August 14-20

For the uninitiated, BikeFest is our annual celebration of all-things-bicycling in Pittsburgh. Three weekend of Bicycle Themed Fun with bike-themed rides & events organized by local people like you.

This year BikeFest is three weeks long, and we’ll be posting one blog per week highlighting a few events for each day. For a full listing of events, you can always check out the BikeFest Events Calendar here.

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Weekday Events

Spinnsters Monthly Ride for Women

Date: Tuesday, August 15th
Time: 6:00pm meet, 6:15pm take off
Location: Schenley Plaza outside of The Porch, 4100 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15213

Join me and the group for a casual no-drop all levels welcome ride followed by a fun and optional happy hour. If you’ve been waiting for the chance to get active on two wheels with a group of welcoming friendly and fun wymn bikers and have a great time while doing it, these monthly rides are the ticket for you. Mark your calendars, I can’t wait to see you there!

The route will be approximately 10 miles. There will be some hills (this is PGH afterall) but everyone should and can ride at their own pace. This is a NO-DROP ride meaning you will never be left behind.

**You must have front and rear bike lights and a helmet to attend this ride. Be sure to do a safety check of your bike before heading out!**

Type of Ride: Road/Urban, social
Duration: 2 hours
Level: Beginner to Intermediate (10-13 miles), no-drop ride with easy pace and no one left behind
Ride Host & Contact: BikePGH Volunteer Emily Stilwell + Jane Runyan jane@bikepgh.org RSVP or ask questions on Facebook

Rules of the Road with the City Police

Date: Wednesday, August 16th
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Bear Dog Bicycles, 901 Western Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15233

Join Bear Dog Bicycles and the Pittsburgh Police Department in learning the Rules of the Road. A police officer will be giving a class on how to bike safely and lawfully around the city. Learn your rights as a cyclist and what to do if you happen to find yourself in an accident or other situation.

Type of Ride: Safety Course, social, family-friendly
Duration: 1-2 hours
Level: Social (no riding necessary) Family-friendly
Ride Host & Contact: Bear Dog Bicycles and City of Pittsburgh Police, Natan LaValla, nathan@beardogbikes.com/724-884-6474

BikeFest + ATG Tech Talk

Date: Thursday, August 17th
Time: 6:00pm
Location: ATG, 50 33rd Street, Pittsburgh PA 15201

Pittsburgh is home to the self-driving Uber, and has received immense support from the Bike Pittsburgh community. We’d like to open our doors to participants to learn more about SDUs and how we are building software (and hardware) with bicyclists and pedestrians in mind. Click here to RSVP.

Type of Ride: Tech Talk, social
Duration: 2-3 hours
Level: n/a, social
Ride Host & Contact: Uber Advanced Technologies Group, Sarah Abboud, sabboud@uber.com

Video-Your-Ride Seminar

Date: Thursday, August 17th
Time: 6:30pm
Location: Bear Dog Bicycles, 901 Western Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15233 (Northside)

Whether road or trail rider, it’s always great to be able to show off your travels to others later. This demo will focus on cameras, mounting techniques, computer equipment, editing, uploading and sharing methods. Learn how to protect yourself while riding in traffic by being camera-equipped.

Type of Ride: Workshop/Demo
Duration: 1 hour + Q&A
Level: Social, Family-friendly, beginner
Contact: Stuart Strickland, stustrickland@gmail.com/412-334-7078

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Friday August 18th

#Unicyclesareathing

Type of Ride: Beginner Unicycling, Social Unicycling
Duration: 2-3 hours
Level: Beginner & Intermediate

Learn to Unicycle! We will help you. All levels of unicyclists welcome, especially first timers and beginners. Bring your own unicycle or borrow one of ours. We have quite a few to choose from and this year we also have nice new loaner helmets donated by Specialized Bikes. Wear flat soled shoes for best pedal grip. #UnicyclesAreAThing

Date: Friday, August 18th
Time: 6:30pm
Location: South Side Trail in front of Hofbrauhaus, 2700 S Water St, Pittsburgh PA 15203
Ride Host & Contact: Thick Bikes, Christopher Beech, chris@thickbikes.com/412-708-2502

412 Flock August Monthly Ride

Type of Ride: Road/Urban
Duration: 2-3 hours
Level: Beginner, social, easy pace, no-drop

This monthly ride is an all-inclusive, social, slow, no-drop and beginner-friendly way to try out riding in the streets. We meet at Dippy the Dinosaur in Oakland at 6:00pm and roll out at 6:30pm. Don’t have a bike? There are usually Healthy Ride bike stations at the start and end of our ride. RSVP on Facebook

Date: Friday, August 18th
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Dippy the Dinosaur near the Carnegie Museums
Ride Host & Contact: 412 Flock, Tricia Chicka, 412FlockPGH@gmail.com

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Saturday August 19th

Hillbilly 12-Pack

Type of Ride: Road
Duration: 2-3 hours
Level: Advanced, climbing, self-supported

Do you think steep hills are like teddy bears to be hugged and squeezed? Do you aspire to ride the Dirty Dozen? If so, then join Hollow Oak Land Trust and Bear Dog Bikes for 12 of the Northside’s finest ascents, including two of the DD. This 23-mile road ride includes three Belgian block ascents and 3,500 feet of climbing. The pace will be leisurely, with plenty of time to catch our breath at the top of each hill, but you should have bike and body capable of climbing Pig Hill (Rialto St.) without squealing…or at least not squealing too loudly. Bring water and snacks; opportunities to refill water bottles along the way will be available. Optional libations and après at Allegheny City Brewing.

Date: Saturday, August 19th
Time: 5:00pm
Location: Riverview Park Visitors Center, 151 Riverview Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15214
Ride Host & Contact: Hollow Oak Land Trust & Bear Dog Bikes, Sean Brady, sbrady@hollowoak.org/412-417-5825

Pan Handlebar Tour

Type of Ride: Rails-to-Trails
Duration: 2-3 hours
Level: Intermediate

Bike 7.5 miles west on the Panhandle Trail from Oakdale to Kramer’s Bar in Midway. Return to Oakdale with stops at Hart’s in McDonald and Lemon Tree in Sturgeon. Stop afterwards for food and drinks at Peppercini’s, next to the starting point. This is not an organized event, and no one is in charge. Everyone rides at their own risk and is responsible for themselves.

Date: Saturday, August 19th
Time: 4:30pm
Location: Panhandle Trail, Trailhead parking lot in Oakdale
Ride Host & Contact: Dean DeGregorio, cheesepittfan@yahoo.com

Take it to the Trails

Type of Ride: Mountain Biking, single track, group ride & skills session
Duration: 2-3 hours
Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Take it to the Trails is a mountain bike group ride and lesson series. Before the ride, we will have a Mountain Bike Skills Lesson at 10:00am. We will cover core mountain bike skills such as log overs, body position, corning, etc. The group ride to Frick leaves at 11:30am from The Wheel Mill. After the ride, we will return to The Wheel Mill for a BBQ and refreshments.

Date: Saturday, August 19th
Time: 10:00am
Location: The Wheel Mill, 6815 Hamilton Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15218
Ride Host & Contact: The Wheel Mill, Michael Potoczny, info@thewheelmill.com

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Sunday August 20th

Try-A-Bike Event & Potluck

Type of Ride: Social, test-ride
Duration: 10am-3pm
Level: Social, Family-Friendly

Come one and all to our 7th Annual Try-A-Bike Jamboree! Bicycle enthusiasts from around the region will bring a variety of bikes and trikes from their personal collections and allow short test rides around the half-mile paved oval loop normally used for racing. For less experienced riders, the flat interior surface of the track (a former driver’s ed course) provides a traffic-free area to get a feel for something they have never tried before. Recumbents and trikes, tandems, tall bikes, unicycles, cargo bikes, fixies, trailers, e-assist bikes, and whatever else we can scrounge up will be available for you to take out for a spin. And we usually have a demo Port Authority bus bike rack, so you can practice racking your bike at your leisure. Volunteers will be on hand to point out which bikes are available for test rides and to adjust seat heights. Bike-based tailgating and picnicking under the shade trees is encouraged. Bathrooms and vending machines are available at the neighboring Zone 5 Police Station. No dogs please. Helmets and waivers required. RSVP on Facebook

Date: Sunday, August 20th
Time: 10:00am
Location: Bud Harris Cycling Track, 1401 Washington Blvd, Pittsburgh PA 15206
Ride Host & Contact: 412 Flock, Tricia Chicka, 412FlockPGH@gmail.com

Hello, Hill District!

Type of Ride: Road
Duration: 1-2 hours
Level: Advanced, self-supported

Date: Sunday, August 20th (Rain date is Weds, Aug. 23rd at 6:30pm)
Time: 10:00am
Location: OTB South Side, 2516 E Carson St, Pittsburgh PA 15203
Ride Host & Contact: Ken Kaszak,valuekaszak@yahoo.com/412-390-1122

Tour de Taco – Pittsburgh Edition

Type of Ride: Mixed, 65% Rails-to-Trails and 35% Road
Duration: 3+ hours
Level: Intermediate, family-friendly

The ride will be a social ride of about 30 miles with 3 taco stops. We will begin at the Waterfront and travel the Three Rivers Heritage Trail to the Southside to Doce Taqueria, from there, we will get back on the trail to the Point and follow to the Convention Center where we’ll hop on the Penn Ave Bike Lane and Visit Tako. From there we will rejoin the Penn Ave Bike Lane and head to Lawrenceville. We will have several miles here on the street until we reach Round Corner Cantina. We will retrace our ride back a few blocks and cross the 31st Street Bride where we again join the Three Rivers Heritage Trail and will ride the trail back to the start.

Date: Sunday, August 20th
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Pump House Waterfront, 880 E Waterfront Dr, Munhall PA 15120
Ride Host & Contact: Larry Nicolette, ljnjrcpa@gmail.com/4122607866

Trailflo Demo Ride with Trail Pittsburgh

Type of Ride: Mountain biking, single track
Duration: 2-3 hours
Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Come and demo a new Ibis, Spot, Yeti or Rocky Mountain bike. Or just come out and ride North Park with the Trail Pittsburgh stewards and our friends from Trailflo Bikes!! We will have a fast and a slow group. All are welcome. Help us celebrate BikeFest!! We will showcase North Park’s South Ridge and West Ridge trails – Devils Elbow, Denny’s Trail, Kotobuki and the Dr J Trail and Skills Park. Apres ride at OTB Boathouse (of course)!!

Date: Sunday, August 20th
Time: 9:30am
Location: Devils Elbow, North Park, South Ride Drive, Allison Park 15101
Ride Host & Contact: Trailflo Bikes & Trail Pittsburgh, Jamie Pfaeffle, jamie@trailpittsburgh.org

Bike to the Beach

Type of Ride: Pre/Post Ride Activity
Duration: 2-3 hours
Level: Social, Beginner

Bike to the Beach during Bike Pittsburgh‘s Bikefest and ride to some of Pittsburgh’s finest City Pools!! Meet at the Healthy Ride station across the street from Bakery Square at noon.

We’ll start at the Bakery Square Healthy Ride Station, get pre-soaked at Shadyside Spray Park, bike to Highland Park pool to cannon-ball in the deep end, and then cruise to the Schenley Park Pool. Spend the rest of the day cooling off with your fellow bikers.

Riders are encouraged to take the trip in their bathing suits and Hawaiian T’s. Bring your favorite floaties, pool toys, and best friends.

Thanks to Lanespotter every rider walks away with a limited edition Bike to the Beach Fanny Pack! First 25 to show up get a limited-edition T shirt too.

Date: Sunday August 20th
Time: 11:30am
Location: Bloomfield Pool, 408 Ella St, Pittsburgh PA 15224
Ride Host & Contact: Pittsburgh Bike Share, Erin Potts, info@pghbikeshare.org

 

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BikeFest featured events

Full BikeFest Events Calendar

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