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!)