BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

It's sad to see this go, but the lack of response to this thread suggests that ending Bike Fest was a pretty reasonable decision. Does anyone have any plans to hold summer rides or bike events notwithstanding the end of Bike Fest?

412 Flock has been contemplating holding our Try-a-Bike day down at the oval, most likely in August.  We'll post on the board if it's a go.

Holding a month long bike fest every year does seem like a tall order.  However, what I heard on the radio, that the event was being discontinued so the organization could concentrate on developing greater diversity in Pittsburgh bicycling seems like a major endeavor in itself.  Does anyone know if this is accurate and if so, an explanation of what that actually means would be interesting.

I think people not posting memories has more to do with message board participation than the topic

Massachusetts has something similar (Bay State Bike Week), so when I moved here, I found BikeFest comfortable and familiar. I think BikeFest was a great way to incent the many bike groups around the city to run showcase events. In the absence of an official event, I expect things to be as fragmented and uncoordinated as they are throughout the rest of the year. I'll miss it, tho I've only been through two of them. Happily, my favorite event -- Every Neighborhood -- will continue independently. I wish BikeFest could continue, though I understand that no one feels much of a sense of ownership. I'm disappointed that BikePGH dropped BikeFest. But like MassBike, bicycle advocacy groups these days seem to do more for people who don't ride than those of us who do, IMO.

I am having a hard time untwining pedalpgh and bike fest. Pedal pgh is still on. That's the one day ride starting at ss works, right? And bike fest was the name for the other events the week before pedal pgh culminating in pedal pgh?

Well, there are a lot of rides that are still going on one month before Pedal PGH:

1. Team Decaf ride is every Tuesday.
2. PMTCC OTB is every Wednesday (full calendar https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=pmtccrides%40gmail.com&ctz=America/New_York).
3. There are a lot of rides from WPW. .webmaster@gmail.com&ctz=America/New_York">https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=wpw.webmaster@gmail.com&ctz=America/New_York
4. The Oval races every Tuesday and Wednesday (starting at 6:15pm). Since I am helpint to officiate on Tuesday I can wait people at 5:15pm around Dippy and we can ride together to the Oval so people could watch races.
5. ITT is very often at the Oval on Fridays (6:30pm today).
6. There are every weekend PMTCC rides.
7. There Trek rides and Performance Bicycle rides on weekends.
8. And famous ride that touches all neighborhood is still on.

So you can always organize your own ride (and dedicate it to fest) and put info about it here.

"I am having a hard time untwining pedalpgh and bike fest." I had the same difficulty but got it clarified at the Bike PGH Booth along the Open Streets route this past Sunday.

Nothing against your list Mikhail, but those events seem to be oriented toward bicyclists who are already "enthusiasts", for lack of a better term, whereas some of the Bikefest events were targeted more toward people who are less interested in "Cycling", capital C, and more interested in simple social rides.

To elaborate and rephrase the point I believe Edmonds59 was trying to make is... there is nothing against your list Mikhail, but those events seem to be oriented toward bicyclists who are already “into a specific type of cycling” and have nothing to do with being an enthusiast, because enthusiasts come in a variety of flavors. Using myself for example, I'm 50 years old and most people who know me consider me a "hardcore bicycle enthusiast" because I've been into bicycles and bicycling since I was a child. I've rode everything from BMX to Road to MTB and recently been restoring/building some vintage/custom bicycles and currently enjoy single speed now exclusively. (lots of reasons I love SS but won't get into that because its a different subject) So even though I'm a huge enthusiast there is not much for me under the umbrella of most events, and I think that was the generalized point Edmonds59 was trying to make. Now I could do as Mikhail suggested and start my own, but the reality is I don't think there are many folks into my type of riding... and that is ok because I have a few friends/family who do and occasionally I meet/talk with somebody on the trail, but most importantly I really enjoy my solo rides with the creator experiencing oneness with all things.

I agree with most of this.  Boston and Massachusetts are very progressive areas and if they think keeping an event like this alive is a good thing, perhaps the local organization ought to take a 2nd look. Yeah, it's a lot of work but it seems to have been worth it.

Nothing against your list Mikhail, but those events seem to be oriented toward bicyclists who are already “enthusiasts”, for lack of a better term, whereas some of the Bikefest events were targeted more toward people who are less interested in “Cycling”, capital C, and more interested in simple social rides.

  I agree but the whole idea is that we can do it on our own. I lead a few rides for PMTCC and earlier we always had rides designed for the fest. 18 bridges ride designed and led by Dan O (Teamdecaf) and later by Janie. I helped with this ride. Ride designed by Ken visiting different places connected to R. Clemente. Or pool ride. What prevents us from doing those rides?

Here is my eventually successful attempt to ride a very large unicycle. It took me seven minutes and a dozen or more tries. And as many people here know, I'm fairly adept at riding a unicycle. Just not this big. Meanwhile, nine minutes of everyone else in the background trying bikes and having an enjoyable time. Try-a-Bike Jamboree, 2013