Pre-Marathon Saturday; Bugs vs Features

5.3.2014 #219 31m

I was originally supposed to ride with MC in the afternoon, but he suggested we ride in the morning to avoid the rain. That's one of the great things about riding with air traffic controllers; they have a good handle on interpreting the weather radar.

Departed the Bastille at 0930. Marathon-associated activities were happening on the North Side, and then Downtown there was a Kid's Marathon. Has to be a major headache to get the right kids back to the right parents (or at least, the legally designated parents) at the end of the event. I could imagine estranged parents and a custodial snit at the finish line - uhgly. Tough for any helicopter parent - ok, Rutherford, I'm going to say goodby now, I'll see you a few blocks over in fifteen minutes. Lots of potential for agita.

Jail Trail, South Side, a bit of eagle-watching porn. Pump House, Kennywood. Saw a large group of Elder Hikers from Philadelphia on the trail.

Reversed and was surprised to find a headwind, although I was sure there wasn't any tailwind on the outbound leg. I caught what I think was a bee in my helmet, but I got rid of it before anything drastic happened. Stopped at Big Dog for refreshment and wifi, which brought us this trenchant quote on the bugs-vs-features duality:

A man can become so accustomed to the thought of his own faults
that he will begin to cherish them as charming little ‘personal characteristics.’
Helen Rowland 1876-1950

Rather than penetrate downtown and the general Marathon confusion, we stayed on Carson Street to the West End Bridge, and rode that across the Ohio River to the North Side. That's a great transition (if you take the lane) and I love the exit ramps, descending into the Casino complex.

Back to the trailhead, my new GPS gizmo said 31 miles. T-I-L that you need to tell the GPS when the ride is over, or else it just keeps tracking mileage all the way home.

Back in the car, and on the way back home at 1300 when the rain started. It was great to have the ride accomplished before it rained, just like MC had planned.

Reports and Stats

5/2/2014 0m #218

Three awesome Crush the Commonwealth rider reports
• Stef B of Pgh (and the winner!)
  (revised, now with 1000% more swearing)
  
• Adam H of Pgh
  
• ujgreg.tumblr.com
  

Also, Day Two of the National Bike Challenge,
Major Accolades and Respects to the Top Ten Cyclists In Pittsburgh.

Bike Challenge Day One: Anchor Man

5/1/2014 21m

May 1st. First Day of the National Bike Challenge. First datapoint in the Pittsburgh-Cleveland bike rivalry. May Day. History will show, I presume, which is more significant.

Rode with K. today. Started at the Bastille, rode to SouthSide. Met S. Encountered Frank and then Marko. Great to see everybody.

Rode out to the Eagle's Nest. A kind cyclist handed us binoculars so we could see an eagle. Returned and stopped at Big Dog Coffee, because: Big Dog Coffee. Rode around the Southside to Thick Bikes, picked up a rear-view mirror for the bike K is riding (which they installed). Got to congratulate AH on his Crush-The-Commonwealth success. So much awesome.

Back across the Ft. Pitt and the Ft. Duquesne bridges, and back to the Bastille. 21 miles.

Got home, went online, checked my standing in the local mileage roster. #AnchorMan: not just somebody on television news.

Escort Duty

4.27.2014 48m #220

A magnificent day for riding. The plan of the day was to accompany a few transient riders out of the nav puzzle that is Pittsburgh as they begin their Pgh-to-DC bike trip.

K and I started riding at the Bastille, took this photo near the dockmaster's koi pond:

We hit Point State Park, rode through the Convention Center and over to the Amtrak Station. The visitors weren't there yet so we made off to the Strip District and Enrico Biscotti for - well, for biscotti and espresso which was wonderful. Back to Amtrak, waited with S.

The two travelling cyclists (Sandie and Brandon) arrived and unboxed their bikes, loaded up their panniers etc. The Amtrak boxed-bike experience worked real well for them. We reversed and rode under the Convention Center (such a nice transition) and out to Point State Park, then Blvd of the Allies to Grant St. and the Jail Trail. Picked up their cousin on a rental bike at Golden Triangle Rentals.

Jail Trail, Hot Metal Bridge for the obligatory photo op, Sandcastle, Pump House where S reversed; Duquesne where the cousin reversed; McKeesport and then across to Port Vue, where K and I reversed after pointed the intrepid cyclists to the Durabond Bypass.

We made good time coming back, and stopped at OTB for a meal. Very good food. Got back to the Bastille and the vehicle as the sun was thinking about setting, so the timing was good. 48 miles, a nice day's ride and an impressive showing by K.

Never Get Between Two Groups of Noobs

4.26.2014 #222 48m

Rode with my neighbor Jack, who's preparing for the MS150 in another six weeks. Started at the Bastille, encountered a significant cluster of cyclists including two on hand-crank recumbent trikes, a few really nice Dutch-style ebikes, and a few Surly's. Diversity on the bike trail. Turns out, one of the cyclists (Cathy) is the owner of Aero Tech Designs Cycling Apparel in nearby Coraopolis. I felt at a loss, she asked if I'd been to their store and I've been by it quite a few times but I assumed it was a B2B operation. (wrong, apparently). Cool to meet a bike kit manufacturer on a Pittsburgh bike trail. She's riding in the Big Ride Across America this June through July.

At Point State Park we saw the progress of Ed Trask's mural, "heART this city":

Took the Ft. Pitt Bridge over to the South Side Trail, took a picture of my road bike with some springtime tulips:

This is the first time I've had the road bike out in quite a while. I enjoyed the reduced weight, the relative nimbleness, the 28 tires vs the 35s. I miss the cross brake levers and the rear-view mirror, and I miss the body-english that I lose with the nose-less saddle.

We went out to the Riverton Bridge and Jack wanted a few more miles, so we went out to Boston PA and the green boxcar. To return via a different route, we crossed the VerSails Bridge and returned via the McKeesport Loop.

The headwind on the return leg was pretty strong. It had me feeling for the cyclists out doing Crush The Commonwealth, who got rained on all day Friday and who have to fight this headwind all day Saturday.

A terrible thing happened and it completely was my fault. A parent and a little boy were walking his new bike along the trail. They asked, got any tools? His pedal keeps unthreading? So we stopped. They needed a wrench and I didn't have one. There was a cluster of a dozen noobish riders approaching, so I called out, anybody got a wrench or pliers? The first rider said, I do! and was so eager to help he locked up his brakes, causing a predictable confusion behind him and one gentleman took a hard fall on the pavement. I should never have gotten between two groups of noobs.

Today reminded me how very much my left knee resents clipless shoes (the kind that clip in, naturally) and I need to change the pedals on this bike. Other than that, the road bike was great.

Early and Often Mausoleums, Alt Spring Break Art

4.24.2014 224 20m

Started at the Bastille as a foursome with K, S, and R. Rode out along the Allegheny River to the 40th Street Bridge, and then out in Lawrenceville to revisit a new Stephen Foster mural.

Departed for the Allegheny Cemetery. We've been aware of an advertising mural on the North Side for E & O Beer. We've recently learned that E&O doesn't really stand for Early and Often, but rather for Eberhardt & Ober, who were partners in a Allegheny City (now Northside) Brewery that is now part of the Penn Brewery complex.

In fact, this background image from the Northside Leadership Conference's twitter page shows an E&O Beer sign:

The good folks at the NSLC told us that Eberhardt and Ober were such partners that they were now resting in adjacent mausoleums in Allegheny Cemetery, so we rode over. We met Clifton, an extremely courteous gentlemen, who helped us find the two crypts. Apparently, Mr. Ober died first and occupies the building on the right. Mr. Eberhardt died second, and arranged for a slightly grander structure.

Then we took a bit of a city tour. Up the hill in the cemetary to Penn Ave, across Friendship and Shadyside to Oakland, down the back of the Carnegie Museum to Panther Hollow. Rode the Jail Trail to Point State Park, where we found Ed Trask working on the Alternative Spring Break Art Project, creating a portable mural that says "Heart This City" containing key Burgh imagery.

Back across the Ft. Duquesne bridge to the NorthSide, and back to the Bastille. 20 miles and a great ride.

Big Dog FTW, CtC

4.23.2014 15m

Rode from the Bastille with K today on a colder day than expected. Trying to stay out of traffic, we took the Ft. Duquesne and Ft. Pitt Bridges to SouthSide, and then rode inland to Big Dog Coffee.

Stopped at REI for bike gear, pleasantly surprised to meet hello Paul-B.

Best wishes, tailwinds and fair weather to the hardy few participating in Crush the Commonwealth 2014, Philly to Pittsburgh, this upcoming weekend. A 400 mile bike race with three rules. You might like to watch #crushthecommonwealth