C'mon and Take a Free Ride

Nothing compares to the simple joy of being on a bike. It can be relaxing or exhilarating, but it's always a good time. With 37 miles of scenic riverfront trails, beautiful city parks and innovative organizations that promote cycling, Pittsburgh is growing its reputation as a great place to ride. Dirt Rag magazine, a national bike culture and the mountain bike zine which is located north of the city, says biking in Pittsburgh is good and getting better all the time.

But it wasn’t always this good.

About five years ago, a man named David Hoffman was riding his bike and was hit by a car. Stunned, hurt, and angry, he started a website, and named it Bike Pittsburgh. It has since morphed into a non-profit group that works hard to improve the infrastructure for city riding. “It’s about advocacy,” says Scott Bricker, executive director. “It’s about building a grassroots bicycling constituency – crucial to getting anything done.”

With more than 350 members and 2,000 on an email distribution list, Bike Pittsburgh is now a major organizing force. Visitors to its website can download maps for suggested bike routes, report hazardous road conditions, find out about bike events, and read about current bike-related issues. Conditions have improved, says Bricker, who notes, “I used to get heckled by motorists every week: ‘Get on the sidewalk!’ Now months will go by.”

Despite the occasional hostile motorist, biking is convenient, self-sufficient, economical, environmentally friendly, and most of all, a blast. The city offers a range of bike routes for everyone from the recreational to the most avid cyclist.

Let’s Get Together

When groups of cyclists get together to ride, they bond. “There are distinct riding communities that hang out and help each other, “says cyclist Matt Fagerburg. “Recreation for the hearty mountain biker, tricks for the BMX kids, trail riding for families, commuters, and then what I call ‘the core’ - a group concerned about issues like sustainability and community values.”

One group materializes the last Friday of the month at 5 p.m. in front of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. En masse, they call themselves Critical Mass, and be it a handful or a hundred, everyone is on wheels, and for a moment, pedal power reigns over gas guzzlers. Critical Mass has an element of protest whenever they jam up city streets during rush hour, but mostly it’s about having a good time.

Another interesting bike subculture is the set of solemn teens who gather from somewhere behind the railroad tracks, cruising into the North Side after dark. Sporting sweaty, black t-shirts, the tight-knit group with a mission hunch over small black bikes, and practice tricks in quieter parts of Allegheny Commons.

Then there are the hard-core groups. “There are a lot of special Pittsburgh hills, like Sycamore Street, Rialto Street, or Negley that present great riding challenges,” says Dale Craig, long time cyclist who in 1986, rode 2300 miles across the Scottish Highlands. Far from being viewed as obstacles, the hills of Pittsburgh are considered to be exceptional, lending a challenge not found in many cities.

“Embrace the hills as good exercise and a challenge and then it’s a lot of fun,” says Bill Ehler, a geologist who bikes 150 miles a week. He rides with three different groups—the Mt. Lebanon Cycling and Caffeine Club (aka “the Church of the Whirling Hub”), UPMC Cycling Performance and the Allegheny Cycling Association. “Pennsylvania as a whole is an excellent biking state,” says Ehler. “If the velodrome in Brownsville develops, and that just hit the news this past week, that would be wonderful for this area.”

For those of mighty fortitude, Ehler suggests the Dirty Dozen, an annual event scheduled for November 25^th this year, where cyclists tackle 12 of the toughest hills in town. It’s the brainchild of Danny Chew, a Pittsburgher who twice won the grueling, non-stop Race Across America.

Rack ‘n Roll

More cyclists than ever are peddling to work these days. To promote cycling as transportation, the Sprout Fund and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership recently worked with Bike Pittsburgh to install 130 or so modern bike racks Downtown. In addition, Port Authority’s Rack n’ Roll program encourages riders to take bikes on buses and light rail, with bike racks in downtown Parking Authority parking garages.

As a steward for Three Rivers Heritage Trail, a cohesive system of Pittsburgh riverfront trails, Friends of the Riverfront is another group committed to bike advocacy, developing extensive and free trail maps.  Partnering with the City of Pittsburgh, Borough of Millvale, PennDOT, and citizens’ groups, Friends of the Riverfront is now working to complete a final piece of the trail between Pittsburgh and Millvale. With PennDot’s re-engineering of Route 28 to include riverfront trail design, these groups are now seeking $1.4 million in private foundation and state dollars to secure the trail.

As further incentive to hit the trail, there’s even an offer of free bike use. Along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail on both the North Side and the South Side, inconspicuous grey lockers house bikes as part of a community program called Blue Bikes. Free to ride, the bikes are a great way to escape urban hubbub and spend a leisurely afternoon riding along the scenic riverfront. Interested parties can visit the Friends of the Riverfront office at 33 Terminal Way to obtain access to a bike in a locker for up to one year.

Bike Fest

In early 2006, notices were posted around the city, asking bike enthusiasts to suggest events for a bike festival. The response was more than expected, and a collection of more than 50 cycling events was culled to form Bike Fest, held in June. As Scott Bricker proclaims, “Bike Fest was of the people and by the people.”

One highlight was the Bike Swap, held in a parking lot adjacent to the Andy Warhol Museum. Bike vendors and cyclists mingled with musicians and t-shirt designers, making a scene in the name of the bicycle. Trading or buying, attendees came away with a needed part or in some cases, a bike. Vendors included REI Pittsburgh and Gatto. Bike Fest, along with other annual events such as Pedal Pittsburgh  and the Pittsburgh Triathlon serve a larger purpose, gathering thousands of Pittsburgh cyclists to celebrate health, wellness, and urban living.

This community spirit is behind the supportive network of cyclists who educate each other in bike safety and repair. Cyclists may visit Free Ride (412.731.4094) and Kraynick’s Bike Shop  for DIY bike repair. A non-profit whose mission is to ensure that anyone can “obtain, recycle, and maintain” a bicycle, Free Ride is located inside Construction Junction in Point Breeze. It’s the perfect place to recycle your old bike or restore it to road-ready status. And it hosts regular Ladies’ Nights, when women can work on their bikes and get advice from skilled mechanics.

Similarly, Kraynick’s, at 5003 Penn Avenue in Garfield, allocates the back 40 feet of this jam-packed shop for bike repair. With six work stations, cyclists rummage through drawers full of screws and parts, tinkering away. They pay for their parts when they leave.

More options: To build a new bike, purchase equipment or get your bike fixed by someone else, visit local Thick Bikes , Biketech  or Pittsburgh Pro Bicycles.

The point is to get out there and ride. You’ll be in good company.

Jen Saffron, who teaches writing and photography, recently wrote the Pop City Guides to Downtown Pittsburgh.