Our BikePGH Business Member community gathered on Wednesday, November 16 at the Energy Innovation Center in Pittsburgh’s Hill district to celebrate the culmination of our 20th Anniversary Year and the business members and sponsors who made that magic possible.
Presenting locally-made trophies to standout businesses
Before we dive into listing the awardees, we wanted to say a word about this year’s special trophies. These trophies are inspired by the iconic Three Rivers Bike Rack, a rack we helped install across the city in conjunction with our bike rack manufacturing partners, Dero, and with grant funding. This year, they were created by local artist William Vitous from Redfishbowl, a local grassroots artist collective, out of their studio space in Lawrenceville. We’re so excited with how they turned out and doubly delighted that we could commission someone hyper-local.
Recognizing the businesses helping us to improve biking and walking in Pittsburgh
The support of every one of our Business Members is crucial, but we especially like to recognize those who go above and beyond to help us accomplish our mission. The leadership of these businesses sets an example of how a business should invest in the health of our city and how a business can help create a safer, more accessible place for all Pittsburghers. During this year’s celebration, BikePGH presented awards to these esteemed businesses and organizations:
🏆 New Business Member of the Year – Dashcam for Your Bike
Everything about this company is simple: the concept? Safety. The cost? Free. The equipment? That phone that’s already in your pocket. Even the name is exactly what it says it is — it’s a dashcam for your bike. Their mission statement: “Our mission is to make bicycling a safe, equitable, and enjoyable mode of transportation. Car ownership should not be a prerequisite to safe travel, and people on bicycles deserve to be treated with respect as equal users of our roads.”
BikePGH staff unanimously agree that founder, Armin, is an inimitable force of nature in the world of bike advocacy and the company he’s created, Dashcam for Your Bike.
🏆 Business Member of the Year – Edgar Snyder & Associates
Once upon a time, Operation Illumination was an unannounced event where we popped up along a busy commuting corridor and passed out lights at dusk to a handful of ill-equipped, dimly lit riders. With the support of Edgar Snyder & Associates, in 2022 we were able to give over 500 sets of front and rear lights and over 100 helmets to those who needed them. That’s a record for BikePGH, but more importantly, that’s 500 human beings who can more easily see and be seen, safely expanding their mobility options beyond the dwindling available daylight. We are so pleased to have had the privilege of making Pittsburgh a little brighter, together Edgar Snyder & Associates.
🏆 Organization of the Year – Black Girls Do Bike
This quote is pulled from the Black Girls do Bike website – “We rejoice when women choose cycling as a tool for function, fitness, freedom, and fun!” and they certainly brought a taste of that fun to Pittsburgh, hosting the national meetup for 2022 here in the steel city this past August. Black Girls Do Bike began when founder Monica Garrison created a Facebook group, searching for other women of color who looked like her and who shared the same sense of freedom she did riding on her daily commutes. Since the creation of that facebook group, and the founding of Black Girls Do Bike in 2013, the organization has grown into over 100 chapters worldwide — which, according to Momentum Magazine makes it one of the fastest growing cycling groups on the planet. This celebration of the accomplishments Black Girls Do Bike has made creating a supportive and enthusiastic community around the shared activity of loving to ride is long overdue.
🏆 Bike Industry Member of the Year – The Wheel Mill
As days get shorter, darker, and colder, it’s especially easy to remember how lucky we are in Pittsburgh to have an indoor bike park. We’re recognizing the Wheel Mill this year for their work reviving their learn to ride program, for helping us activate a really great kids hub at all three OpenStreetsPGH events this summer, and for letting us more or less take over the entire building on October 15th this year when we hosted a Confident City Cycling class AND WMNBikePGH Summit workshops. So yes, Pittsburgh gets to take advantage of the fact that it’s nice that these crazy kids built an indoor bike park, but we want to thank Harry and his team at the Wheel Mill for just being such great people to work with time and again.
🏆 Small Business Champion – JOINT AWARD! – East End Brewing, Trace Brewing, Allegheny City Brewing, Two Frays Brewery
When we met with East End Brewing early in 2022, our goal was to help celebrate BikePGH’s 20th Anniversary with one of our longtime partners. “Let’s make a beer” we said and they kindly agreed. Then that beer turned into a collaboration, and we had a whole team of brewers from different parts of the city working on this beer for us, which we called BikePGH 20th Anniversary Ale. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, they hosted group ride for us to launch the beer which, incidentally, was one of the highlights of our Business & Sponsorship Manager’s summer. Truly. So there are four Small Business Champions in 2022: East End Brewing, Trace Brewing, Allegheny City Brewing, and Two Frays Brewery.
Do you want to be recognized as a leader who helps to improve the safety & accessibility our of city (and to get a cool trophy)?
It’s never too early to start thinking about next year and joining our Business Member community. We’d love to work with you! Email christine@bikepgh.org to talk about opportunities for your business to help BikePGH make Pittsburgh safer and more fun in 2023 and beyond!
Check out our Facebook to see all of the photos, by photographer Julie Kalbaugh.
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