TwoJeez

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 »