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Chanukah parade

Hi guys, we're going to be riding with the cars and their menorahs in the Chanukah parade again this year. Hard to believe this is year three already! We've seen some great menorahs mounted to bikes and helmets in years past and I'm sure will again, though to be clear you don't have to do that to ride. Just come and celebrate religious freedom, the joy of adding light to the night, and a Pittsburgh original in bike geekery. Some of the details are being worked out still, normally I'd wait for it to all settle, but I want to leave people who geek out on the menorah thing some time. So as mentioned, this isn't 100% but I think date, time, format, and expectations are ~fairly~ solid, so here goes. The parade will start Sunday December 21st 4:30ish at the intersection of Hobart and Wightman in squirrel hill (I'd like us to meet at least 15 minutes prior to go over some things). The ride will take a short, flat-ish (for Pittsburgh), windy route to Schenley Plaza over the course of 45 minutes to an hour. There will be some food, entertainment, and a heated tent at the end. It'll be great fun, and I'm told there should be a thematic fiks reflective design on showcase... so that'll be fun to see. The facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/662046123818457/ Fun from prior years here http://localhost/mb/topic/bike-menorah-december-9th-answer-the-call http://localhost/mb/topic/bike-menorah-year-2 Please fire away with questions. Hope to see you there!
byogman
2014-11-18 22:47:47
If I am recovered from a minor procedure by then, I'll be there.
fultonco
2014-11-21 18:20:44
Wishing you a speedy recovery. First pic for this year. All I can say is, thanks Marco! Well, and baby seats are handy (thinking as compared to the L-bracket I made for year one).
byogman
2014-11-30 01:11:01
We'll be starting from Murray & Beacon Here's the route starting from that point https://goo.gl/maps/NalIK Intersection control will be better than last year. It will be a true parade with overall parade pacing somewhere between years 1 (walking pace) and 2 (free for all). It's hard to be specific since I'm not driving the lead car. I tried to get buy in on us actually leading the parade but it's not happening this year. I'm hoping it won't matter. I got ok on a couple of us "corking" the more minor intersections without police cars to keep the bikes together so that helps. Since we're joining at the tail end there's less pressure on our pacing. I plan to have my younger two in trailer and see if anyone (volunteers, please!) can take my oldest on a trail a bike. I may wind up circling back to lubavitch center after 4:15 meet and greet but before the 4:30 official parade start to see if there are any stragglers at lubavitch center itself confused about the starting location change. I think the likelihood is that we'll get one police car behind, there's a ~possibility~ we might get police on bicycles (which would be awesome if it happens). I'm also asking around for someone to volunteer to drive a crash-wagon / provide cover in front if you can't ride that day.
byogman
2014-12-05 10:58:58
One week to the Chanukah Bike Parade. Sunday 12/21 at Murray and Beacon, meet at 4:15 ride at 4:30 Party City has some supplies that might help people decorating their bikes.
vannever
2014-12-14 12:48:23
Final push, the forecast looks clear of precip and a ride time temperature of almost 40. Swords available for would be "maccabee" riders. Latkes and donuts at the end. Hope to see you there!
byogman
2014-12-18 06:11:58
Too good not to share here (as well) Fiks decals for the riders:
byogman
2014-12-19 10:40:37
Route map: Meet Sunday 12/21 at 4.15 at Murray & Beacon. Butts on bikes, pedals turning at 4.30 on previous years, Some people who drive into town for this have found it effective to park their four-wheelers at Schenley Plaza around 3pm, and bike to the start. The nice folks at Amazing Books Squirrel Hill, 2030 Murray Ave, are welcoming any riders who need a place to warm up while waiting for the start (so very nice of them) Mega-thanks to Fiks Reflective for making and producing unique Star-Of-David bike reflector stickers.
vannever
2014-12-19 12:50:25
Bump! because this is happening today, Sunday 12/21. pump your tires, check your lights. Meet Sunday at 4.15 at Murray & Beacon. Butts on bikes, pedals turning at 4.30 Hot latkes at the finish!
vannever
2014-12-21 09:20:27
Ugh, sorry I have to miss this - sounds awesome! And those stickers are sweet! But I didn't get all my work done. Ride safe and l'chaim!
erink
2014-12-21 12:27:26
Thanks, we're sorry to have missed you, but we had a nice crowd (23 I think?) and we'll be out in force again next year!
byogman
2014-12-21 20:14:58
I think the parade was very well run this year. I liked the bikes starting at Beacon so we didnt get strung out climbing the hill & and it made it more festive since we could wave at all the cars before we jumped in and they could see how many cyclists were there too. And we had a bike cop! How cool was that.
marko82
2014-12-21 22:01:01
Kudos to Ben and his front-work that made this go so smoothy. His coordination with the synagogues changed the situation from what we had last year to this year's much better experience. Looking forward to next year.
vannever
2014-12-22 08:08:53
In no particular order I think it worked well because the intersection control due to better police presence (not me), the fact that the cars knew better this year that we were part of the parade (not me), and because of the cyclists who took it upon themselves to cork those intersections without police presence (also not me). The last one includes Vannevar and a good number of others, at one point or another. Thank you all. The game of leapfrog worked pretty well in spite of the fact that we got pretty spread at times. Will see how much we can tighten that up next year.
byogman
2014-12-22 11:35:54
I liked where we cyclists had the whole right lane and the motorized paraders had the whole left lane. Mostly this was Fifth Av from Aiken to Bigelow. I felt a bit uneasy filtering forward alongside slow-moving motorized paraders, as on Shady and Walnut. There were a couple other places where I didn't feel comfortable riding in near proximity to riders who don't ride all that often so don't travel in a predictably straight line.
stuinmccandless
2014-12-22 13:20:38
I'm guessing it would have been preferred for us to stay in the left lane behind the cars to leave a car lane open for traffic that wasn't part of the parade. But nobody objected before or told me anything after. The timing of the event and the many blocked crossings and the a slight downhill over fifth just made it a non-issue. And it was fun for my daughter passing alongside the same car of one of her classmates several times. So ~maybe~ we keep that, unsure. The filtering was clumsy and needs to go. That's actually one of the bigger factors that makes me wonder about riding in the right lane on fifth. That and getting spread out created a zipper feed situation and people didn't wait/merge, they just all went. The slow speeds and relaxed atmosphere made it less bad, everyone should have taken the lane there in spite of the jam up from the cars.
byogman
2014-12-22 15:24:28
I think that what led to the filtering was: we had our proficient cyclists working intersections and protecting the rear of the column, and when we caught up to the cars the cyclists at the front were a few younger enthusiasts, who were kind of presented with an unexpected option when we caught up to the cars and the right lane was somewhat open. And so they reacted as young enthusiasts might and kept rolling. No shame in that, and it certainly worked this time. Next year I think we should stay in the lane behind the cars, and have an experienced rider at the front to convey the vision. But everybody did really well - the drivers, the cyclists, the police escort. Did anybody get the details on the two-car accident?
vannever
2014-12-22 20:29:38
Also Ben - if you get any feedback from the organizers about lessons learned for next year, it would be good to know about that. thanks!
vannever
2014-12-22 20:30:27
I think filtering was OK. We need to ask police officers if they want us to marshal along the route. My experience with Keg and Reverse Keg rides that police is completely OK with closing intersections. Interaction with bike-cop was very similar -- as soon as he got to an intersection where I was "in charge" he always thanked me and toldl me go further.
mikhail
2014-12-22 21:58:05
If anybody wants to send a ThankYou email for the police coverage, some email addys are: Police Chief cameron.mclay@pittsburghpa.gov Zone6 Commander (incl. Bike Unit) scott.schubert@pittsburghpa.gov Zone 4 Commander (Sq.Hill) kathy.degler@pittsburghpa.gov - who I believe was the officer in civvies directing traffic at the bike start As is true of all these interactions, it's a chance to build bridges. Sending a thank-you email would be awesome. Thanks!
vannever
2014-12-23 22:11:51
pictures?
paulheckbert
2014-12-23 23:01:32
and this was taken by Stu, it's a tremendous juxtaposition there's some other photos on the FB page.
vannever
2014-12-23 23:24:01
both from RickW:
vannever
2014-12-24 07:47:09
vannever
2014-12-24 07:52:43
Just learned that the bike officer was Howard McQuillan, "He is not only one of the Zone 4 bike officers and an overall nice guy, but he is also the current President of Fort Pitt Lodge #1, the police union." email: pghfop1pres@gmail.com
vannever
2014-12-24 08:41:17
I don't have FB account and group settings does not let me to see anything.
mikhail
2014-12-25 00:11:45
Mikhael, I'll duplicate the remaining FB photos here - I'm sorry. I think there's only two that aren't already listed in this thread.
vannever
2014-12-25 20:39:32
Hi guys, this is on for 2015. Join us 4pm Sunday December 6th at Murray and Beacon, short ride to a heated tent with fried goodies and entertainment. Year four if you can believe it! Last year we had two dozen riders. If weather isn't too crazy I know we can top that. Feel free to post questions here or on facebook: Event (RSVP not required, but certainly nice): https://www.facebook.com/events/543485339137160/543485345803826/ Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/662046123818457/993925383963861/
byogman
2015-10-28 13:01:46
This is next Sunday, Dec.6 2015, 4.45 pm at Murray Avenue & Beacon Street. (the time's been slid to coincide with the re-opening of the Parkway East n'at) This is an ongoing effort to help our neighbors celebrate their Holiday by adding BIKES! No dressup or bike-pimping necessary. But it couldn't hurt. Some folks come up with kludgy Menorahs. (what a great band name, The Kludgy Menorahs) Or as food for thought, there are blue Menorah-glasses: there's a hat available Instead of Elf-on-the-Shelf, you could sport a Mensch On A Bench
vannever
2015-11-28 21:35:30
To be clear, 4:45 is the projected start time (for the cars, we'd naturally go a few minutes after). But it's definitely a plus if you can arrive earlier so there's an opportunity to go over a few things. Nothing too serious, mind you, basically just that our pack should hang closely together and maybe a couple bits of protocol in case of a bike malfunction or whatnot.
byogman
2015-11-28 21:53:10
@VB
mikhail
2015-11-29 00:54:45
@Mikhail - the image didn't come across, for me at least.
vannever
2015-11-29 09:31:25
I'm not seeing the image either. As for me that day, I plan to attend, but have an earlier engagement in Robinson. I may stow my bike in/near SqHill the day before and drive to it to save travel time. And by drive, I mean motorcycle. So I'm looking for somewhere I can leave a bicycle probably from Friday that I can also leave overnight Sunday and also leave a motorcycle during the event. Friday, bike to work. Later, bike to SqHill. Park bike. HealthyRide back downtown, bus home. Sunday, motorcycle to event in Robinson at noon. 3:30-ish m/c from there to wherever bike is. Park m/c, change helmets, bike to Murray at Beacon. Ride the ride. Ride back to m/c, then m/c home. Monday, bus/HR/whatever to bicycle. Bike back downtown, regular work day. Hopefully bike home. Ah, logistics. No, I don't need a ride anywhere. I just need to think it through and record it somewhere so I don't have to rethink it later in the week. But I will entertain ideas where I can leave a bicycle for 48+12 hours that isn't too far from either a bus stop or a HR rental kiosk and also a motorcycle for three hours or so. This is the sort of thing that people will have to routinely think through in order to abandon cars. And of course, adding a snowstorm to the mix entirely changes things.
stuinmccandless
2015-11-29 12:39:51
You're more than welcome to park the bike at my place in western squirrel hill. This is a good time and circumstance to relate info to folks coming from drive distance. There'll be a parkway closure until 5 so you'll need to exit to surface streets before squirrel hill if coming from the west. Sunday should mean free parking, but if you're like me and prefer a little riding over potential parking anxiety, the driveway alongside Anderson playground will probably have scads if room and it's both close to Schenley plaza, the endpoint, and right off the Blvd of the allies, the most natural parkway alternate. If you are on bike, are running late and want to meet up with the group basically just follow fifth east and we'll be at the end of the snake of cars. If you get as far as shady without seeing anyone, you could turn south up the hill up to squirrel hill if you really wanted but we should be seeing the parade coming down your way before too long.
byogman
2015-11-29 13:33:48
mikhail
2015-11-29 23:21:26
Mikhael, I don't have the figure or the chutzpah for that jersey!
vannever
2015-12-02 16:28:30
Wanted to share a couple things, since I'm not sure I'll have time from here until the event start. So, first, there's been some confusion on the timing. Join up starting 4:30ish. The cars will start at 4:45 but by the time they pass it'll probably be 5ish. The route map is only slightly different this year, instead of going down shady all the way to fifth they cut over on Wilkins to go past Chatham and go straight down Negley We're close enough to the event that forecast is starting to mean something. And that forecast is utterly fantastic, mostly sunny, no wind, high of 55 degrees. If you've got a train like me (Dan, think you can make it this year?), a unicycle, or whatever, going straight down Negley may be unappetizing. In which case, follow me on the alternate, using Wilkins and then a right handed loop back toward Aiken. Last item, I'm giving away menorahs. Please take them. I've got four I don't need. Two are trivial to affix to helmets (or racks). A third is great for a rack. The last is the artistic one. Here's a picture of them: And of those, in final form, the one I'm keeping:
byogman
2015-12-04 00:23:41
Ben, I'm not seeing your photos. The link should look like this, replacing the parentheses with less/greater-than signs, and no spaces: (Img src="http://www.example.com/path/to/the/photo.jpg ") That assumes you have the photo already posted somewhere.
stuinmccandless
2015-12-04 04:16:57
Sorry, I forgot to ask google for a sharable link. The menorahs I started with And of those, in final form, the one I’m keeping:
byogman
2015-12-04 08:06:10
And then those don't show up for me! Will try again at some point when I have more time to investigate. Just take it as given I have them to give away to a few of those who don't have.
byogman
2015-12-04 08:08:04
We're on a new page, just starting this post over entirely. Wanted to share a couple things, since I’m not sure I’ll have time from here until the event start. So, first, there’s been some confusion on the timing. Join up starting 4:30ish, like last year, Murray at Beacon. The cars will start at 4:45 but by the time they pass it’ll probably be 5ish. The route map is only slightly different this year, instead of going down shady all the way to fifth they cut over on Wilkins to go past Chatham and go straight down Negley We’re close enough to the event that forecast is starting to mean something. And that forecast is utterly fantastic, mostly sunny, no wind, high of 55 degrees. If you’ve got a train like me (Dan, think you can make it this year?), a unicycle, or whatever, going straight down Negley may be unappetizing. In which case, follow me on the alternate, using Wilkins and then a right handed loop back toward Aiken. Last item, I’m giving away menorahs. Please take them. I’ve got four I don’t need. Two are trivial to affix to helmets (or racks). A third is great for a rack. The last is the artistic one, thanks Marco, and best to Colleen! Here’s a picture of them: And of those, in final form, the one I’m keeping:
byogman
2015-12-04 08:32:39
It looks like Google Photos isn't doing the right thing. Your link is to the Google Photo page, not the image.
jonawebb
2015-12-04 08:50:44
Still not seeing them. The links need to be a URL that begins with http and ends with .jpg or .png, not a slash. You should be able to open a new tab and paste that link into the address bar and see the photo.
stuinmccandless
2015-12-04 10:47:28
The images Ben posted Dec 4 2015 at 8:32am show up fine for me in Firefox, FWIW.
steven
2015-12-04 10:56:42
They're working for me, now, but I think Ben edited them. They appear to be different from the link I tested this morning.
jonawebb
2015-12-04 11:09:28
I can see them now. Firefox on a Win7 laptop, fwiw.
stuinmccandless
2015-12-04 11:27:04
#bump this is today, Sunday 12.6 meet-brief at 4.30 at Murray & Beacon. Ride ends at Schenley Plaza.
vannever
2015-12-06 08:26:20