BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

« Back to Archive
42

May 17: National Bike to Work Day

Didn't see a thread about this, but wanted to make sure people were aware of all the stops. http://localhost/2013/05/07/national-pittsburgh-bike-to-work-day-may-17th/
scott
2013-05-15 11:57:51
(if you stop into The Big Idea with your Swag Bag on Friday, you'll get a free cup of coffee or tea!)
rubberfactory
2013-05-15 13:41:32
Maybe I am missing it, but I don't see the times the stations will be open
stefb
2013-05-15 14:45:51
@stefb, I am a volunteer and we were instructed to have the stations open at 7, I believe they will be open until around 9
that_tickles
2013-05-15 15:38:33
Times listed on map are all 7:00 am except CMU (7:30) and Pitt at 8:00. I will hit one before I leave to go out of town- I have never worked on ride to work day but that does not preclude my visiting a station.
helen-s
2013-05-15 16:45:37
stefb wrote:Maybe I am missing it, but I don’t see the times the stations will be open
Click on the little bike logo for each spot and it should pop up a box with the (roughly) precise location and hours.
epanastrophe
2013-05-15 17:25:59
If I leave my house at Center and Negley, which direction do you think would be best to hit all 11 before getting to work downtown at 9? I can't come up with a decent route.
joeframbach
2013-05-16 10:03:22
Hm. I might do Friendship, Whole Foods, Co-op, Squirrel Hill, Chatham, CMU, Pitt, South Side, North Side, Lawrenceville, Duquesne, Market Square....
epanastrophe
2013-05-16 10:29:12
@joeframbach: thats NP-hard!
melange396
2013-05-16 11:26:43
those hoping to find an optimal route hitting many or all of the stops may find this TSP-solver useful: http://gebweb.net/optimap/
epanastrophe
2013-05-16 11:44:27
The weights between neighbors are not merely the distances. I need to add weights for hills.
joeframbach
2013-05-16 12:57:52
Top for today!
scott
2013-05-17 04:58:38
It is a beautiful beautiful day.
edmonds59
2013-05-17 06:18:46
I was able to sneak down to the one outside of PNC park after I got to work. Thanks to the volunteers and thanks to Bike Pittsburgh. I will make a suggestion: maybe the stations could be open a half hour earlier? 7am is a very common time for shifts to start at hospitals, and i imagine that a good number of health care workers get to work too early to stop by the stations.
stefb
2013-05-17 07:15:46
Woohoo! Had a great cup and coffee and chat with folks by PNC Park. Thanks for the goodie bag, BikePgh!
pinky
2013-05-17 07:16:09
Thanks to everyone for organizing! I diverted from my normal route to go through Sq Hill. Glad I did. Nice swag and always nice to talk to folks.
myddrin
2013-05-17 07:42:47
I work too early. I'm in the office by 7:30am. No swag for me.
benzo
2013-05-17 08:08:53
Thanks for the free stuff, Bike Pittsburgh! I stopped by the station at the East End Food Co-Op. They were giving away a lot of stuff, but my favorite item: 85% cacao dark chocolate (fair trade/organic/hippie approved)! Informal survey time: what was your favorite item in the swag bags this morning?
jaysherman5000
2013-05-17 08:10:48
I hit up Market Square. So nice to see some friendly familiar faces. Great job Bike Pgh!
willb
2013-05-17 08:14:25
I stopped on north side, where I put a face to the moniker Vannevar, and met Sue R. The granola from The Priory was among the best I've ever had. I then swung through Market Square and waved to Scott, P Rob and others I could see hanging out there. I made it to the Duquense U. location where I met Dave and (? - Ben, I think), just before 9. My favorite swag? Dirtrag socks! Yay! Cool to meet people riding in from far and near and each stop.
swalfoort
2013-05-17 08:29:55
This is the earliest I've been to work in a while! Biked to work like any other normal day (except last week after a crash). Stopped at the CMU station around 9am. They were out of the swag bags, but still had a little food. Thanks for putting this together!
brybot
2013-05-17 08:42:05
Market Square at 7:45, hung out until 8:30. Great coffee, great swag, great event. Probably saw 30-40 cyclists come through in the time we were there.
ajbooth
2013-05-17 08:44:53
I go to work too late. No swag for me. I have enough stuff anyway. But Dirt Rag socks? Darn.
edmonds59
2013-05-17 08:59:45
Thanks to everybody who made this happen! I hit up the Squirrel Hill station around 9 am and enjoyed a nice cup of coffee. And also, if anyone would like to trade me a L/XL pair of socks for my S/M pair, PM me. Not worn yet, I promise...
chinston
2013-05-17 09:04:21
Dirtrag socks with SKULLS on 'em were my favorite bit o' swag! That and coffee, always.
lizzimac
2013-05-17 09:07:26
We rolled through Market Square as they were setting up around 6:50. A quick hello and off to work.
sew
2013-05-17 09:09:53
edmonds59 wrote:I go to work too late. No swag for me. I have enough stuff anyway. But Dirt Rag socks? Darn.
I already have a pair, so you can have mine if you'd like them.
ajbooth
2013-05-17 09:13:22
Here's the breakdown of my ride this morning: 7:00 left home - Center and Negley Whole foods - great job guys. I've never been to Chatham before, but I remember seeing a giant building with a big Chatham sign at Penn and Fifth, so I went there... apparently this is not Chatham. Asked a few people at bus stops and eventually found it. Cool bike shop! Best of luck with the bikeshare. CMU's station is hidden in a back corner with no signs and nobody knows where anything is. The website said "merson courtyard" but I've never heard of that before, and the students I asked haven't either. Took a while to find. Please consider putting up signs or moving. Pitt's station starts at 8am, not sure why. Still doing pre-setup when I got there, moved on. Took Joncaire to the hallow, hot metal bridge to south side. South Side - great signage! The chalk directions from the bridge were super helpful, since I've never ventured down that path before. From there, I went back across hot metal, up Bates, and through Scheneley to SqHill. Squirrel Hill, again great location. Lots of attentive driver and pedestrian traffic here. From here I took Forbes to East End. East End - Thanks for the chocolate. I'm about halfway done with the bar now. I'll be back for more. Friendship Park - Time was running out for me by this point. Sorry I didn't stick around too long. Checking in then taking off. Penn&Butler - This station wins the award for most "morning person" people. How can you be so excited to stand in the island of a busy intersection at 9am? Nice to meet you Christine. I had to get to work so I BOMBED down forbes to market square. Probably set a new PR for that stretch. Market Square - Couldn't stick around too long. Chatted with Jane, got my picture taken with Frambike, and took off. I'll see you guys again in a few weeks. I didn't make it to Duquesne or Heinz Field. From market square, it would bee too much backtracking to get back downtown for work. +1 for the suggestion above for starting earlier.
joeframbach
2013-05-17 09:20:02
I think maybe I saw you at Friendship. The CMU and Pitt stations are definitely set up more for their students and maybe staff than for general traffic. Both are in areas which are high in campus traffic if not easy to find from the road.
epanastrophe
2013-05-17 09:31:42
Glad the South Side sidewalk chalk did the job, Michelle and Nate from pair Networks were fantastic hosts and had the idea to direct traffic using the chalk. I volunteered at the location, and was extremely pleased by the turnout and the incredibly positive attitudes of the people I had the chance to meet. I think the GAP trail being completed helped our traffic, many of those I spoke with were headed to or from the newly opened passage. We had a reporter from Allegheny Front (http://www.alleghenyfront.org/) interviewing people at the station and taking photos for a good 45 minutes, so I would expect to see something there soon. Nice work, BikePGH.
that_tickles
2013-05-17 09:45:59
Thanks for organizing this. The skulls rock!
p-rob
2013-05-17 10:14:21
Elmo wrote:I volunteered at the location
I missed you and your station completely. :( I passed trhough 26, Tunnel, 27, S. Water around 8:12 and did not see anyone on sidewalk.
mikhail
2013-05-17 10:19:18
ajbooth - I would take that offer. PM'ing.
edmonds59
2013-05-17 10:23:30
I made the Whole foods stop for a quick sec before I was even more late to work!! Thanks again. Also, I just found out that today is national wear your lifejacket to work day sponsored by the American Canoe Association, unfortunately too late to wear my jacket in today :(
the-beast
2013-05-17 10:42:25
this was awesome! thanks for the socks!! :)
sarah_q
2013-05-17 11:41:33
Speaking of socks, the pair that were in my bag o' swag this morning are probably too small for me. They are size S/M 5-9. Anyone with smaller feet have a L/M or L/XL size they want to trade? I haven't worn them yet.
jaysherman5000
2013-05-17 11:57:56
Was at the Bike Rental Place at 7:05 this morning... no one was there. place was not even opened. No SWAG for me!
klkpgh
2013-05-17 13:07:59
klkpgh wrote:Was at the Bike Rental Place at 7:05 this morning… no one was there. place was not even opened. No SWAG for me!
Which one? First Ave?
lou-m
2013-05-17 13:45:08
Bah, I got up too late to get to any of the stations... but I'm happy to report the unofficial count at my office is 60 bikes + 1 unicycle!
salty
2013-05-17 13:52:52
Whoah that is awesome. Are you counting the bike share bikes :)? I got bicycle times socks.
stefb
2013-05-17 14:12:38
klkpgh wrote:Was at the Bike Rental Place at 7:05 this morning… no one was there. place was not even opened. No SWAG for me!
Which Bike Rental did you go to? Hydration Station was at the South Side Works branch, not the main location on the Jail Trail.
epanastrophe
2013-05-17 16:53:54
Thankyou for the breakfast and the swag! My fave socks just grew holes so perfect timing there.
naomi
2013-05-17 19:47:17