BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I'll be there.

As will I. I invited a bunch of people from work, too.

Ill be there, I invited half my facebook friends but most of them just "dont get" this whole biking thing. however the free beer may bring some of them in.

Thanks, edmonds. These things come up on us so fast.

So here is the DL: Regular fun ride like usual, ending at OTB on East Carson with a super-special food special, exclusive bike parking and maybe some other cool stuff.

Oh yeah, almost forgot--Flock bought everyone's first drink! (unless there are over 200 people, then we bought the first drink for the first 200)

This is going to be the last Flock Party of the year, so don't miss it!

We will host a few special rides between now and next spring, but this is the last of the regular rides--we will be focusing on some new programs and initiatives over the off-season.

i might even show for this. amazing, i know.

Yous a funny guy..

I'm definitely in, as long as I can avoid my son's cold. I'm wrapping myself in Saran Wrap and hibernating until Friday.

There is something going around everywhere. The good news is that it seems to last 24-36 hours

This is going to be the last Flock Party of the year

The last ride? I was hoping for some winter flocking.

I asked the same thing on fb.. Is it really the last flock party ride? There were rides all winter last year. Can they be called something else? Can we ride wirhour stopping somewhere at the end? Can we just do music?

^ I agree I still would do group rides all winter.

This is in fact the last party ride, but not the last flock ride. We will still be doing the occasional specialty ride, like the Steeler ride last year, but this will be the last of the flock at night, midnight flock, flock partys for the year.

will specialty rides need special occasion, or may they just be a lot fewer and not at regular predictable intervals?

They won't be regularly scheduled, put it that way.

That is kinda disappointing, but I understand it is probably a liability/safety issue with bad weather

Yeah the end of season on all the group rides is sad. Already looking forward to April.

100% chance I'll be there. 50% chance I'll be pulling the twins. 15% chance my wife tries out her new bike.... she's only biked about 10 miles this entire year so she's worried about keeping up.

Nick - would you mind posting the route map on here? I can't get to Facebook at work.

Shawn - my husband has put precisely 18 miles on his bike this year, including 10 of last months' Flock. He's excited about doing it again this Friday.

100% chance I'll be there, 90% chance for him. We're not staying for much of the party, though, we'll probably just try to find dinner and get home. Not sure if we're doing the car shuttle again, as getting back to Dippy from OTB is easy-peasy on mostly trail.

I'll second the request for a route map on here.

ejwme, you may want to consider parking at the lot at the east end of the jail trail. It's a short trail ride up to dippy, then a short trail ride from OTB back to the car. Of course you'll miss going through panther hollow in the dark - which is way cool.

As well as missing the ride back up one of several hills to get to Dippy...not terrible, but not quite as cool.

There was an advertisement for the Flock Party in the Pitt News today, really cool to see it advertised in the paper.

One of the early Flock rides last year, I parked on the road near Phipps that goes off into the park towards SqHill, whatever that's called. The meters end after a ways.

of all the Fridays to be out of town... geez.

@dmtroyer: ditto. I'll be somewhere betwixt Bedford and Altoona by then.

So I really don't have any rain gear. If it rains on Friday is there something I can DIY to keep me from getting soaked? Garbage bag poncho?

Just embrace the rain @rzod thats why God made us wash and wear 8-]

^ I like that.

If you're on a bike, you're not likely wearing clothing that has to be dry cleaned. Thus, my approach is, it's water. It falls out of the sky. It evaporates. I have fenders (usually). So, it rains. So what.

Lightning is something else again.

@ existing - if you need to wear something, garbage bag a good option. Can lose it halfway thru when you realize you don't need it so much. +1 for 'poortex'

Can someone please explain how and why my phone converts @rzod to @existing.? No, don't. My head is plenty jumbled already.

my phone has a hyper-reactive autocorrect. However, it NEVER corrects "thong" to "thing."

Marko - I was about to type up a "yeah, that's the best idea ever! we'll park there! yay!" message when I started to wonder how it would be driving to that lot in rush hour... Then realized I don't know how to get to that spot in a car. Googlemaps will show me, and I'm sure it's just a brain fart, but its' the first time I can think of several ways to get somewhere via bike but not one via car comes to mind at all.

@ejwme, if you googlemap (new verb!) "eliza furnace trailhead" you'll see the access point off of 2nd Ave. Be warned that it can be a mess to get to that point during rush hour. Southbound Bates is tied up due to the Parkway onramp there. Outbound E Carson is usually thick with traffic, too.

@ejwme, if you are coming on the Parkway East, get off at Sq Hill, then from the ramp, take the first ramp on your right to Greenfield, Left at CoGo's, then down Greenfield Ave to Second, right on second, and right into the trail head lot.

Maybe a bit out there, but possibly not too bad traffic-wise from ARB - you could park at Bakery Square, the garage is free after 5. I'll be leaving there for dippy around 6, it's only a couple (flat) miles. The bonus is you can catch a 75 from SSW or Oakland if you don't want to ride back.

Today is the day! We will have T-shirts for sale for only $10!

I'm ready, have tried to convince all my friends to go as well. As usual they just don't understand.

I asked a few of my co-workers and friends as well, their excuse is they don't ride in the rain.

I plan to be there..... Bike is in town with me, I have extra blinkies and lights, I think I am good to go. Yay!

I'll be there... Will there be enough bike parking for everyone?

re-injured ankle, can't come.

really tired of "healing". most. boring. activity. ever.

You take care of that ankle... ill take care of your beer. 8-]

@ejwme - Ugh. That sucks - for you because you miss the ride (obviously), and for me because you were supposed to regale me with tales of bassoonery.

So are we still riding even if it rains? I got awesome new rain gear so I'm in no matter what.

rzod - raincheck. It'll give me more time to think back to all the horrible double reed jokes that I'm not allowed to tell anymore

Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/51726246

Return route (for those needing help getting back to Oakland): http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/51726434

Sorry for the delay, I completely forgot to post it.

Thanks, Nick! I had just signed on to look for this.

this was a great little ride, got home relatively early and everything!

This ride was a great stress reliever after the week I've had, haha!

I agree this was a great ride. Thank you to all the Flock staff who make this possible.

I had a good conversation with Nick about the Flock and how the funding works and why the need help. We as a bike community really need to help support theses Flock rides.

Great ride! Thanks to Nick and Jane and Kayla and everyone else who works to put these on.

+1

Fantastic Ride. Perfect ending for a great week (cycling wise) Good beer, Good Burgers, Good friends, good music, and pretty girls. Can't wait for the rides to start again!!

Even Enjoyed the ride home to East Pittsburgh (thru Braddock) the night was a total success as far as I'm concerned.

I also agree with Mr Marv. We really need to support Flock of Cycles in Every Way we can.

good times. good food. good people. and noah made his return! i saw the pudding after i got home.

Just looked at the pudding now after seeing this. Oh my.

The pudding?

Who was the other group cyclist that were in friendship park?

I had a great time. All told, I put 40 miles under me yesterday. Bike to Flock, Flock itself, then from OTB up into Highland Park for another little party, then a 33-minute scream from Negley/Stanton area into Downtown via zoo, Butler, Penn. Not once did I have a problem with traffic or surly drivers. *This* is what biking all over is all about.

that was me who shouted at you near the greyound stu. i wondered where the hell you were coming from

Forgot to buy a Flock shirt for myself and the Mrs. I guess I'll have to wait till next spring to get them.

BTW someone said my lights were so bright they gave them a headache, I'll bring dimmer ones next time.

Even though I didn't get to do the ride, it was nice to catch-up with the Flock at the OTB! Good times!

I was completely exhausted, but it was well-worth it to be there!

Edited for double post!

Mr Marv, those lights were amazing!!! what kind were they I just have cheap ones I got at walmart and have been thinking about an upgrade

@ dbacklover this is my head light http://www.exposurelights.com/product/000074/maxx-d-mk.4/ and this is my tail light http://store.dinottelighting.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=dinotte&StoreType=BtoC&Count1=511455714&Count2=428596138&ProductID=91&Target=products.asp

@ dbacklover I also really like your personal blog it is very inspiring.

@Mr Marv Thanks, i try to be very honest about how I feel about biking, and being a giant. Because of my weight I end up dealing with some things that most cyclist never give much thought. Also the fact that i would be either dead or on my way there if it wasn't for that Big Orange Bike (I call him BOB) of mine.

I meet a lot of people who either have decided or been taught that they cant do it. That they could never ride there bike (if they even have one) to the store (forget commuting to work) and the whole time here I am proving that you can indeed do all that.

sorry to go off on a rant but these past few weeks it seems I have been surround by people who "Can't" and I just want to scream at them. "It's not CAN'T it's Won't, or "Don't want to", or "Not worth it" but trust me it isn't CAN'T"

ok I'm done.. but I do feel a new blog post coming on.

You go, Dback, just keep doing it. No need to scream at people, just know that your presence, your existence, will be the nagging little voice in somebody's mental box of excuses that they can't, or won't, do something. As surely as a person can't un-know something, that little voice will just keeps calling "bullshit".

+1 Dback. (PS: Love the term "Giant!")