TwoJeez

My first waking thought on this Sunday morning was “Wait, the Moose doesn’t open till 4:00, I wonder if Dave knows that?” I got out of bed and went to the trusty interweb where discovered that Dave had indeed realized this reality and had moved the starting location to Thick Bikes. Since registration was at 12, and the race started at 1, this was a much more suitable starting location. It was what some would consider a perfect afternoon for a mountain bike alleycat. Mid-20’s, light snow and just enough puddles to make things messy. As always, Dave devised an excellent race course that traversed the local trail systems through both Schenley and Frick parks. Continue Reading »

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

The Hot Metal Bridge bike/pedestrian crossing opening ceremony was today at noon. The new crossing, which utilizes the original refurbished Hot Metal Bridge, links the Eliza Furnace Trail (or, “The Jail Trail”) on the downtown side of the river to the Southside Trail via a bridge over 2nd Ave. Mayor Luke Ravenstal was on hand to do the ribbon cutting, as well as close to 200 cyclist, pedestrians, and rollerbladers. Bridge Entrance
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Saturday, August 25, 2007With temperatures reaching into the high 80’s, with 90+% humidity, this years Tour De Yinz began as the polar opposite of last year’s race. Held in November 2006, the inagural TDY featured pouring rain with temperatures of around 40°. Race participants were clearly pleased about the updated conditions.Pre-race Continue Reading »

Thirteen people came out for the Tour De Yinz Prologue. New to this years tour, the Prologue was a 5.5 mile Time Trial from Hot Metal Street to the end of the Southside trail and back. Saturday provided the racers with a beautiful day in the mid 70’s with very little wind. Continue Reading »

I heard a crash.Sitting on the the couch after a busy day, and a reasonble dose of chicken wings and beer, I heard a crash. Now, this isn’t the first time i’ve heard a crash outside my bedroom window. During the two years that i’ve have lived on Pius St. I have heard/seen 4 accidnets, all of which occured almost directly infront of my house. Ironically enough, two of the four were people that I knew. Judging by the sound of the crash I knew that there was a possibility that it could have been my car! It is usually parked either infront of, or very close to the corner near my house. I don’t drive it more than 1-2 times a month and tend to forget its exact location in the surrounding area. Continue Reading »

The date was Friday, July 13, 2007. Yes, Friday the 13th. What started as a normal happy hour at the Smiling Moose quickly turned into a ridiculous dick measuring contest. Joe “Papa Joe” Heckman, infamous retired Triangle Bike messenger was being encouraged by Pete, the door man, to show that he still had the skill/speed to beat any of the messengers currently working in a race across town. Of course, I am not a bike messenger and never have been. That being said, I’m not really sure how i got involved in the whole thing, but there I was signing a written contract to race Joe.The race: from the Smiling Moose to the N. Craig St. Beer distributor, buy a 30 pack of Pabst, and return to the Moose. The catch: doing this on original Triangle basket bikes. If you’ve never seen one of these bikes, they are certainly something to behold. Weighing in at a modest 45lbs, they are basically single speed steel mtn bikes with a coaster break and a large basket on the front. Not exactly ‘race-ready’ machines, but are brilliant for carrying large loads while messengering. The bet: the first person to return to the Moose with their 30 pack wins. If I win, Joe will pay me $300. (Pretty strong incentive to enter a race!) If Joes wins, he will shave my head bald on the stage of the Moose. Continue Reading »