done what i needed to do during the week...) so will not be going. plus the weather is depressing. is Summer over already??

but i guess i cant complain, we did get a pretty nice extension there. wondering my was September much more summer-like than July?...

 

[bradleygibson]

I'll be driving a blue Leaf, license plate WATT UP.

I think you met my daughter last night, perhaps while she was working at the moving theater. She said she talked to someone in a LEAF and told him that her Dad (i.e. me) was about to get his from the dealer. When she mentioned your license plate, I once again realized what a small world this is.

Although my original plan was to attend the Woodinville gathering today, I decided to spend some quality time alone with my LEAF today since I just got it last night. Hopefully I'll make it to the next one.

Wow, that's amazing!! Yes, I realized afterward that I'd forgotten to mention to her that we were having a gathering today--she told me that you were picking up your Leaf, and that she was really excited to get it!

There was another man there at the same time who was asking me about mine. He was seriously considering buying one. After hearing my very positive comments and your daughter's enthusiasm, it seemed like he had decided to join our ranks!

Well, sorry we missed you at the gathering, but we *totally* understand! Congratulations on the new addition to your family!
-Brad

 

[bradleygibson]

Woodinville Leaf/EV Meeting #2 - Meeting notes
----------------------------------------

This month, the ranks really swelled; we had twelve Leafs at Wilmot Gateway parking lot (!) plus a Tesla. There were so many, we started parking in a line along the yellow curb. But since we were standing right there talking with one another, we hoped we wouldn't get into any trouble, and we didn't.

Interestingly, a woman and her niece happened to be there, in (you guessed it), a Leaf! They were pretty freaked out that all these Leafs were showing up--we all assumed they were there for the gathering, but they had no idea what was going on--that put smiles on a few faces.

Seattle weather had started to move in and it started to drizzle; there weren't many passers-by to interact with, and it was a little chilly, so we decided to descend on Starbucks to chat indoors. We lined up the cars in the parking lot and took a few pictures, and went inside. Unfortunately there wasn't enough seating for us (there were only a couple of free tables inside, so we ended up outside anyway, on the patio, but this time, at least, with hot coffee.

We also had Chad's Tesla at the event, and George took a spin in it with him as we moved locations.

After another hour about 7 of us took Wendy and John Wartes up on their offer to show us their solar installation (yes, photovoltaics in Seattle!), so we drove to their place in a long convoy. John is incredibly knowledgeable about this stuff--he and Wendy designed their home from scratch, to include PV's, heat exchangers and many other energy-efficient niceties.

Wendy & John's home generated 11MWh of energy last year. This is enough energy to cover 10,000 miles of charging the Leaf *plus* 50% of their home's annual electricity needs (it's worth noting that their home is heated electrically, with a NG assist only when the outside air temperature is below 40F). In addition, they are credited with 15c/kWh they generate and charged ~10c/kWh they use (this price discrepancy is set to phase out in 2020).

I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we were truly impressed; plus, the home was beautiful. Thank you Wendy and John for inviting us over! It was inspirational!

For next month, I think I will return to the original format of having the sit-down chat at the beginning of the meeting. This allows people who might be running a little late to still catch us, and doing so in a space where we can all sit down together for an hour or so to give us a chance to get to know one another better. Sadly, I feel that we didn't get a chance to do that well enough this month.

From there we can venture out on a drive and/or outreach event, depending on the weather.

A few photos from today's event: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150402267720809.412739.604660808&type=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks everyone for making it out today, despite the less than ideal weather. Looking forward to our next meet!

Take care,
-Brad

 

[bradleygibson]

**NOTE: Location Changed to Woodinville Tully's ***

Gathering #3 will be on Saturday October 22nd from 1pm. Given today's high turnout, I will book a meeting room at the Woodinville Tully's for the first half of the get-together (I think we overloaded the Starbucks :shock, and we can go from there to meet and chat with the general public. As always, any make/model of EV is welcome--or if you're simply curious about EV's. And of course, you don't have to live in Woodinville.

I'd appreciate it if you would help me get an accurate head count by accepting the meeting invite on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=170522859693689" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks, and hope to see you then!
-Brad

(Please note the date for this event was originally scheduled for Oct. 15th, but with National Plug In Day events scheduled for the 16th, it made sense to move this to the 22nd.)

 

[bradleygibson]

Please note the updated location (Woodinville Tully's).

See the FB event invite for full details:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=170522859693689" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

James Billmaier, the author of the new book "Jolt! - The Impending Dominance of the Electric Car" (http://joltthebook.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false has kindly agreed to come out and speak to our group. Come on out, meet other EV enthusiasts and hear what James has to say.

I hope you can make it!
-Brad

 

[bradleygibson]

Woodinville EV Gathering #3 - James did a great job sharing his insights with us. Rather than have multiple places to go after each event, I'll focus most of the information on the FB event page and link to it from here.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=170522859693689" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks to everyone who made it!
-Brad

 

[bradleygibson]

Date, time, location and speaker details at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=170133486410094" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hope you can make it!
-Brad