There’s more to arrowing than meets the eye. Sure, you’re thinking any graffiti artist could manage to put down a few arrows, but there’s technique honed from years of practice.
First there’s the choice of equipment. My arrowing bike is chosen as the one with the smallest frame, to facilitate leaning across to put down arrows. Fortunately, it also happens to be white, which is an excellent choice for arrowing. A few paint can malfunctions and my red Cannondale sported an interesting white spatter pattern. Front tires tend to become whitewalls, too. It’s fitted with two water bottle cages, one for water bottle, the other for a can of paint in a sawed off water bottle. I replace the right hand pedal with a standard pedal with toe clips, for ease of dismounting and to save wear and tear on cleats of my regular shoes. Select your least favorite shoes, since they, too, will have a tendency to become white. You’ll probably need an extra set of brake pads, since there’s a lot a wear and tear each time you screech to a halt when you see an old arrow.
You may have gathered that my paint color of choice is white. When I’m helping with Climb to the Clouds or the Fall Century, Ken prefers orange. Maybe I need to get an orange bike.
Next there’s arrowing technique. When it come to handling a spray can, I can give the boyz in the hood a run for their money. I’ve spent hours honing my technique. I have a sawed off water bottle that is the holster, and I optimize the positioning for a fast draw when the time comes. A quick snap of the wrist, out comes the can, a few swift strokes like Zorro, then back in the cage, and I’m done.
You want to be quick on the draw since the authorities have been known to look askance at our activities. No one in the club has ever done hard time for arrowing, but our arrowing brethren have been questioned by the police from time to time as to why they are defacing public property.
So you need to have your story ready. When asked what you’re doing, just say you are arrowing a charity ride (of course now that CRW is a 501(c)(3) club that’s actually true). When arrowing, avoid wearing club jerseys. Or wear a club jersey of another club, just not CRW. Choose a nondescript jersey design (making it harder to pick you out in a lineup).
Once you’ve got the arrow down, don’t dally to admire your handiwork. You want to distance yourself from the scene as quickly as possible, though it wouldn’t take a CSI team to connect your freshly painted arrow with the paint can in your water bottle cage.
The prime directive of arrowing is to reuse old arrows. I pride myself on being able to discern even the faintest remnants of arrows of yesteryear. To paraphrase a famous political figure, “Read my lips, no new arrows”
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