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.

A Really Backward Way of Convincing You to Bike

Finally. Spring.

Anyone else feel like it took forever to get here? Was it because last winter was so mild and so unobtrusive? Did it just suck more than normal? Or am I just getting older and grumpier when conditions aren't ideal for biking around all over the place?

This morning I was flying down Penn in a t-shirt and short-leggings. The weather was perfect and thoughts of "I love spring." or "I love biking." or "I love Pittsburgh." were populating my brain. This is what I had been waiting (im)patiently for as winter dragged on during the past few weeks.

And then I got downtown. And started navigating the disaster that is Wood Street. When I'm not on my bike, I'm usually on my feet. I'm rarely in a motor vehicle. so even when I'm on two wheels, I have a deep respect for pedestrians. But some pedestrians crossing Wood Street around 8 a.m. on weekday mornings are crossing Wood Street without a care in the world for what's coming their way. And I'm starting to have very little respect for them! Wood Street stresses me out, but it's the *safest* option to my parking garage. By the time I am crossing Fourth and about to turn down Third into my garage, I am relieved.

That relief started washing over me today - and then all of a sudden I was on the ground.

I had been doored.

Not something I want to experience again.

When I bike, I am always keeping an eye out for opening car doors. I've had a few close calls, and I've had to shout a few cautionary words here and there. But here's the thing about getting doored: I didn't see it coming. I was fine and then I was on the ground.

And then of course I was scurrying back up, feeling embarrassed (even though I know I should've been irate) and making sure all my limbs and appendages were still functioning. Thankfully, they were. And my bike was fine too. I think the people in the car were terrified, which made me feel bad, so I kept assuring them I was fine, but they had to promise me to be more careful. I explained that the driver is at fault in the dooring situation and went on my merry (and slightly bruised) way.

This is a really backward way of convincing you to get outside and bike. I've been on my bike most every day of 2013. I stayed off the roads if they were snowy or icy, but bared the freezing wind and cold when possible to get back and forth from work or places like the grocery store. I couldn't be more excited for spring, because it means many more miles will be pedaled. Biking around Pittsburgh may be intimidating at first, but it's easy to acclimate. The stories like the one above are uncommon. I've been biking steadily for three years, and that was my first dooring. And my worst bike crash to date was the fault of another biker on the North Shore Trail.

My advice: Wear a helmet. Take streets you're comfortable with. Push yourself up the hills. (Your body will thank you!) Become a BikePGH Member. (AND SIGN THE "I BIKE. I WALK. I VOTE." PETITION.) Make smart decisions. Be confident! If you feel nervous biking, you'll be a nervous biker.

And, probably most important: HAVE FUN.

(BTW: Sorry about the prolonged absence. My only excuse is that winter sucks.)

30 Before 30: My Wall

I've been living in the same apartment since I moved back to Pittsburgh in 2010. It's been two and a half years of blissfully living by myself. There are many excellent advantages to living alone: always leaving doors within the apartment open, ignoring the sink (and counters) full of dirty dishes, or falling asleep on the couch watching The West Wing (admittedly, also Teen Mom) three nights in a row. Included in that list is total and compete control over interior decorating. I always knew living in Boston would be temporary, so I never invested too much time into the apartments I could never reside in alone. Because I love just about everything about my apartment (shower stall: BE DAMNED!), I'm not interested in moving out until I find myself a house to buy. So, instead of moving, I'm starting to undertake a number of projects to give me a feeling of change, even if I'm staying put.

One of those projects was to redo my wall.

My wall is truly a favorite feature of this apartment, but its initial organization was fairly haphazard as I wanted to feel settled here as quickly as possible. So I put my wall on my 30 Before 30 list. For two reasons. First, I wanted to make sure it got done. Second, I wanted to make sure it got done right. I knew this was no undertaking I could start on a whim. It was something I needed to plan out. (I've been scouring DIY/lifestyle/design/decorating blogs for months.) That I needed to collect items for. (This was the fun part: new prints/new photos.) That I needed help executing. (Enter my dad.)

We spent a Saturday afternoon tacking the new arrangement up on the wall while listening to The Weakerthans. (I had bought my dad a bunch of new records for Christmas. So far, he's keenest on them, which is totally awesome.) It was a bit frustrating at first. My patience can easily wear thin. And also I have the attention span of a fly. But, after relaxing a bit and realizing this project was going to take a chunk of my day, I stopped rushing to get to the end. Though the results are far from appearing professionally done, I'm pleased with the result. It was the perfect way to refresh my place a bit before the new year.

View of Wall 1

View of Wall 2

Narwhal print by Tugboat; Downtown map print by Brian Taylor.

Map of Pittsburgh from Alternate Histories.

First CONFETTI poster, Phil Collins, and bikes and powerlines.

Next up on the apartment to-do list is slightly more terrifyingly tedious project. It involves sanding, cleaning, and painting. (Yikes!)

Pedal for Pennies: 3000 Miles and Counting

3000 miles.

That's like biking from Pittsburgh to Vancouver - taking the scenic route.

I didn't have a particularly great day yesterday. Nothing particular was wrong. But nothing particular was right. Just a really off day. I counted down the hours and then the minutes until I could change my clothes and get on my bike. At this point in the year, I have to assume that every really nice day might be the last really nice day for a bike ride. The evenings are already getting shorter, which means rides can't be quite as long. But even a short ride - just shy of 14 miles - helped me drag myself out of the funk I'd been in all day Friday. I woke up this morning and the sun was shining. But the forecast called for rain. I chanced it to get in a ride first thing, and ended up logging another 20 miles before the rain hit. I'm going to try my hardest to get to 4000 miles before the year's end.

That's all to say that biking has become a vital part of my life. It gets me to and from work. It gets me to and from the grocery store, friends houses, and all around town. It helps me calm down after a bad day. It's gotten me into what is likely the best shape of my life. I honestly don't know what I would do without it. I look forward to my ride into the city every morning. I look forward to biking in Sydney, Australia, next month. I look forward to the bike adventure through Europe that Rob and I are planning for my birthday next year. Even though I've only had my bike since 2010, it's become like an extension of me.

By reaching 3000 miles, I met my milage goal for Pedal for Pennies. Now that the donation page is up, I'm working toward meeting my fundraising goal for Gilda's Club of Western Pennsylvania. 

30 Before 30: Oh Yeah, We're Going to a Laser Show

I love to let the mail pile up. It's usually nothing but bills and junk, so I find it kind of depressing to take it upstairs every day if it's a bunch of stupid stuff. (And I'm already lugging a bike and a bag up the stairs, so the lame mail gets left behind.) Whenever I worry that my mailcarrier might think I'm MIA in a not good way, I begrudgingly go through it. This happened the other day, and one of the pieces was a mailer from the Carnegie Science Center. I went through it to see if anything caught my eye. And something did! Three words: HALLOWEEN LASER SHOW.

I immediately took a picture of the ad and sent it to my friend Ross, who enjoys the Halloween season as well. Going to see a laser show was on my 30 Before 30 list, and to take care of it with one with these most excellent theme seemed perfect. The ad promised Ghostbusters! The Addams Family! Purple People Eater! All the best things! 

Just look how excited we were!

I think I've forgotten how to not smile like a total goober every time I take a picture.

We settle into our seats. So do the six other people there. The show starts. Wonderfully creepy images and awesome tunes are coming our way! Only! They weren't! Well, the wonderfully creepy images were great, but the 45 minutes of '90s nu metal were kind of strange. That's it. All nu metal. No "invisible man hiding under your bed" or "bustin' makes me feel good." Just a bunch of '90s nu metal. (Though, we did get to hear "Dragula," which was funny for Ross and me, because it had been a song of the Labor Day Toronto trip just a few weeks prior.)

Nu metal listening session aside, I really liked the laser show! It was super neat to look at! And it was only $2 (because of my Carnegie Museums membership). I'll definitely go to more, so long as the music is a little less...something I don't ever need to listen to.

Now, the laser show topped off the crazy day that Ross and I laid out for ourselves. We first biked from Bloomfield to the South Side for the South Side Slopes StepTrek. Then we had a couple burgers and a couple beers at Winghart's. (Market Square location: Will you ever be done with renovations? I miss you!) We followed up with beers at Jekyll & Hyde's (where we listened to the X on the radio and watched Wipeout on TV - perfect combo?) before biking over to Bicycle Heaven on the Northside for a party before the laser show. That's where we met this guy:

And where I experienced much bike lust, especially of the orange variety.

Ride Bikes All Night: The DC-PGH 24-hr Relay 2012

Over beers after the Carrie Furnace ride, my friend Mark mentioned that he was doing a 24-hour relay ride between DC and PGH. It didn't take much more than that simple explanation for me to be intrigued and want to participate. A couple Fridays ago I tried to stay up all night. I tried to sleep all day Saturday. (It didn't work; I was up by 11 a.m.) And by 8:30 p.m. I was setting off on my bike toward Edgewood, where I'd join my team for the second leg of the relay, from Cumberland to Pittsburgh. We didn't get to Cumberland until after 11:30 p.m., and once there we eagerly awaited the arrival of the first team, who had started in Georgetown at noon. They were tasked with riding the C&O Canal, much rougher and a bit longer than the Great Allegheny Passage. We saw the first set of headlights close to 1 a.m., and the first members of our team set off into the night. I didn't get my first go at the trail until the third leg (which was really fine with me, as the first two legs were the uphill journey that I didn't reeeeeallly want to undertake). So, at around a.m., with the temps in the 40s and darkness obviously surrounding us, my partner and I took off down the GAP. We had a series of lights on our bikes and helmets, but still could only see about 10-15 feet in front of us. When we entered into patches of fog, the visibility was cut to only a few feet. It was kind of terrifying, but also incredibly fun. We needed to keep going at a fairly quick pace to not fall behind a very tight schedule that would get our team into Pittsburgh before the 24-hour period was up. When we rolled into Rockwood, we were ahead of schedule. The next pair of riders took off, and I devoured a peanut butter sammich, several handfuls of Cheez-Its, and then I passed out in the back of the van until it was again my turn to ride, sometime around 7 a.m. As the miles counted down on my second leg, I felt myself slowing down. A combination of lack of sleep, the cold, and the race against the clock were wearing down my legs and my stamina, and any plans I had of joining the final leg into Pittsburgh were quickly fading away. I had mentioned so much when we got to the van when the leg was over, and a couple of my teammates scoffed and said I would do it. I just shook my head and started shoveling all food possible into my mouth. But they were right. By the time we got to the Boston Bridge, 22 miles away from the Point, I was ready to go. We had two hours to go 22 miles, so the pace wouldn't need to be killer to make it by noon. Three of us set off toward Pittsburgh, and - after a quick bathroom break at the Waterfront Eat N Park - we were on the Eliza Furnace Trail, quickly heading toward the end. My ride partners had me lead the charge into Point State Park, and it was an overwhelming feeling of awesome to get there and to finish the 24-hour relay with time to spare. It was an even awesomer feeling to get to Over The Bar and drink beer and eat food and sit around a huge table with both teams recounting stories and having some great laughs. After meeting my dad and brother for a beer (okay, a margarita and a beer) in Market Square, I was home, on the couch, and ready to watch the Steelers game. Of course, I slept through it, and through the next fifteen hours. 

I didn't take many photos. In fact, I don't think I took any until after my second leg ended. And then the ones I did take were while I was riding my third and last leg into Pittsburgh. But, enjoy.

Doug and Mark, my partners for the last leg of the relay.

Supposedly, the trail is going to be done by Spring 2013. I hope so. Jumping the fence after Sandcastle and then traversing the makeshift "trail" by the railroad tracks was annoying.

Oh, hey! I'm doing it!

Bikes in the back of the van.

Cumberland--Pittsburgh team: Doug, Chris, Mark, Me, Mark, Mary, and Mike. No one warned me that bright-colored jerseys were required. But, now I know for next year.

This was very honestly one of the best things I have done since moving back to Pittsburgh. I'm sure everyone has tired of hearing me espouse the joys of biking, but it really has given me something I can be proud of. This ride - moreso than either of the solo treks I've done on the same trail - showed me how strong I've become and how much I can accomplish when I'm determined. It was a total blast.

Things have been a little slow on EvBetPGH lately. I hope that changes soon. I'm almost over the cold that sidelined me post-relay. And it's fall. As much as I enjoy summer in Pittsburgh, the fall...it can't be beat.

That Ain't Pittsburgh: Biking Toronto

I could never ever live in a city that wasn't possible to bike. Being that I absolutely hate (and am horrible at) driving, it's a necessity. Rob and I had rented bikes in Toronto on a previous trip, but the bikes were bulky and we had to buy a lock from the rental place because they didn't seem to understand that we might want to dismount and explore whilst riding around. So this time around, we invested in a bike rack so we could take our own bikes along. We experienced a couple minor disasters, but the benefits of this plan were great. I'm pretty sure our bikes will be accompanying us on future road trips around the northeast.

One of the minor disasters had to do with us not fully understanding how our new bike rack works. We were on the Don Valley Express or Parkway or whatever fast road it was and hit a bump and almost lost all the bikes. When we pulled over to fix the situation, the tire on my red bike was about an inch off the ground. NOT GOOD. We had a Canadian guardian angel stop and help us get re-situated, though we never fully recovered from the near-loss-of-bikes. We spent the rest of the ride to the campsite worried they'd fall again. For the long haul back to Pittsburgh, we actually put my red bike IN the car so there'd be less weight on the rack. We live. We learn.

Toronto is definitely a city where biking has become a way of everyday life. There were loads of people biking. And loads of bikes locked up to racks just about everywhere we went. The city is a whole hell of a lot flatter than Pittsburgh, which was pretty great. (Though the hills are good, and I would miss living without them.) The second minor disaster happened because one draw-back of biking in Toronto are the trolley tracks embedded in the streets. (See photo below.) Streets that are already pretty clogged with traffic, parked cars, and the trolleys that use the tracks. I'm (obviously) not used to the added condition of the tracks, so when a car started pulling out of a parallel parking space, I veered around. My front tire went right into one of the tracks and I went right down, right in the middle of Queen Street West.

The resulting injury. Now I've crashed in two countries. I've left a bit of my skin and blood on the streets of Toronto. And now I'll have a great Canadian scar.

While we were wandering around Downtown looking for Toronto Raptor t-shirts, I spotted some excellent bike art all along the way.

Verdict on Toronto biking: Excellent. Just watch out for those trolley tracks.

PGH Book #7: The Lost Cyclist

The hardest decision I had to make about the bike trip wasn't the route ("stay on trail" was the plan) or the food (noodles, oatmeal, noodles, oatmeal, and a smores poptart here and there). It was the books to read. Last year I tried to take a copy of Devil in the White City with me. I had read it before, and was completely aware of its contents, but a friend advised that taking a book about a serial killer while I would be camping alone might not be my best idea yet. This year I wanted to take along The Lost Cyclist, but when I described it to someone as "a book where this guy from Pittsburgh tries to ride his bike around the world but ends up disappearing in Turkey," he thought maybe I should come up with other options. (Which I eventually did. But I don't think taking either Gary Paulsen's Hatchet or The River were the most brilliant choices thematically anyway.)

So, once I got back from the trip and had settled back into normal life, I picked up The Lost Cyclist.

PGH Book #7: The Lost Cyclist - David V. Herlihy

This book did nothing the quell the extreme wanderlust I felt a few weeks after getting back to Pittsburgh post-bike trip. Before I even started in on The Lost Cyclist, I was already researching the possibility of riding my bike across Canada. The Cyclist at the center of this story is Frank Lenz, from Pittsburgh, which is why this counts as a PGH Book. He was one of the first cyclists ever to get into racing and touring. It was his dream to ride his bike across the world (i.e., become a "globe girdler"), and he got the opportunity to do so in the mid 1890s. On bike with a camera and very little else, Lenz cycled across the United States to the West Coast, took a ship to Asia and went through Japan and China. Others had attempted these kinds of extreme tours before Lenz, but they had started in Europe and crossed a lot of terrain by train. Lenz was a fervent believer in biking across all terrains when possible, so his mileage was considerably greater and his trip considerably more dangerous. He also attempted his tour of the world alone, while many others had partners along for the ride. Long story short: he disappears in Turkey. The book then goes into the crazy search that followed.

Even though our poor hero doesn't make it out alive (not a spoiler; it's revealed early on that things don't go Lenz's way), the descriptions of his travels on two wheels made me incredibly jealous. It's nothing I could set out to do in the very near future, but I'm starting to work things out in the back of my mind to one day tackle some sort of cross-country (preferably Canada, but I'd also consider the United States) bike tour. Frank Lenz may have just become my favorite Pittsburgher. 

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.

See you in June!

And, I'm off!

See you in June, with my usual recap of the month I've left behind.

Plus some good stories from the trail.

(P.S. This post by Kate on Yinzpiration is awesome. Go get unstuck!)

My Idea of Vacation: The Great Allegheny Passage and The C&O Canal

Right now I am sitting on my couch, eating a caprese salad, watching the Vampire Diaries (don't judge; it's perfectly mindless, and work has been crazy, so this is just necessary right now). In 76 hours, I will have hopefully already have set up camp and made a fire and started cooking up some noodles. I'm leaving Saturday for Washington D.C., but I won't get there til the following Friday. Some people fly, some people take trains, some people drive. I'm going to bike.

For six days, this will be my home.

This is my idea of vacation: ride my bike all day, camp, ride my bike all day, camp, ride my bike all day, camp, and so on. Granted, I've been on some pretty strange vacations; not many people choose to spend Memorial Day weekend in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, and Moose Mountain Provincial Park. But, I'm excited for my sojourn into the woods. To be disconnected for a little bit is what I really need.

So! What exactly is it that I'll be doing? One of those surprising little treats about moving back is the bike trail that starts right in Pittsburgh's backyard and goes ALL THE WAY to Washington, D.C. From Homestead, PA, to Cumberland, MD, you ride The Great Allegheny Passage. Then the trail switches over to The C&O Canal, which takes you to the Visitor's Center in Georgetown. Last year I rode The GAP from Boston, PA, (yeah, I know) to Cumberland, so I already know a little of what to expect. But once I leave Cumberland behind, I'm back into some unknown territory.

When I get back, I'll have plenty to share about the trip and the trail. If you want to give yourself an informative preview, find out more on The Great Allegheny Passage and The C&O Canal.

"See you" in a couple weeks. That is, if I am not eaten by a bear or struck by lightening or something like that.

Why I Bike Pittsburgh

If you asked me to pinpoint the moment when the switch flipped and I became one of those "bike" people, I couldn't figure it out. I bought my bike in Boston before I moved, and used it fairly often while I had it the last few months I lived there. I didn't have a car in Boston either, but their public transportation system far, far, far surpassed the ever-shrinking Port Authority in Pittsburgh. If I couldn't walk there, I could probably get there on a very simple train system that ran on a pretty frequent schedule. I wasn't among any kind of minority by not owning a car in Boston.

Moving back here, I quickly entered that minority by vowing not to get a car. See, here's the thing: I'm a horrible, horrible driver. I have no idea why. I just suck at it. So. Pittsburgh. No car. For the first few months I relied on walking and the bus for most of my getting around. I started working downtown and took the 87 every morning and every evening. I really only rode my bike for fun, never for commuting or getting from here to there and back. Then, a few months in, I got TIRED of waiting forever for a bus that was already packed to pull up. I got TIRED of paying almost double what I paid for a monthly pass in Boston for a waaaaaay better system.

So I started riding. One morning I threw a change of clothes in my crappy old bookbag I got from winning a scholarship to Pitt, wore something that pretty much resembled my pajamas, and hopped on my bike, thinking about all the things that could possibly go wrong in this new situation. But! Nothing went wrong! Sure, there are at least a dozen things I do differently now that make that same ride (I've only deviated from my route maybe 3 or 4 times in the solid year and a half I've been bike commuting) to make it a little more pleasant and fun. But I really enjoyed it.

Once I had my commute down, I started using my bike for tons of other things. The smartest thing I did was buy a couple sturdy panniers. Once I could transport stuff easily, I got the crazy idea to ride my bike to Maryland. I did and wound up loving the experience so much that I'm going to DC by bike in a week and a half! Riding around Pittsburgh has been such a great way for me to get exercise, enjoy being outside, and give myself a way to release a lot of stress. No matter where I'm going or why I am riding, I always feel a bit of a connection to the city in a way I don't think is possible by car. My feet are pushing the pedals and that's turning the wheels that are taking me up and down and around and back all over the goddamn place.

In my opinion, there is no better way to make your way through Pittsburgh. Biking has saved me so much time and money. It has challenged me and made me stronger. It's given me something to care about in the city, and something I truly hopes catches on with more and more of my friends and their friends and their friends. I bike Pittsburgh because I've kinda fallen in love with it, and now I just don't know any other way.

Hey! I like biking so much that I'm doing this thing called Pedal for Pennies. Check it out!

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.

PGH Beautiful: Dinos, May 2012

Guys! I have been finding excellent dinos around town. I think one of my goals this summer is to go on dino expeditions around Pittsburgh by bike and by foot. I know where a lot of the statue dinos are located around town, I just need to make a plan to go snap pictures of them. I also want to keep my eyes out for cool dino graffiti or signage or anything. (Mental note: Look to see if there is a book that connects PGH and dinos. There very well should be considering the Carnegie Museum and all!) I am going to just go with the whole "dino obsession" phase I am clearly entering into right now. It's nearly summer, and that's when I feel most like a kid stuck in an adult's world.

So! Here are some dinos I saw:

Dino outside of the Carnegie Science Center near the North Shore bike trail. Those are molecules or genes or something science-y like that?

I may have shown this already, but I'm being too lazy to go back and check. I found this guy hanging in The Park House in Deutschtown way back when football was still on the TV.

And here is a special dino brought to you by Mr. Andrew Mulkerin. Thanks, Andy!

If you've got a dino you'd like to share, or want to send me on a wild goose chase searching for one, send me an email: everythingbetterpgh@gmail.com

Oh and if you're interested, there's this. Looking forward to reading that before the end of the year...