BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Case in point from an older post.

This is their "snow"

then it went on to say: Has this weather deterred you or your friends from riding? Yesterday I was at the City of Portland building and I was shocked to see just one bike in the usually overflowing bike racks.

wimps

i love the pictures of the people "bundled up."

i know, boo frickin' hoo. maybe the city will start providing heated bike lanes for them.

erok this is your best post ever.

"maybe the city will start providing heated bike lanes for them."

Think you guys can get that here?

I'll gladly send in another $10 if bike-pgh can pull it off.

I'll throw in a tenner of if erok can rig up a pellet spreader to his ute. If we use calcium chloride on the jail trail, one would only need to throw a layer down once a week, maybe?

You know, a salt bike isn't a half bad idea.

You know, a salt bike isn't a half bad idea.

Agreed. Strangely enough, the idea seems to come up every year around this time...

I'd think that a good approach would be to keep an eye out for a cheap/used recumbent delta trike (one wheel in front, two in back), one of the heavy-as-hell ones they sometimes stock in bike rental places. Throw on some studded tires, beef up the brakes, gear down the drivetrain, and work out power takeoff from the rear axle to the salt spreader.

Anymore, we get two or three snowfalls a year. On the jail trail, public works has gotten pretty good with making a pass with a plow the same day so the primary concern is clearing the Hot Metal Bridge. There have been a number of discussions in the forums on how to manage that.

Lots of other stuff on the web. Specifically.

http://www-bdnew.fnal.gov/pbar/organizationalchart/peterson/snowplow_files/Bike_Plow.html

http://www-bdnew.fnal.gov/pbar/organizationalchart/peterson/snowplow_files/Page2.html

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-46124.html

@kordite huh? 2-3 snowfalls? last year, really? what about icefalls?

Yea. Pretty much. I only recall a few days that I didn't ride into work because of snow on the trail. Or rather, the snow on the trail having been packed down into icy cratered grooves and ridges.

ahhhh, so day not ridden into work because of snow = snowfall. I see.

If the snowfall doesn't affect me, then it doesn't count. Or rather, it's not enough cause for me to remember it. Similarly, I don't remember how may times it has rained over the past year because raid does not prevent me from riding.

It's not the day of a snowfall that's an issue, it's the several days afterward of dealing with the compacted snow and ice that makes the trail impassable. When I notified 311 of the icy conditions around the county jail last year, the public works response was that the ice doesn't go away because of the shade.

that icepack doesn't stop me

I almost wish for more ice so I can feel like I get my money's worth from my studded tires.

I definitely think it's the melted-refrozen ice that usually ends up being the deal-breaker. That stuff can stick around half the damn winter.

my biggest issue isn't so much the ice, but that since they only get the main roads, the back streets that i've incorporated into my route are too messed up to ride. it makes me use the main thoroughfares that i don't like

my biggest issue isn't so much the ice, but that since they only get the main roads, the back streets that i've incorporated into my route are too messed up to ride. it makes me use the main thoroughfares that i don't like

Are you implying that if pittsburgh had a defined bikeway network, then these roads would receive priority equal to the primary motor vehicle network?

I really hoped this thread would start a portland<->pittsburgh bike forum flame war. come on guys...

someone....yinzer dave... is trying to start something over there. could that be you???

haha. west coasters doesn't always get east coaster's biting sarcasm

"erok this is your best post ever."

i agree

also, salt bike.

also pgh vs pdx = BRICKER vs BRICKER

@erok they're too busy babying the paint job on their custom city/track/cargo bike to ride it in the "cold".

man, you are really trying to fan the flames

troyer, i'm calling you out for not being a yinzer

offer into evidence # 325: when you google "portland" and "football" the first hit is for portland's adult flag football league

Fine.... Portland checks in to find PGH to be a troll board trying to initiate flame wars. Good luck with that.

@Bob_M You're right, we really should hand this one off to Minneapolis or Winnipeg.

flame war, friendly ribbing...same thing

Biggest wimps EVER??

The Steelers just got beat by the laughable Raiders. Heck, the Little Sisters of the Poor could beat the Raiders.

I know Portland isn't a big league sports city, and I guess Pittsburg isn't either.

ouch, you're probably right. your flag football team could probably beat the steelers this year.

and hey, there's an "H" at the end of our city. people fought for that "H" over a hundred years ago. show some respect, PORTLAN

I think it is important to remeber here that the so-called Pittsburgh Steelers are not owned by the people of Pittsburgh. The steelers are owned by rich people living off your tax money.

The Green Bay Packers are owned by the people Green Bay, so there is at least some justification for Green Bay folks adoring the team. (And, Pittsburgh doesn't even come close as far as fandom goes). The Packers can't simply pick up and leave if they get a better offer.

Now, mind you, in Pittsburgh, our tax money goes to the team in a variety of different ways - all of them dishonest. I understand that neither Pittsburgh nor Pennsylvania owns that fine stadium that our taxes paid for.

Of course, even though your taxes paid for the Stadium, you have to pay through the nose to actually go in the Stadium.

People playing flag football are doing a sport. People smoking cigars, eating chips, watching TV, and making bets on the steelers are not.

So, when you get google "Portland" and "football" don't feel superior. You don't get a site that points to billionaire welfare recipients suckering the town folks, the way you do with "pittsburgh" and "football."

Mick

i guess biting sarcasm gets lost on east coasters too. i should just quit the internet

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Minneapolis&state=MN&site=MPX&textField1=44.9618&textField2=-93.2668&e=0

Minneapolis: America's hardest bike city. Not even gonna be above 20F for the next week.

Yeah, I hadn't jumped in on this because I was, in my own mind, deferring to Milwaukee. There are some hardy ass bikers up there, they go on bar rides in single digit temps and 18" of snow, for fun. But Minneapolis, right on up there.

Being from Erie I laugh at Pittsburghers who call what we get snow.

Dunno, I'm from Milwaukee. Minneapolis is usually colder & snowier.

I'm from Minneapolis. I'll back up alankhg here...

Pittsburgh winters are nothing like I imagined. It was like Minnesota in early April, but all winter long!

the steelers did beat the vikings, but i'd still say people from Minneapolis aren't wimps.

what do people from mpls call themselves, minneapolians?

Close.. Minneapolitans.

i'm interested in hearing more about this alleged "salt bike"...

Erok: aren't you going to write a post about the weather for today's commute?

To be fair, it was 7 degrees in portland yesterday according to a friend.

They can count to 7 over there?

The weather report said 30º and 12º for high and low, so maybe 7º with wind chill?

Whatever, they all need to HTFU anyway.

Maybe that was in Celsius or Kelvin or Rankine or something.

maybe they were so stoned they couldn't see the 1 in front of it

I actually loved Portland in my brief time there, it reminded me of da' burgh in a lot of ways

Spak, I second the sentiment. Portland is like Pittsburgh of the West, with less interesting topography, spoiled bikers, and subtle snobbery.

And too many frame builders.

I dig a salt bike. If I was mechanically inclined (or close enough to free ride to learn how to be) I'd put one together myself.

Throw on some studded tires, beef up the brakes, gear down the drivetrain, and work out power takeoff from the rear axle to the salt spreader.

Not even necessary. There exist hand-pushed fertilizer spreaders (boo chemical fertilizer) that have power transmission from the thing's own wheels to the actual spreader. Modding one of those would be as simple as hooking it up to the back of your bike like a trailer.

However, the ratio between the wheels and the spreader is huge (i.e. turns really fast even at walking speeds). That might need to be altered for bike speeds, otherwise its wheels would probably just drag.

Looks like they make tow spreaders for garden tractors, e.g. http://www.amazon.com/Earthway-Commercial-100-Pound-Spreader-2170T/dp/B00004RB0F/ref=sr_1_48?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1260735023&sr=1-48

Just weld a hitch for one of those onto a trike and you're ready to go. Probably need to make sure you have a really rust-resistant model, though.

To fix the gearing problem, just put bigger wheels on it.

I have one I've already set aside just for that purpose, but whoever (on this board) was going to pick it up, a winter or two ago, never did.

Eric Bossanove

Wrong in so many ways! There is nothing subtle about our snobbery, and I look down my nose at people who think otherwise. Volcanos are not interesting topography? My poor sheltered piedmont friend, volcanos are the most interesting topography. We are spoiled however with a wealth of frame builders and GOOD beer. Come on over and taste the good life.

Ah yes, Portalnd is atop an extinct volcano, also known (this isn't a joke) as the "Boring Lava Fields"

Believe me Bobby, Pittsburgh wins on interesting topography with-in city limits.

I submit into evidence, exhibit A:

Exhibit B : Landslides and Related Features In the Pittsburgh East Quadrangle. It's like highlighting with a broad paint brush.

Bob:

First! Learn to read. "Bossanova" is eric's board-title, just as yours is "newbie."

Second! Pittsburgh is hundreds of miles from the Piedmont.

Third! Your volcanoes aren't very close to the city. Apparently the only volcanic feature in Portland is the "Boring lava field" which has a name that makes it clear that it is the very opposite of interesting topography. Pittsburgh has the STEEPEST STREET IN THE WORLD; OH YEAH!

Eric:

Let's not be unfair - aerial images always make elevation look like nothing.

Instead, I invite you to compare nice google topo maps.

Portland

Pittsburgh

regarding topography; portland, inside the city limits has over 1000' of elevation difference (so there are plenty of steep streets here as well, and landslides if that is what gets you going. this also helps create micro-climates, so yesterday morning my yard/house/street was covered in ice, but just a couple miles away at amy's, totally above freezing) Mt. Tabor is an extinct volcano caldera that sits well inside the city limits. portland is home to one of the nations biggest urban parks and is (?) the largest urban forested park. we sit at the confluence of only 2 rivers, so 3 beats 2, but the columbia is longer than the ohio and monongahela combined. portland is about an hour from the ocean, mountains (higher than anything in PA) high desert, and a massive gorge.

i've always thought pittsburgh seems like a fascinating city. and it looks beautiful. and there are metal bands from pittsburgh that i used to love (CIC, willowtip stuff).

debating the natural topography is fucking stupid. debating what city is more bike friendly makes more sense. and portland for now is unbeatable in this debate. as far as pussy weather, sure. portland isn't set up to deal with snow as it's not a standard feature of winter. ice is what we deal with mostly. but the city doesn't salt the roads (that shit isn't good for the water and soil). so it gets icy and everything stops.

the only other thing i can think to mention is that portlanders are only as soft as the places that everyone moves from. meaning, no one is from here. i know 5 people from pittsburgh, no idea how many from mpls, illinois, california, mass., texas, DC, etc.

take it easy, keep biking.

Probably most telling are the amount of long straight streets in Portland vs Pittsburgh. Straight streets = flat terrain.

Portland looks like a Midwestern city next to Pittsburgh.

One more thing to add to the list of topics that Pittsburgh wins on: sense of humor. Lighten up, I think your cute little handmade wools caps are a bit too tight. Quit drying your wool in the dryer, noobs.

debating the natural topography is fucking stupid. lol, guilty as charged.

I should've stayed far away from this one, as I pedal a trek portland.

i didn't know this was a private party.

your city sucks your city sucks. come on, someone bite.

*bite*

fuck you, pittsburgh rules!

on the log-in page someone should set up a zip code verification system to keep this as incestuous as you need it to be.

incestuous

I don't think that word means what you think it means.

This proves erok's point from earlier in the thread:

"west coasters doesn't always get east coaster's biting sarcasm"

"I really hoped this thread would start a portland<->pittsburgh bike forum flame war. come on guys..."

OK I'll punch back but you'll be disappointed.

The weather here is soft and 2/3 of the city is built flat and straight. Drivers are courteous by national standards, even to each other. There are no mosquitoes. I'm not kidding. THERE ARE NO F'ING MOSQUITOES IN PORTLAND OR. OK maybe a handful of asthmatic little skeeters who give a halfhearted stab on July 4, just for effect.

It does rain 6-9 mos/year and it is very gray, but hey you don't have to shovel rain.

"portlanders are only as soft as the places that everyone moves from."

There's yr. short answer, my pugnacious friends. I moved here from Nebraska ("Alaska winters, Florida summers.") 14 years ago. In 14 years I've never lived in a house or apt. with bug screens, double-paned windows, or air conditioning. I didn't even own a jacket my first 2 winters here. About half my friends came here from somewhere else, and unless "somewhere else" is "California" the weather "back home" is worse than the weather here. So the complaints you see -- that's natives and Californians. The rest of us smirk and keep our mouths shut. However nice you imagine Portland might be, it's better than that.

In fact, in posting this comment I have violated the first rule of PDXBIKECLUB which is "YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT PDXBIKECLUB."

p.s. we do get ice and they don't salt the roads.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCoxOReXlHI

i am surprised at how seriously this was taken! i guess the sarcasm rift is really the largest difference between us.

but i ask again: where is the BRICKER vs BRICKER match?

Noob here

Ya gotta appreciate what a good sense of humor dem Burghers have. They will tell you up front how funny they are. I guess it must be true

Well Pittsburgh, at least my tap water hasn't been over the legal limit for TTHMs in the last five years.

That's right. I brought it.

over the legal limit for TTHMs in the last five years

O-snap! He dun brung it.

I'm going to deflect a bit and say although it doesn't freeze - evar - and there is a high risk for giardia, the TDS levels provide an unnatural buoyancy in the Monongahela that allows an impossibility of drowning. So we got that going for us...

I believe the Giardia part, from the posting on this board it seems everyone in the Burgh has got it.

Ah, much better. It warms the cockles of my heart to be properly put in our place. Time to break out the Britta filters!

I'll see your TTHM & raise you

Nice headwaters y'all got there.

Even though i've never been to Portland, i'll take being a wimp in Portland over being a tough guy in Pittsburgh any day.

I'm 25 and moved to Pittsburgh from St. Paul a few months ago.

Portland sounds really nice to me :]

http://fredericiana.com/2009/01/11/pittsburgh-number-1-in-pollution/

http://www.sustainlane.com/us-city-rankings/overall-rankings

http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/travel/photos/top-10-green-us-cities/1-portland-ore#image

on a side note; anyone of you from the new cumberland, w.virginia area? seriously.

Best thread ever

@ rainperimeter:

the singer of CIC designed our Bike Map. for reals.

also:

that must be the most metal bike map in all the land. that's cool. i only saw them once. totally ruled. played with kalibas (rochester). also awesome. another pittsburgh band i really dug was sadis euphoria. in particular their e.p. fate of icarus was good...

i've seen that picture, or similar pics. a few years back i was interested in moving to pittsburgh, for kicks, i've known some good people from there. i was checking out pittsburgh info on the web quite a lot. decided not to move anywhere again however.

here's a short spot the OPB did on a hill ride that happens here...

http://www.opb.org/programs/ofg/segments/view/1728

it's actually not a very metal bike map, but it is damn fine looking and kinda cute. it is, by default, the official city bike map.

http://bike-pgh.org/campaigns/commuter-bike-maps/

you know guys the only way to match portland's greatness is to do a tree planting by bike like Friends of Trees did this year.

WHO'S GOING TO HELP ME DO IT

Portland Planting by Bike

i'm serious though, we can work it out. send me pm's. i know at least a few of you are totally into it

I'm up for it. It would have to be April or May. Any tree planted right now would freeze to death.

** disclaimer: i work for a tree planting org.

it would be late march or april

I'm down. I can round up some cargo carrying devices also.

Damn this seems like an awesome idea.

i'd be down. could also lend a nice trailer and two cargo bikes as well

I'll provide legs, maybe a trailer or two.

sweet. okay back to smack talk.

so are we going to bike them from the nursery?

i didnt mean to hijack the thread, i can start a whole new thread about it closer to planting season. the nursery is in butler. ... so probably not

I'm in 100%. The last planting was great; it could only get better with a troupe of bikes.

Portland has a boring name. Discuss.

Caitlin

you know guys the only way to match portland's greatness is to do a tree planting by bike like Friends of Trees did this year.

WHO'S GOING TO HELP ME DO IT

I'm up for it and I have a B.O.B. Trailer that is just aching to carry a sapling.

Caitlin, could you start a new thread? I'm not interested in trying to one-up or insult Portand - or any other place for that matter.

Mick

I have a trailer that my dog rides in but im sure she would share her seat with a nice tree.

AlanKHG

When you learn to read a map you will understand that a section in the middle of a river is not the headwaters. The headwaters of the Columbia are in the Canadian Rockies surrounded by 11,000' peaks.

Still the radioactivity leaching through the Hanford reach is the empowering substance that is the secret to Portland's bikey groove. Like spiderman, it can transform a beer bellied clown on a tall freak bike to a hipster on a fixie texting in traffic.

Right on with the trees. good stuff

Ever been to Utah? Ra-di-a-tion. Yes, indeed. You hear the most outrageous lies about it. Half-baked goggle-box do-gooders telling everybody it’s bad for you. Pernicious nonsense.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=554AX4l1tmw

"The more you drive, the less intelligent you are."

I've got a cargo bike and some (wo)man-power to give to the planting.

Sorry, y'all, I think we're going to have to surrender this thread based on Pittsburgh's reaction to a foot or two of snow.

Oh, I don't know about that. How many people were out on two wheels today? Does Portland get any two-foot snowstorms?

I saw one guy out on a bike today, a few on skis, and one on snowshoes. I stuck to two feet.

I saw a guy cruising down Forbes in Squirrel Hill...we threw our boots on and walked.

i saw tons of people on bikes today... riding on packed snow on the road on slicks too... pretty great

Riding past one stuck car after another was fun. Bikes rule!

i had a feeling this would be topped

Apparently, 1950 was a good year for Portland snow.

OK, so they get an epic foot-or-more snowstorm on average once or twice a decade, not that different from our frequency of two-footer storms. I'll call off the sled dogs.

Top- due to Pittsburgh's reaction to the "earthquake"

People stand on the pedestrian walkway over the Boulevard of the Allies after an earthquake in Virginia was felt in Pittsburgh.

jus- sayin' earthquake savvy people would not congregate on a pedestrian walkway over a major road.

haha. i love this thread.

did people seriously notice the earthquake? I though our building's HVAC system was bad (nobody here noticed anything), but was the earthquake that impressive?

I noticed it, as did the other people in my office. I initially felt like I was getting queasy for some reason (maybe because I had been Novocain'd at the dentist's this morning). The others said they felt something moving.

Then I noticed that the branches on my potted plant were shaking.

i feel like the internet is afire because of this thing.

The Post-Gazette's Facebook wall is hilarious right now

Felt it in Sq. Hill....I thought I was just sleep deprived...felt at exactly 1:52pm. Only lasted a few seconds. Posted immediately on FB, to see if I imagined it, or what. Within minutes, there were a dozen posts!! Glad, it seems no one was hurt...

my house was moving a good bit, things on the table moved, i noticed gradually and it got more and more intense, we're right over the train tracks so i thought the train tunnel had collapsed, but then it stopped and i look at the internet and everything is fine

top floor of hq, we'z a shimmying.

OH wow I didn't realize that was an earthquake until just now reading this. My desk wobbled a tiny bit and I thought one of my cats had jumped on it but no cat was in sight.

Too add to this thread, they evacuated CCAC's Office of College Services (where the majority of high-level people work) but didn't feel the need to evacuate CCAC Allegheny, which is a block away and has higher buildings

Wow.

Ejwme, same thing. I was in my office in Monroeville at my desk. It sounded like the hvac system was getting flushed or something and I was expecting black soot to spew onto my desk again (as it has before) but it never did.

I was having lunch on the 2nd floor of that Chinese place at 7th Ave & Smithfield. I noticed a bit of jiggle, but it wasn't enough even to interrupt the conversation I was having. A few minutes later, we looked out the window and the streets were full of people. We thought "Fire drill" until one of the wait staff told us it was an earthquake. "Oh, that's what that was." Yawn.