SWAT Boat Training and Klavon's Privacy Booths

8/20/2013 15m

Started at the Millvale trailhead. Armed with four cans of road-marking chalk-based paint, which should wash away after about a month (I'm told), we set out to complete our recon of the North Side segments of this upcoming weekend's Pedal Pittsburgh.

Passing around the "NorthShore" we saw one of the local tourist boats up against the shore, which is not unusual but the police utility boats on either side were. Then we saw officers with weapons going up the ladders and practicing clearing the passageways and we realized it was a training day. It seemed like a great scenario (especially given the day's news from Decatur, GA).

We had stopped our review of the course the other day because the rain had made the street wet enough that the paint wasn't working, and so we started on Brighton Road. The places we'd painted before the rain started were still well marked, and the places we'd painted in light rain with good drainage were pretty well marked, but the places that had a bit more water on them really didn't keep their paint on, so we did a bit of re-painting and resumed the course.

We completed the North Side segments at the 16th Street Bridge and started to ride out to Lawrenceville. Stopped at Klavons to see how the new proprietors are doing and the answer is: they're doing real well. We had an egg cream and ice cream at the counter.

Saw an interesting retro-tech generational tableau; there was a family (grandpa, mother, three young girls). The girls were fascinated by these big boxes that Grandpa explained were "phone booths". They were so excited to get into the booths, close the door, observe how the lights come on and off (how does it know?). The girls had the grownups taking pictures of them in the phonebooths for Facebook so they could show their friends. The grownups, of course, were taking pictures using: their phones.

It struck me later that something those girls may have found novel about the phone booths was the provision of privacy, the notion that you could have a moment in a public space where you could speak without being overheard. (Thanks, Obama!)

Headed east, saw this fence at Charlotte St. and 35th Street:

This mural was co-located:

Rode out to BikePgh's new offices (very very nice space) to return the remaining can of paint and report on the hazards we'd seen. Back to Millvale and called it a ride at 15 miles.

Experienced the joy that is Route 28 at 6pm, can't believe people do this routinely.