Sixteen miles each way

After a number of good guesses and one that was interesting but completely off course, a local sleuth finally figured out Commuter X’s weekday journey. Matt Preston, Political Consultant by day and puzzle master in his spare time, slew the competition. In several brief sentences he staked his claim to the latest Car Free Fridays raffle prize:

 [Commuter X] starts in Upper Saint Clair, takes Bethel Church Rd, Broughton Rd, Baptist Rd, Brownsville Rd, Becks Run Rd, and Bates St to get to Forbes Avenue & Murray in Squirrel Hill. [He] takes Library Road back via 18th St / Brownsville Rd [to return home]. 

The only piece of info that Matt guessed incorrectly was the last. Commuter X takes West Liberty Boulevard to Washington Road all the way to USC. But Matt was the closest by far, so he gets the bounty — a $30 gift certificate to Piper’s Pub.  This Europhile pub understands the importance of good food, libation, and being located in a bike-friendly city.

Aspiring politicians take note, Matt is no ordinary political consultant, a sharp mind and a bike-commuting aficionado, Matt is likely to make any campaign a winning one. He commutes by bike three or four days a week. “The blog post [riddle] “, Matt says, “combined a puzzle with Pittsburgh geography with searching for new bike routes”. He couldn’t resist trying to hunt down the route. Matt loves Pittsburgh’s riverfront trails and tries to include them into his commute whenever possible. He credits the trail system as one of the things that got him into bike commuting in the first place.

Bikepool Extravaganza wrap

The first annual Bikepool Extravaganza took place on July 22. Twenty-two Bikepools departed  to destinations around the city.  NuGo Bars and Vitamin Water were well stocked for those able to join us at welcome Stations in Market Square and Oakland. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and Oakland Transportation Management Association and the University of Pittsburgh provided the locations.

The leaders who stepped up were happy to share their ride, and many were taken up on their offer. Even a few new friendships were reported from the field.

One ride leader, Stu Strickland from Westview emphasizes several things when riding in groups:

• how to ride in traffic
• when to take the lane (and when not to)
• where to find water fountains
• and the most level and least-motorized routes into the city.

Another thing to remind people of is to always think for themselves even when they are riding in a group. We can all fall prey to mindlessly following a the rider in front of us. Remain particularly aware of intersections and door zones, places where people on bikes are most vulnerable. And keep in mind when there are two lanes of traffic going in the same direction people on bikes have a legal right to ride two abreast in one of the lanes. It comes in handy to know your rights.

Bikepool Matching Service

Perhaps the days most significant success was that we saw a significant increase in the number of people who signed up for the bikepool matching service provided by our partners at CommuteInfo. Sign up today to find out if you have any neighbors interested in sharing a ride.

Next Raffle Prize

Remember to sign up for the Car Free Calculator and log your car-free miles. The next raffle prizes will be picked when we reach 3000 walking miles, and another will be drawn when we have 400 subscribers.

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Not a member of BikePGH?Join today! We need you to add your voice! Bike Pittsburgh works to protect cyclist’s rights and promote the vision of making Pittsburgh a safer and more enjoyable place to live and to ride. For more info, check out: www.bike-pgh.org/membership