Pedal Pittsburgh

When: Registration opens at 6:30 a.m. Sunday; 50- and 60-mile rides begin at 7 a.m.; 25- and 35-mile rides start at 8 a.m.; 15-mile rides, 9 a.m.; 6-mile rides, 10 a.m.; lunch and entertainment, 11:30 a.m.

Admission: $30; $55 for families

Where: Station Square, South Side

Details: 412-391-4144

By Bob Karlovits
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, May 17, 2007

Planners of Pedal Pittsburgh are trying to keep the bike ride on course, but sometimes that means turning new corners.

Jennifer Fox, one of the coordinators for what has become the city’s only organized bike ride, says Sunday’s ride will stay mostly on the courses that have become familiar.

But the 50- and 60-mile routes, the longest in the event built around showing off city buildings and highlights, will explore an overlook new to the event.

Riders on those routes will climb off Center Avenue in the Hill District to a site on Herron Hill peering over the Allegheny River.

“There are some climbs there,” Fox says, “but, man, when you get there, it is really worth it.”

Pedal Pittsburgh, which has been cruising city streets since 1994, is organized by the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh as a way of highlighting city architecture and development efforts.

It starts and ends at Station Square on the South Side and rolls past new sites such at the Cork Factory lofts in the Strip District and neighborhoods in constant change throughout the city.

Rides range from a family tour of 6 miles to the 60-miler that climbs Perry Hilltop, Mt. Washington and other ridges of the area.

Riders start on their own within frameworks set according to the lengths of the rides, but there also are guided tours for 15- and 25-mile courses.

Fox is hoping for good weather and says advance registration hints at 2,300 riders, which would top the previous peak of 2,100 in 2004.

The other major change for the event, she points out, is addition of music at the start-end site, something that hadn’t been permitted when the Chevrolet Amphitheater was on the spot.

The lunch at the end of the ride will feature Jon Check and his band doing a blend of rock, folk and gospel music.

“We’re putting up several small tents and hope to give the area a festival atmosphere,” Fox says.

Bob Karlovits can be reached at bkarlovits@tribweb.com or (412) 320 7852.