Volume 4, Issue 2 – February 16, 2005

“A Newsletter Published by Bike Pittsburgh to establish Pittsburgh as a city that is increasingly safe, accessible, and friendly to bicycle transportation.”

In This Issue:

* A New Way To Join Bike Pittsburgh!
* New Garfield Bicycle Project Taking Shape
* P.T.A.G. Trail Maintenance
* Recipe For Winter Biking
* Upcoming Events

A NEW WAY TO JOIN BIKE PITTSBURGH!

Bike Pittsburgh is excited to announce that there is a new way to become a Member! Each hour that you Volunteer at our Free Ride! Community Recycled Bicycle Project is valued at $5, and may be applied towards a Membership in Bike Pittsburgh. Don’t know anything about fixing bikes? We’ll show you everything you need to know.

Come visit our shop, located in the Construction Junction warehouse in Point Breeze at 214 North Lexington Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15208 to get started. Free Ride! is open Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:00-10:00pm, and Saturday afternoons from 1:00pm-5:00pm. Complete details on Free Ride! can be found on the Bike Pittsburgh website in the section called “Free Ride!”

NEW GARFIELD BICYCLE PROJECT TAKING SHAPE

When Garfield activist Michelle Burton-Brown decided she needed a new project in her home neighborhood, her focus was drawn towards bikes by the energy she found in existing bike projects and the potential of such a project to serve needs she saw in her community. Burton-Brown and a group of Garfield residents are working to start a bike recyclery that will offer a variety of programs for neighborhood kids. Planned programs include earn-a-bike classes, bike mechanics workshops, “trips-for-kids” outings, and youth-led bike advocacy efforts. Burton-Brown was quickly directed to Bike Pittsburgh and its Free Ride! program, and found both to be enthusiastic about the prospect of a new community based bike project and eager to collaborate.

As Free Ride! is an established bike recyclery that has experience operating many of the programs Burton-Brown-s group wishes to implement – collecting donations, maintaining a repair shop, teaching bike classes and Earn-a-Bike sessions, and training volunteers – Free Ride! coordinators will work with Burton-Brown’s group to help establish the Garfield project and train Garfield volunteers. The Garfield project and Free Ride! plan to work together to develop youth programming, which Free Ride! has long wished to expand, that can be implemented at both locations. Bike Pittsburgh has offered to serve as a fiscal sponsor for the Garfield group and can also support the planned efforts to engage youth in advocacy. Other potential partners are the Trips For Kids program currently operating out of Homestead, the Seeds of Hope church, and the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation.

Right now the Garfield project’s top priorities are finding a location in Garfield, finding and training volunteers to help staff the project, seeking out funding sources, and developing program curricula. Anyone who wishes to help with the project can contact Michelle Burton-Brown at: (michelleburtonbrown@yahoo.com). More information on Free Ride! can be found on the Bike Pittsburgh website: http://www.bike-pgh.org.

P.T.A.G. TRAIL MAINTENANCE

Mountain Bike Trail Users take notice! The Pittsburgh Trails Advocacy Group (P.T.A.G.) is sponsoring monthly trail maintenance in parks all around the Pittsburgh Region. If you use the trails, or would just like to learn how to create and maintain quality mountain bike trails, come out and join P.T.A.G. for a day of exhilarating work! Bring tools (shovels, steel bar for rock moving, pruners, bow saws, pickaxe), water, and a lunch. Bring sturdy shoes, gloves, and clothes.

The next trail maintenance day is March 6th in Frick Park, and begins at 10:00am. Meet in the parking lot by the tennis courts just off Braddock Avenue. Contact: (ssschoenitr@aol.com) with questions and for more details. For more information on P.T.A.G., email: (ptag@bike-pgh.org). or visit the Bike Pittsburgh website and click on the “Pittsburgh Advocacy Trails Group” section.

RECIPE FOR WINTER BIKING

* 1 Part Sense of Adventure
* 1 Windproof/waterproof outer jacket with a splash of layers (not too many, you will warm up quickly)
* 2 Warm, waterproof Gloves and Shoes (make sure there’s room for wiggling)
* 2 Wicking base layers (synthetic or silk)
* Pinch of head-covering, making sure to cover your ears and thin enough to fit under helmet
* Dash of weekly Bike Maintenance
* 2 Lights front (white) and back (red)
* 2 Fenders (optional, but helpful)

Take all ingredients, mix well. Then take a deep breath, and hit the roads. Most importantly, BE SAFE and BE SEEN. In the shadows of Pittsburgh’s streets, bicyclists are often invisible to drivers, regardless of the color clothes that they wear. The newer LED blinky lights not only allow us to be seen blocks away, they last significantly longer than the older halogen lights. It’s the smallest investment (less than $20) with the highest outcome (your life) that you can possibly make. Pittsburgh’s streets are hard enough to get around in the winter for bicyclists and drivers alike, so don’t give them any surprises.

With that said, when making a move, be predictable, but also be assertive. Blowing red lights and going down one-way streets in hazardous weather conditions is not a move that anyone would be expecting. We survive by predicting what car drivers are going to do, so let’s give them the same courtesy. What they would expect is for you to use turning lanes and use signals when merging onto traffic. Also, we’re not going to be able to ride as close to the curb as usual, due to snow and slush, so don’t get nervous if someone starts to honk. If they honk, at least that means they see you. Being on the road, even in less-than-ideal conditions, is our right, so let’s use it, but safely. And watch out for those pot holes!!!

Maintaining your bike is the next step. But, what we don’t want in this recipe is salt. Slush will take a dash of street grime, mix it with a whole lot of salt, and effectively get inside of every little part of your bike, causing wear and rust. For an in depth look at biking in the winter, see: www.icebike.com.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Here is a short listing of upcoming cycling events in the Pittsburgh Region. For complete details, visit the Bike Pittsburgh website: www.Bike-Pgh.org and click on the “Events & Activities” section.

February 24 – Mountain Bike Rambles – Location: Fox Chapel, Squaw Run Road
March 3 – Mountain Bike Rambles – Location: South Park Ice Rink
March 6 – Frick Park Trail Maintenance (P.T.A.G.)
March 10 – Mountain Bike Rambles – Location: North Park, Pie Traynor Field
March 17 – Mountain Bike Rambles – Location: Frick Park Tennis Courts, Regent Square

Post the miles that you ride on the Bike Pittsburgh website in the Community & Classifieds area! Just send us your monthly mileage, and if you want your name to be available as an email link to: miles@Bike-Pgh.org

Become A Member! Bike Pittsburgh is Western Pennsylvania’s only cycling advocacy, awareness, and safety organization. We rely on your support for many of our activities and initiatives. You can help us to continually transform the Pittsburgh Region into a better place to cycle by becoming a Member starting at $25 per year ($15 for Students). With your tax-deductible Membership Donation you will receive a Membership Card good for discounts with participating organizations that share Bike Pittsburgh’s vision, priority invitations and/or discounts to special Bike Pittsburgh-sponsored events, and the satisfaction that you really are helping to make a difference for all of us. For complete details, go to the Bike Pittsburgh website: http://www.Bike-Pgh.org and click on the Become A Member! section.

“The Bike Pittsburgh Leader” is an electronic newsletter published about every three weeks. Previous issues of “The Bike Pittsburgh Leader” can be found on the Bike Pittsburgh website in the section called “The Leader”. Bike Pittsburgh, Inc. does not rent, sell, or make available any personal information, including email addresses, that you may send to Bike Pittsburgh. If you would like to be removed from the distribution list, simply email: remove@Bike-Pgh.org and request to be removed. alabama loan landloan 0 percent autopersonal loans $1000to loan 60 valueagriculture loans cattleva loans 2006 closedact loan 64answer academic loans Mapafter casino royaleeverett washington 606 casino w rdyork acco credit uion federalsalamanca casino motels alleganystation aliente casino contructionabsentee tribe oklahoma casino shawneecasino contruction station alientesalamanca ny casino seneca allegany Map