Weeks 28 and 29 Update

It wouldn't be summer if I wasn't missing a huge chunk of skin on my knee. Last year I got into a bike accident on the North Shore trail, this year I slid into homeplate at a softball game (I scored!). So, as this new wound heals, it's becoming increasingly painful to bend my knee. So biking for fun hasn't been happening as much as I'd like it to be. Now that we're in the thick of summer, long sweaty rides have become the norm. I'm eagerly anticipating the change over into fall...

Weeks 25 - 27 Update

I've been lazy! Just with updating though. Not with biking or logging miles. Those are still things I'm obsessing over. The heat has finally broken and I'm back to doing long rides after work. I think my knees have finally healed from the bike trip too. The most exciting thing? In the past few weeks I've broken through the 2,000-mile mark and am now counting down the miles to go with three digits instead of four. 

It's early, but I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Week 24 Update

Week 24 Total = 87 miles biked

Total Miles Bikes Through 2012: 1838

In two weeks, it will be the end of June.

In two weeks, it will be the exact middle of the year.

In two weeks, I plan on having just 1,000 miles to go.

Week 23 Update

Week 23 = 53.5 miles biked

Total Miles Biked through 2012: 1751

Well! We are now all caught up. Wasn't that nice?

I'm still in a bit of recovery from the trip. I dealt with alarming knee pain after returning home, so I've been taking it easy and limiting most riding to commuting and quick errands. I'm hoping by this weekend and back up and running and getting some nice, long birthday rides in.

Oh, and through June 9, the total amount raised through pledges and donations?

$1,250!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

Week 22 Update

Week 22 = 298.5 miles biked

Total Miles Biked through 2012: 1697

Well! That's a big week of biking.

Read about my adventures on my bike ride to Washington D.C. here:

Days 1 & 2

Days 3 & 4

Days 5 & 6

Reflections, Tips, and Thank You

Week 21 Update

Week 21 = 92.12 miles biked

Total Miles Biked through 2012: 1399

Week 20 Update

Week 20 = 75.6 miles biked

Total Miles through 2012 to date: 1307

Well. I have been slacking.

Apologies. But, I have good reasons:

a) I was preparing for my big trip!

b) I was super stressed out at work.

c) I was on my awesome trip!

d) I have been recovering from the big awesome trip.

Week 19 Update

Week 19 Total = 61.4 miles biked.

A slow week.

Two weeks until the bike trip.

Week 18 Update

Week 18 Total = 115.4 miles biked!

Nearly double what I did last week.

I had great expectations of lots of biking this past weekend. But crazy Friday and Saturday nights prevented me from taking full advantage of the beautiful days. Whatever. I took full advantage of the beautiful nights. I've got 350 miles in five days coming my way in three weeks. Eeeeee... I should start getting ready for that, huh?

Week 17 Update

Week 17 Total = 58.2 miles biked!

Crazy, in the past two days, which were not counted into this total, have already surpassed that.

And that means: I'm tired. 

And kinda sunburned.

Week 16 Update

Week 16 Total = 101.8 miles biked!

I met one of my goals: over 100 miles for the week.

But I missed my other goal, to surpass 1,000 miles.

But that didn't stop me from buying a cake on Saturday to celebrate.

Week 15 Update & A NEW BIKE!

Week 15 Total = 48.2 miles biked!

I needed a week off. Not totally off, because I still commuted to work and ran quick errands on two wheels. But, I think I needed to give my body a bit of a rest. Tomorrow I'm going to kick off a week that will hopefully take me past the 1,000-mile mark. I don't think I'll hit 500 miles for April now, but I'm learning to be okay when I realize that maybe some of my goals are a little ambitious.

IN OTHER NEWS MEET BLUE:

This morning, when I woke up with a semi-major-hangover (hockey playoffs, folks!), I would have never guessed I'd have a new bike sitting in my study twelve hours later. But my friend Allie wanted to stop by Thick Bikes to see about the kind of bike she might want to buy so I went with. She was reluctant to take one of the bikes out for a test spin, so I told her I would take one out too. I asked a few questions about single-speeds, because the ideas of a) having a second bike and b) having a super simple bike had been in the back of my head for a while now. A tad impulsively, I brought the single-speed bike home with me. I haven't gotten to take it out for a test ride yet, but I'm hoping to kickstart a serious biking week with one tomorrow.

If you're in Pittsburgh and looking for a bike, I would definitely recommend Thick Bikes on the South Side. Chris helped both Allie and me and he was happy to answer our questions and get us set up with the perfect bikes to test out.

Week 14 Update

Week 14 Total = 118.1 miles biked!

I did several long rides at the beginning of the week. By Thursday my legs were dog-tired. I had high hopes to get in a couple long rides over the weekend, but I chose to let off steam in other manners (there may have been a downtown bar crawl for the last regular seasons Pens game and a late night of karaoke). I was originally hoping to bike 500 miles this month, which is still doable. But thinking about that makes me kinda want to take a nap!

Week 13 Update

Week 13 Update

Mar. 25-31

111.2 miles biked!

Total Miles Through 2012 To Date: 728.3

Well, I hit my goal of doubling my Jan-Feb total in March. The weather has been so cooperative that I'm always slightly nervous some freak snowstorm is around the corner. But, we're in April now, so hopefully all the coldest days are behind us. A sad note: my computer is a bit sick at the moment and is spending some quality time at the Mac repair store. My dad has lent me a laptop to use in the interim, but I can't access a photo editing software, so you're out of luck if you were hoping for some pictures in this update!

By the way, 728.3 miles biked = $580 raised for Gilda's Club of Western Pennsylvania!

Week 12 Update

Week 12 Total = 87 miles biked!

This morning while I got ready to leave the apartment, I scurried around trying to remember how exactly one bikes in the cold. It has been so nice in Pittsburgh for so long that I completely forgot about things like gloves and hats. I'm hoping to sneak in a few longer rides this week. My goal was to get to 700 miles by the end of March, and I'm very close to getting there. I won't let a silly string of seasonably normal temps get in my way.

Unseasonably Warm: Biking Pittsburgh Bits

It’s been unseasonably warm and sunny this Spring. (Though, as I write this, it’s a rainy Saturday morning and the forecast shows temps in the 50s next week…) The city has felt super alive; people are out on the streets, having meals outdoors, hanging out in the parks. And the number of bikes on the streets seems to have quadrupled. Simply put: amazing.

Last week a couple biking-Pittsburgh related things caught my attention, so now I will bring them to yours. First, I saw two BikePGH posters/graphics last week that I was immediately taken with:

How simple and excellent is that?

I probably require a poster of this to add to my wall.

The second biking-Pittsburgh related thing I enjoyed last week was Essential Pittsburgh’s Friday, March 23 broadcast all about, well, biking in Pittsburgh. The show covered BikePGH’s work and commentary about the current biking culture in Pittsburgh, information about purchasing and maintaining a bike, and an introduction to the various trail systems throughout the city.

I hope you find some time to enjoy Pittsburgh on two wheels this spring. It really is the best way to get around town, and you get to feel a part of the liveliness this time of years brings about.

Week 11 Total

Week 11 Total = 104.7 miles biked!

Yes! Two things: First, until I calculated this morning to do this update, I had no idea I had completed my first 100-mile week. Second: It. Is. Perfect. Outside. Perfect.

530.1 Miles Biked = $446.86 for Gilda's Club of Western Pennsylvania!

March 17, 2012: Summer Weather

This was an amazing week that yielded three long rides and a lovely ride home from Regent Square after watching the Pens annihilate the Rangers in Crosby’s second big return-game of the year. (This is the best time of the year to like hockey. Things are getting so exciting! Games are getting bigger and more meaningful!) On that ride I headed back toward Bloomfield while a lightning storm hung over the city. It’s only mid-March, but it honestly felt like summer.

This past Saturday, Carrie and I planned out a nice little bike ride that just so happened to fall on St. Paddy’s Day. We stayed out of Downtown, but couldn’t avoid the South Side and Station Square. I mean, to each his or her own, but I’m really glad St. Paddy’s Day is not a holiday I circle on my calendar every year. We stuck to trails and stopped along the way to have a very Parisian lunch on the side of the Mon. We made friends with some geese. They ate our bread and our strawberries.

In total we went just over 22 miles. And I got a pretty nice sunburn. I might not officially celebrate any smidge of Irish heritage I’m sure I’ve got from somewhere in my family tree, but I sure do turn red like a lobster when the sun gets its first good chance at my forearms.

A couple more biking tunes for your enjoyment:

Memory Tapes - Bicycle

Cut Copy - Where I'm Going

March 13, 2012: Spring Has Sprung!

Guys. Spring is here. I know it's early and there could still be snow and cold and blah blah blah. It's here. The ten-day forecast is enough of an indicator for me.

After work today I went up and down the Mon on both sides of the river. It felt amazing to be biking around in a t-shirt and rolled-up leggings. The next two days are more of the same, and I have more of the same planned. If my goal is to get to 700 miles by the end of March, I better use every minute of this early spring to my benefit!

On an unrelated note and with an admittedly selfish intent*, here are songs that I think are good for biking**.

The Stills - Snakecharming the Masses


Jonsi - Go Do


*Selfish because I want to eventually make an all-encompassing biking mix, but I never write the songs down in the same place. Resulting in this mix never having been created. This seems like a good place to gather those tunes together.

**For MY biking. Listen. There's gonna be a Phil Collins track or two on here eventually. I don't profess to have a stunning taste in music that everyone else should love. I have my taste in music. That is my disclaimer!

Week 10 Total

Week 10 Total = 39.1 miles biked!

Okay. Spring has sprung. Pittsburgh has an amazing forecast for the next ten days, and I intend to take full advantage of the newly extended daylight.

Spring Forward

I took this on my March 3 ride. I had stopped to snap a few shots for an upcoming blog on Everything Better Pittsburgh and took advantage of a good vantage point.

This weekend we spring forward. I can't wait.

Week 9 Total

Week 9 Total = 54 miles biked!

I got in a long ride on Saturday morning. I can't wait for the days when my daily totals rival my recent weekly totals. Spring is in the air (to stay, I hope)!

(Oh, by the way, 386.3 miles biked = $366.33 for Gilda's Club of Western Pennsylvania!)

Week 8 Total

Week 8 Total = 43.4 miles biked!

This past week I passed 300 miles biked and $300 raised!

THANK YOU to anyone who has pledged. I can't tell you how many times I've thought about you all while riding my bike. I'm seriously so excited to have undertaken this project, and your participation is just awesome.

Week 7 Total

Week 7 Total = 38.5 miles biked.

At the onset of the week, I worried that I would be on the bus more than once, but once was it and the other days I enjoyed more mild weather and the ability to commute to and from work by bike. On Saturday, the 18th day of February, I rode my bike to the South Side without gloves on. Fingers crossed that the mild weather lasts another month or two.

Winter Biking

Back in October, the Post Gazette ran an alarming article about the upcoming Pittsburgh winter. It warned of doomsday and hearkened back to memories of Snowmaggedon (which I actually missed completely as I still lived in Boston at the time). "Below average temperatures. Above-average precipitation. A cold-snap for the holidays - all of them."

But, it just HASN'T happened.

Look at the upcoming ten-day forecast:

Note that I am writing this a few weeks before it'll post online. And by the time it does our luck will break and we'll be up to our necks in snow and ice.

I write this as a preface to discussing Winter Biking because it really hasn't been all that wintery. I'm not at the point yet where I can confidently ride a bike through the snow. I am improving though! Last year I refused to ride when it was cold enough to need a heavier winter coat while walking around. I took the bus for a little less than three months while I waited for temperatures to get back to a comfortable level. But this year, I've not been a wuss when it comes to biking in the cold and there have only been three or four days SINCE DECEMBER that I've found myself waiting on the corner of Friendship and Gross in the morning.

The most important difference between this year and last year is that I've properly attired myself, and that has made all the difference. Here's what I've been wearing that's been getting me through cold rides to and from work:

Knit Cap under Helmet: Even if it doesn't feel THAT cold out, I will still wear a knit cap on most mornings. My ears are prone to freezing quickly, and if they haven't frozen by the time I get to Penn and Main, they will by the time I've flown halfway down the hill into the Strip.

Layers on Upper Body: I will always wear at least a t-shirt and my Under Armour base layer under my jacket. If it's extremely cold I wear the base layer first and the t-shirt over it. It it's normal cold, the t-shirt then base layer. Most mornings I also wear a zip-up hooded sweatshirt, but it's been so mild that it's been left at home on many occasions.

Jacket: A white Marmot rain jacket. This may seem crazy, because it really is just a rain jacket, but it's waterproof and windproof. It has zippers in the armpit area so I can have ventilation when needed. When fully zipped it keeps the heat I'm generating in. I've NEVER been too cold on my bike in this jacket.

Legs and Feet: I wear American Apparel's winter legging every day, starting in the late fall. They are thick and warm and they've (so far) taken the wear and tear pretty well. For socks I wear a thick wool sock pulled up as high as it'll go under the leggings. If it's bitter cold, two pairs. For shoes I've just been wearing my Saucony's and have been getting by okay with those.

Gloves: I got a pair of Seirus gloves this year, and they have served me well. They aren't as warm as I'd like them to be on the coldest days, but I'm convinced I have poor circulation and skinny fingers that freeze very quick. Once or twice I've doubled up on gloves, wearing a thicker knit glove over the Seirus ones. To be fair, the guy at REI did tell me that there were better options for serious winter riding, but when I bought them in November I wasn't sure if I'd yet committed to serious winter riding. Next year I will probably invest in a warmer option. For now, well, I haven't lost a digit yet.

Things I Would Like to Add: Just two items on my wishlist for this winter or next: face mask, rain pants.

I am, of course, keeping my fingers crossed in hopes that this mild winter continues throughout the next month or two. But if the temperatures drop, I'll do my best to grin and bear it.

Week 6 Total

Week 6 Total = 27.6 miles biked.

Between bad weather and a bout of food poisoning, biking was down this week. And I expect it to continue through this week as tonight calls for snow, even though a warm-up is in our future.

After one official week of winter weather, I am officially over it and cannot wait for spring.

February 1, 2012: I biked 20 miles today!

I biked 20 miles today! Well, a week ago today!

What a treat. It was a little cloudy and cool when I started my ride, but by the end I almost didn't want to come back home. I went from up and down the Mon on the South Side to up and down the Mon on the Eliza Furnace Trail.

Starting to Bike to Work

I only started commuting to work by bike in November 2010. I'd been working downtown since early August of that year, but it took me until late-mid-ish fall to start riding in most everyday. I say most every day because I used the weather as an excuse to take a rest and take the bus. When I started bike commuting the ride there was easy and fun. The ride home? Much less so. There is no easy or simple way to get from where I work back to where I live without having to deal with a recreationally prohibitive climb. Whereas my ride to is fun and quick, my ride from involves pedaling up Penn Avenue, which - from Doughboy Square to Penn & Main - is a steady incline.

Graph of my round-trip commute by elevation. Significantly different experiences on each leg.

When I first started, it was hell. I love the speed of flying down Penn in the morning. The slight hint of danger is a good substitute on those mornings when I don't wake up with enough time to have a cup of coffee. But, at first, I'd see the clock nearing 5:30 p.m. at work and start to dread the necessity of exhausting myself just to get home. In the summer the climb was especially bad because of my natural "sweaty kid" nature. It took constant hydration on the way up and then a immediate shower once I got home. (Even though the sweatiness was an annoyance at the time, I yearn for it now over the startling pain of not being able to feel your hands squeeze the brakes because your hands are frozen.)

But, in time, my body has responded to the beating it started taking just over a year ago. Not only can I make it up Penn every time without stoping to catch my breath or rest (though I never complain about hitting the red light at Penn & 40th - in fact, I normally always enjoy it), but I can do it in a higher gear at a somewhat normal speed (i.e., it nearly takes the same amount of time to get to work as it does to get home now). I feel stronger and I've lost weight that steadily going to a gym for three years in Boston never seemed to shed.

I've no doubt that I am currently in the best shape of my life and that the toning and health benefits will continue as long as I keep pushing myself to ride my bike whenever possible.

If I had to offer a few tips for making the adjustment to commuting to work by bike:

• Get a rack. Get a set of panniers. Not having the added weight (or essentially a very thick layer of clothing in the summer) of a backpack has really made a big difference in my commute.
• Understand that at first it will be difficult - physically and maybe mentally. You'll be switching to an entirely different routine. You'll have to normalize your route, understand how much time you need to ready yourself and how much time it takes to actually ride in. Eventually both your legs and your brain will get it and everything will be second nature.
• Have fun! Flying down Penn in the morning is more fun than riding a crammed bus or sitting in a car stuck in traffic. Keeping the negatives of the alternatives in mind when you're commuting by bike goes a long way on that evening ride home when you're stuck in a downpour. I've had a couple really fun rides home in the rain committing to getting soaked and enjoying the absurdness of it.

Week 5 Total

Week 5 Total = 69.4 miles biked!

Woah! The mild winter continues, and it allowed me to take a 20-mile ride on the first day of February. Looking forward to next week, because the highs will be in the upper 30s and 40s again.

Week 4 Total

Week 4 Total = 37.6 miles biked!

I got in an entire week's worth of commuting. It's been too cold to do much more than that.

I've started having day-long daydreams of long rides in the summer. Sigh. Summer.

Week 3 Total

Week 3 Total = 24.4 miles biked!

And winter is here. Crappy weather (snow and yuck) at the end of the week kept me from doing the daily commute.

Week 2 Total

Week 2 Total = 48.4 miles biked!

Winter is coming into full force, so I expect the miles are not going to be coming in as swiftly as these first two weeks.

Week 1 Total

Week 1 Total = 43 miles biked!

Never in January would I have guessed the week would have started and ended with riding around for fun.

The weather is going to get worse. I know it. I'm trying to prepare for it, but it's hard when it's been so mild.

January 7, 2012: I Biked 20 Miles Today!

I biked 20 miles today!

On an unseasonably warm January day, I got in several bikes rides.

First, I hung out with the ducks at Highland Park (see above). Practicing my route to the Highland Park Pool. Summmmmmertime, I missssss you!

Then I went from Bloomfield to Polish Hill to the Strip to the North Side back to Bloomfield and then down to Lawrenceville and back.

Never thought I'd get a 20-mile day in during the month of January.

Pedal for Pennies - Welcome!

My name is Allison. I love riding my bike.

Details soon.