By Bob Karlovits, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Steps to eliminate a rough section of the Riverfront Trail along the Allegheny River give this year’s BikeFest an added cause for celebration.

It is simply another example of the growing appreciation of bicycling, says Scott Bricker, executive director of BikePGH, the South Side-based bicycle advocacy group.

BikePGH also is the sponsor of BikeFest, which begins Friday and is the two-weekend-long series of rides and events the group has been holding since 2005.

While the shape of BikeFest is largely the same — mingling its own events and those that exist all the time — Bricker says he and the staff at BikePGH are “really concentrating” on the fundraising BikeFest Party on Friday evening at Pittsburgh Opera headquarters in the Strip District.

He says that is because fundraising has become even more important to the group that has expanded its efforts “to create a bicycle-friendly Pittsburgh.”

It is doing that by working with other groups and with Stephen Patchan, the city’s bicycle and pedestrian coordinator. It also has become more active in planning no-car commuting days and spreading the word about bicyclist and walker rights.

BikeFest, Bricker says, tries to focus on bicycling in all ways, from rides to maintenance efforts.

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