National Bike Challenge Starts Today!

You know, I don't miss winter biking. Shocking, right? Avoiding patches of ice. Layering up every morning. Losing feeling in my fingers. And the mornings when the streets were covered in snow, which meant scrounging up $2.50 for a bus ride.

Now that we're officially into amazing biking weather, we're also officially into the National Bike Challenge. For the most and best information about the challenge, which starts today and runs through the end of September, visit BikePGH's site.

Two of more important things to know:

- Riding your bike and logging your miles earns you FREE BEERS at Over the Bar on the South Side.

- Cleveland has called us out. They actually think they can become the "Rust Belt Champion" this year. Help Pittsburgh kick butt and shut Cleveland up.

Because we're talking Cleveland, it's impossible for me NOT to share one of my favorite tourism videos:

Biking weather, hockey playoffs, more and more sunshine everyday... This is the life.

Pittsburgh Day of Giving & Buy a PGHTee For a Good Cause

Pittsburgh friends! Today, October 3, is the annual Day of Giving. Today, your donations to qualifying organizations (there are so many to choose from!) will be matched. Meaning, more money for people working to make positive changes in the city.

If you're a BikePGH Member, you can renew your membership. If you wanna be a BikePGH Member, you can use that as your donation. Just FYI!

And, if you're in the market for a great new PGHTee, you can make a donation to Second Chance Pittsburgh and get an awesome new addition to your t-shirt drawer from Steel City Cotton Works:

So, help some dedicated people get some shit done. This city - it's worth it.

Get Out There & Ride Your Bike

After the Bloomfield Halloween Parade (which we're getting closer to every day!), BikeFest is my favorite yearly Pittsburgh event. It's a celebration of biking in Pittsburgh, and there are so many awesome opportunities to get out there and ride around the city. This year, BikeFest kicks off with PedalPGH on Sunday, August 5. 

It's pretty much guaranteed to be the largest group ride of the year, which should help to bring awareness to biking throughout the city. I see more people biking every day, and the more people out there with us, the safer we will be. 


BikeFest then continues through August 19, and the list of scheduled events is extensive and there is definitely something for everyone.

Here are the events that I've highlighted on my calendar:

SUNDAY - August 5 - PedalPGH Ride

MONDAY NIGHT/TUESDAY AM - August 6/7 - Moonlight Ride

WEDNESDAY - August 8 - Carrie Furnace Ride

THURSDAY - August 9 - Northside Public Art Tour

FRIDAY - August 10 - BikeFest Party

SATURDAY - August 11 - The Hollows Ride

SUNDAY - August 12 - Yoga Ride

TUESDAY - August 14 - Roberto Clemente Ride

THURSDAY - August 16 - Underwear Ride

FRIDAY - August 17 - Flock of Cycles Ride

SATURDAY - August 18 - Light Up Ride

SUNDAY - August 19 - Golden Girls Scavenger Hunt

I'm looking forward to those rides as I continue to add miles to my Pedal for Pennies project. Whether you're a daily biker or just go out for a fun ride every now and then, try and get out there for PedalPGH and some BikeFest activities. It's a great way to show you care about biking in Pittsburgh, which in turn gives BikePGH more leverage when making the city a safer place to be on two wheels.

Everyone: Be Safe. Pay Attention. Be Respectful.

On Wednesday morning, on a stretch of Penn in Point Breeze that I often travel by bike during football season to watch Steelers games at my friend's place in Regent Square, a cyclist was hit and killed. The crash occurred around 5 a.m. The driver took off after and has not been identified as of my writing this.

The death of James Price, 46-years-old, father of an 11-year-old daughter, was completely and utterly senseless. He lived in Homewood and started biking as a way to improve his health and diabetes. At 5 a.m. there is not enough traffic on Penn Ave on that stretch to make it impossible for cars and bikes to share the road. The speed limit there is 35 MPH, and I doubt the driver was adhering to that limit, as most drivers (MOST, not all) similarly do not. Mr. Price was wearing a helmet, and he had lights on his bike. It's hard to believe that he was not visible at the time of the crash.

I understand that I exist as a minority in Pittsburgh. Though I see more and more cyclists on the road every day, biking is still not the first (car) or second (public transportation) choice for most Pittsburghers. Some comments from the Post-Gazette story are hard to swallow. There is definitely animosity in this city when it comes to cyclists and motorists. Look: I don't want to be in your way, cars. But, without bike lanes on all major roads (I'm thinking Penn, Forbes, Fifth, etc.) the only thing I can do is try to bike as close to the curb as possible. When there is street parking, I try to bike as close to the parked cars as possible, but one day that is going to get me doored.

I hope that one day those bike lanes do exist. I hope that helps ease the frustration felt by both cyclists and motorists. I hope that those bike lanes encourage more people to ditch their cars because biking immediately becomes much safer. I hope that nothing like this happens in Pittsburgh again.

BikePGH is a tremendous organization, and they are doing everything in their power to make cycling in Pittsburgh a more common thing. Here is their post on the story.

Cyclists: Wear a helmet. Use lights. Be cautious. Be aware.

Motorists: OBEY THE SPEED LIMIT. Stop texting (please, seriously, stop texting). If you pass, leave plenty of room on our left (the law requires you give us four feet). Be patient.

Everyone: Be safe. Pay Attention. Be Respectful.

PGH T-Shirt Collection: July 2012

Of all the chores I wish I could do away with forever, laundry is at the top of the list. If I had a car, I would probably take my laundry home to my dad's house, and he would lovingly do it for me (because he knows how much I hate it and how bad I am at it (seriously: I'm really terrible at it)). But I don't have a car (I think that's been made clear by now, right?), so I must take care of my laundry myself. I typically wait until my clean clothes situation has become dire (that is, no more clean underwear), which it did the other day. As I was folding and putting away, I set aside some PGH t-shirts I hadn't yet shared. Enjoy them, and the glimpse into my apartment; I was tired of showing you my dirty floor.

T013: Reverse Keg Ride 2011

Where Bought: At the BikePGH/East End Brewery Keg Ride 2012. 

Confession: I was registered to ride this, and intended to do so in costume. But then it snowed and my friends and I all kind of backed out. But, offer me an orange t-shirt with a mummy riding a bike pulling a keg and I will find it impossible to say no. (Regardless of whether that shirt has anything to do with Pittsburgh.)

T014: Three Rivers Stadium

Where Bought: Steel City Cotton Works, with Groupon

I have so many good memories of THree Rivers Stadium from when I was a kid. This t-shirt had to be in my drawer.

T015: Pirates: Rebuilding Since 1992

Where Bought: Steel City Cotton Works, with Groupon

It's been twenty years. Could this possibly be our winning season? We're past the All-Star Break, so all bets are off. (Win or lose, just stay affordable, Pirates.)

Some more t-shirts coming at you tomorrow. That's how much laundry I had to do.

Bike to Work Day is TOMORROW

Hey you. Yeah, you!

Tomorrow is Bike to Work Day! Which means, you should give biking to work a shot. Give it a try; you may end up loving the freedom, the exercise, the money savings, and the fun it brings into your life.

For information about Bike to Work Day and a list of BikePGH-sponsored "hydration stations" (that are promised to offer free breakfast, coffee, a bag of cool swag, and a passport card for savings for a bunch of local establishments throughout the week) check out the BikePGH site.

And look! The weather is going to be AWESOME tomorrow:

BikePGH offers a Bike to Work Guide for anyone still a little nervous about the whole riding a bike to work thing.

And! You can read over my own musing on Starting to Bike to Work that I posted over at the Pedal for Pennies site eariler in the year.

Make sure to swing back to EverythingBetterPGH tomorrow for a special post in the spirit of National Bike Month. Until then: stay safe! And have fun. It's supposed to be fun.

Pedal Pale Ale Keg Ride 2012

This morning (I'm writing this late on Saturday night. I just came back from Art All Night and feel awake, so here we are.) I woke up with twenty minutes to spare before I was supposed to meet Carrie and Corey for BikePGH and East End Brewery's Pedal Pale Ale Keg Ride. This was my second year riding along with hundreds of other PGH bike-riders to an undisclosed location for the first pint of Pedal Pale Ale of the year.

As we biked from Friendship and Gross to the new East End Brewery location on Frankstown Avenue, I thought about how we were three individuals, biking toward a conglomeration of other individual bike riders. Pretty soon we were a massive group of people on bikes, going slowly through city streets, but flying through Highland Park in a way that made me take mental note of how rewarding going up the Negley hill can be.

Moving in that massive group was fun, but a little nerve-wracking. I rarely get nervous while riding in the city anymore. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I did feel nervous on my bike on a regular ride. Today though, I got nervous! I kept envisioning losing focus for a couple seconds and causing a huge pile up. Fortunately, that did not happen! We made it safe and sound. (If not just a little chilled to the bone.)

The mystery destination was Station Street Dogs! (Way more awesome than ending at Penn Brewery last year and being kinda far from home...) But by the time we got there, the line for the beer was at least 300 deep. We were cold and hungry, so we decided to skip our free pint (our registration fees went toward BikePGH and an autism organization) and headed to Pamela's in Shadyside to refuel on eggs and potatoes and cheese and bread.

This is an event I would love to keep doing every year. It's a great event and a fun way to spend a Saturday morning. Even though it was cold and a familiar Pittsburgh gray, it was nice feeling a part of something moving around as though connected by a single mind.

The More You Bike, The More You Drink (For Free!)

I've been logging my miles all year for Pedal for Pennies. (I just passed the 1,000-mile mark, and I bought myself a cake to celebrate.) Now, you can log your miles for Team Pittsburgh in the National Bike Challenge. And! What's even better! By logging miles - STARTING TODAY, you can get yourself free beer from Over the Bar on the South Side. Yes, please.

Check out the BikePGH blog post for more information and directions on how to register. I'll definitely be going for all four free beers this summer and encouraging my friends to come and join me.