Flocktober

10.16.2015 13m
This was the monthy 412Flock ride, with a hint of Halloween theme and a possible CosPlay appearance from the Japanese-American Society.

It was raining lightly until just before the ride. Angela appeared in a unicorn outfit and Drew appeared in an anime kit, but that was the extent of the costumery - although it must be said that cyclists often affect a costume of their own.

I towed the music cart for the ride. We didn't have a playlist, but Ray suggested The Cramps who have a horror-movie / scifi sound and it worked well.

While Thursday was a ride of expected conflict that never appeared, Friday's ride was an anticipated milk-run that turned into a bit of unexpected agita. Several drivers overtook and passed us in very aggressive maneuvers; they certainly gave us 3 feet of clearance, and they crossed the centerline to do that, but they did it with oncoming traffic approaching. They gunned their engines and put others at risk, all in order to stop at the next red-light a minute or two ahead; now that they were in front of us, their position was perhaps forty feet further along than if they'd stayed behind us.

One man pulled abeam our group and starting yelling at us. Then he pulled over and stopped in front of us, engine running and headlights on. He shouted back at us, and M. quite wisely said I don't need to get in front of that car. So we waited, then he pulled off.

We continued along to Free Ride, which was having a going-away party for one of their staffers. It was a nice group and a friendly room, but the agitation of the aggressive passing and the shouting drive stayed with me for a while.

Vitruvian Jolly Green Giant

5.16.2014 #220 61m

Today was Bike To Work Day 2014 (BTWD14) so I had agreed to lead a BikeTrain from Sewickley, through Coraopolis and Neville Island, into the NorthSide and Market Square with the intent of providing some group-ride comfort and encouragement to a potential commuter who would not have otherwise ridden to work.

My train was scheduled to begin at 0630 and nobody had shown up, and at the last moment A. arrived in hi-viz and we started riding together. She was a strong rider, well-equipped bike, she knew what she was doing. Said she'd always wanted to figure out a way to get into the city from Sewickley.

The ride in was uneventful. We took Neville Island, McKees Rocks, and then the McKees Rocks Bridge. We tear-dropped down to the Western Penitentiary and I pointed out the trailhead and that seemed like the valuable take-away of the day for A, the notion that she could drive into Chateau, park at the trailhead and ride into work - it would save her $40 a week in parking, she explained. So: win.

Stopped at the BikePgh Coffee Station so that A. could pick up a map of bike-friendlier streets, and C. took this picture of us coming in. I got to meet Jeff, who was running the opposite-direction train: Millvale to Ambridge, and we talking over the finer points of the route, I enjoyed that.

I rode with Marko over to Market Square, where there was a media event and some speakers. It was kind of cold once you stopped riding. Pedaled over to Tunnel Park at SouthSide works where R. and S. were staffing the booth. Got to say hello to Kordite and his award-winning moustache/beard, who I haven't seen IRL in like five years. Saw but didn't greet @Shadow, who I know URL but not IRL.

Couldn't stand the cold any longer, bailed out on R and S and went over to Big Dog Coffee for shelter. They have new artwork on display, I particularly liked DaVinci's Vitruvian Man version of Jolly Green Giant in the Backward Hat Club.

R and S joined me, we had coffee and treats. I had a pour-over coffee for the first time, much more flavor-full than Sanka. Departed and rode to Thick, then to Point State Park, then continued solo back to Sewickley. On this leg I routed via Chateau Street because I wanted to see that the new ADA ramp would deliver in terms of moving from the river-bottom streets to the top of the hill.

The bottom of the ramp looks like this:

The GPS track of riding the ramp:

The top of the ramp looks like this. It's an effective way to move up the hill.

Continued back to Sewickley via Route65. A lot more traffic, and faster traffic, than the Neville Island / Route51 route, which I think was the right way to take unknown riders. 38.5 miles in the morning.

In the evening, K and I went out for the Flock ride. We parked at the Bastille and rode Jail Trail, Panter Hollow up to Oakland. We met Kitaira who joined us for a snack at Conflict Kitchen.

The Flock ride probably had 50 cyclists, it was (predictably) a very nice time. The group stopped at a grocery for supplies for the post-ride picnic and K and I kept riding, since we were parked off-route and had a ways to go. 22.5 miles in the evening and a good group-ride experience for K.

5313, Coffeeneur 5 of 7, Colin, Braddock, Flock

10/19/12 49M

Couldn't start today's ride at the Bastille because of a protest at Alcosan over gray vs green approaches to storm water management plans, so I met S. at the Post-Gazette's North Side plant and started from there.

Rode around the North Side to the 40th Street Bridge and then crossed the Allegheny River. Took a few pictures of murals that I hadn't caught up with yet.

Whitey's Mobile Wash in Lawrenceville:

This 2001 mural by Runco Arts along with Laurie Czerwien, Dean Payne, Dave Yackovich, Ed Conner, and Ron Michel is a bit of a mystery to me. The flag appears to be doubled-over, one in front of another, but why would two flags be hung that way? What's with the tear at the bottom? Is this before or after 9/11/2001?

Cure Restaurant, 5336 Butler Street, Pittsburgh:

At 5313 Butler Street, this could be either

• Some sort of low-fi 4-bit art, or
  
• a sort of cellular automaton depiction, ala Conway's Game of Life, or
  
• something else completely.

My fifth coffeeneuring expedition of the 2012 Coffeeneuring Challenge:

drink: Cappuccino with Two Extra Shots (total Four), Black Pepper Biscotti, very good coffee shop: Cats and Dogs Coffeehouse location: 4059 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh PA date: 10/19/2012 mileage: 49 miles ride details: Rode with S. 40th St. Bridge, Larry-Ville, Coffeeneuring Trip 5 of 7, Braddock, Oakland, Flock Ride.

Intended to depart Penn Avenue to Braddock for a mural hunt, decided to proceed via Squirrel Hill so as to stop at Pro Bikes and see how Colin Albright, a young bicyclist and bike shop mechanic who was recently attacked and stabbed was doing.

When we inquired at the front desk as to when he might be coming back to work, they said "he's back in the shop" so we went over an introduced ourselves. Colin's a very nice young man, great attitude, remarkable perspective. It was a pleasure to meet him and I'm glad he's back on his feet. He's doing physical therapy three times a week.

Back on the road, Regent Square to Braddock, where we found this mural on Talbot Street:

Departed Braddock via the Rankin Bridge, Homestead Trail, Southside Trail, Hot Metal Bridge up to Oakland, and joined the group mustering at Dippy the Dinosaur for the Flock of Cycles ride. This was an evening ride, meets at Dippy at 5.30 and departs at 6.00, very relaxed, very safe, very fun, very traffic-rules-adhering; they stop at lights and stop signs (gasp!).

There was an abundance of lights and reflectors and it was a bit of Fred-City and I was thinking, I have found my people! As opposed to Critical Mass rides it was definitely non-confrontational and copacetic, I really enjoyed it.

The Flock ride ended at OTB Southside at about 8.30pm, then S and I rode back to the vehicles at the Post-Gazette plant on the north side. It sprinkled rain a bit the last fifteen minutes. Got to see the skyline in the evening from the bike trail:

49 miles on an excellent day.