dagnabbit. i will be out of town that weekend. i really wanted to go to this.
Try-A-Bike Jamboree ::::: Saturday, July 2
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Try-A-Bike Jamboree
Saturday July 2
10am - 1pm
The Washington Blvd Cycling Oval
1401 Washington Blvd, Pittsburgh
Free
Helmets & Waivers Required
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An all-volunteer community potluck picnic and Smorgasbike event.
Try casual riding on an assortment of loaner pedalcycles around the Washington Oval.
Car parking available - Bike-based tailgating strongly encouraged!
Bring picnic food to share.
Sponsored by Flock of Cycles | http://flockofcycles.org/
Special thanks to the Allegheny Cycling Association
Your hosts: Pseudacris and Reddan
We'd love your help with this event, even if you don't have a bike to lend. Please PM me if you can help with setup, cleanup, helmet/waiver check, basic safety checks, minor mechanical issues & seat height adjustments. We'll staff volunteers for 1.5 hours, so you'll have time to enjoy the rides, too.
PAT *may* lend us a freestanding bus bike rack, in which case we'll need someone to help demonstrate it.
A pat rack would be so awesome. I know so many people who are afraid to put their bike on a bus just because they dont know how to use a rack.
^ fingers crossed, robjdlc. I've been in contact with them, it's a process...
If people have specific bike requests, please add them to reddan's online form! A call for loaner bikes will be available soon.
We need volunteers to help with the event, too.
Will there be fake beards we can use when demo-ing the bent bikes?
@marko: No, they're not necessary. Luxuriant growth usually begins after the second or third lap...
We may have some interesting 'bents on loan from RBR: they may be bringing in a few models, including some optimized for fast road riding, and some more focused on touring/commuting.
I'll post a summary of requests thus far in the next day or so, and another survey wherein people can sign up to bring specific bikes.
a PAT rack really would be awesome! I hope to make it, once I know I can make it I'll volunteer. I so want photops on pedalcycles!
I know the first time i used a PAT rack (the only time, now that I think of it) I was kind of unsure and got some nasty looks from the driver.
Hyla's been doing a bang-up job working through the labyrinth of PAT bureaucracy...hopefully, the onsite rack will be a go.
I'll try and bring my rohloff mountain bike to this. Is there some sort of dirt trail to get to the oval and avoid the busy roads?
I'll bring the cable-steering tall bike, and I'm sure Jane will be down to bring hers.
I want to bring them both on my roof rack!
This is great!
I should be able to bring a Ranz Hammertruck - a crank-forward long bike. (Best way I know for this old crank to move forward)
@Mick: sweet. I've been wanting to see that thing. You gonna bring a load of cinder blocks, so people can see how it work fully loaded?
@ reddan
I thought I would bring the half a ton of old donuts that I carry around with me everywhere I go. Would that suffice?
Reddan, if I try a bent and like it, my wife will probably be coming after you, 5'2", big pointy teeth, cell phone. Run.
@edmonds: Maybe she'd like one for herself...
Maybe if I put a big Mercedes emblem on the front. She does like the Mercs.
@edmonds, why stop at just en emblem. I'm sure Aaron would help her get a whole front clip on.
I'm sure one of these can be modified by Nick...
@dwillen, I'm not sure about alternate routes to the Oval. It might be good for for people to self-organize bike-pools or carpools down to the event. The bus service is slim to none on weekends on that stretch.
On the up side, we will have access to picnic tables, real bathrooms, shade trees, and a nice oval with no cars on it.
I thought about bike-pooling, but there is no way I'd keep up with anyone riding a mountain bike with 2+" knobby tires I remembered hearing about some dirt trail up in Highland Park. I'll look for that.
There is a trail on that side of the park but I'm not sure if it goes all the way to the oval. Look for the dpw site with all the huge granite and sandstone blocks and go to the far end of it you will see a trail on the right. Just keep heading downhill. It's not a long or complex trail.
I've got two bikes I'd be willing to lend out, My Trek X02 Cross bike and that Fodnriest race bike, but I work 8:45-2:30 that day. If anyone I know wants to take responsibility for them PM me.
I'd like to try out some of those recumbents. I might bring a tandem - have to decide how willing I am to risk it. Can you send me the waiver?
I plan to attend. Besides bringing a unicycle or two, I have personally demoed the free-standing PAT bike rack. It's the exact same thing as is on a bus, but acts a little wobbly, which a bus isn't.
With a little practice, the process of loading or unloading a bike can be done quite fast, well under 20 seconds. I think that as more people learn how and get good at it, more drivers will get used to people being fast.
@Lyle: Lending a bike isn't intended to be a free-for-all...if the owner doesn't feel comfortable with someone riding it, no big deal. No reason you couldn't offer stoker rides only, for example...whatever you feel comfortable with. (Case in point: I'll likely bring my super-snazzy carbon fiber racing 'bent to show off, but rather doubt that I'll allow anyone without prior experience or demonstrable mad skillz to take it for a spin...the steel-framed 'bents, on the other hand, are fair game...)
As far as the waiver goes, I think it's the standard Flock waiver.
@Stu: With regards to the PAT rack, is that something that a couple of people could easily transport in a pickup or large trunk of a car? Do you recall the weight?
The trail you speak of does go all the way to the Oval.
I'd say a pickup. Two strong people needed to carry it. Maybe 75 to 100#, but also fairly wide and large. The rack itself is 50# and the mounting base another couple dozen.
If you can find photos of the North Side Car Free Friday event, it was on display there.
So, here's the condensed request list thus far. I'll have the interest sign-up form (for bringing bikes, food, and/or volunteering) available shortly.
==Velos================================
Recumbents
3-wheeled
Tall bikes
Tandems
Unicycles
Tall wheel (26"+)
Fixies
"Loop bike"
Cargo bikes (with load)
"super pricey carbon thingy"
Folders
Road bikes
Dutch bikes
Penny farthing
Pedersen bike
==Accessories==========================
Trailers
B.O.B. trailer (with load)
==Components===========================
IGHs (Alfine, Rohloff, DualDrive, etc.)
Racks and panniers, lots of varieties
Belt drive
The waiver is actually going to be a modified version of the Flock waiver.
The new tall bike covers two listed categories, plus a super-cool unlisted category, cable actuated steering!
Darn it! I wanted to go to this too and it's at the same time as my Bike the Bakeries ride:( Any chance it will go beyond 1 pm?
@sarapgh2: We'll likely be cleaning up until 2-ish, and it's not like we'll be breaking out the riot shields and fire hoses if people choose to hang...
BTW, in the above list, 'tall wheel(26"+)' refers to a unicycle...my organizational indentations were victims of a senseless copy-paste crime.
if someone were to bring something for folks to try out and someone else wished to purchase it, how would that be viewed? parameters on that type of thing?
@Tabby: Hmmm...off the cuff, I don't see a problem with it.
Just to clarify, I'm hoping someone brings a >=26" uni; I don't have one myself.
The sign-up form is now available in all its Googly-Forms glory.
If you're planning to bring a bike or bikes, something for the picnic, or want to help out in any way, please let us know here.
Dan, will you guys be there starting at 830 till about 230? If so I could drop off my bikes as I pass right by the oval on my way to and from work.
Umm, probably not that early (although that late is a distinct possibility.)
We're planning on setup from 9-10, event from 10-1(ish), and teardown/cleanup as necessary starting at 1.
[Edited to add:] Also, it's probably better if the owner of the bike (or someone they specifically handed the keys to, so to speak) is present. Otherwise, we potentially end up with a bunch of orphaned velos, and we'll have no choice but to sell 'em on Craigslist or something.
Thank you to everyone who has so far offered to lend bikes or volunteer. There is going to be some interesting stuff to ride!
PAT is lending us a Bus Bike Rack for the day. It is mounted on some kind of stand, but you will be able to practice loading and unloading bikes on it! (Thanks, Stu, for putting us in touch with the right parties at the Port Authority to make this happen)
I'm so glad I'll be able to make it for the last hour or so.
And soft-serve? Awesome!
Just the oversized sprinkles.
Looking forward to it.
I wanted to post so this can get back on the message board.
Look for the dpw site with all the huge granite and sandstone blocks and go to the far end of it you will see a trail on the right.
Is that the site you can see at http://maps.google.com/maps?q=40.483919,-79.910346&hl=en&ll=40.483091,-79.911311&spn=0.009352,0.022724&sll=40.483556,-79.910694&sspn=0.002338,0.005681&t=h&z=16 ?
Or, as the map at http://www.pittsburghparks.org/userdocs/highland-letter.pdf suggests, is it closer to 40.476256,-79.910625 ? Not an industrial/DPW site, according to the satellite/street views.
Right there.
@ cburch - Thanks... I've heard about such a trail but was never able to find it.
Anybody remember when there was a large sphere at the playground there to climb on, with a slide going around it that was kind of like a planet with rings?
Anybody remember when there was a large sphere at the playground there to climb on, with a slide going around it that was kind of like a planet with rings?
Absolutely!
Anyone from Oakland riding down to this? The g/f wants to go but is kind of apprehensive about riding down Washington Blvd and through East Liberty by herself.
I plan to go and can easily swing through Oakland. PM me with a phone number.
my grand camping schemes fell through, so I might actually make this. This sounds awesome - props to the organizers. Any publicity so non-biking people can wish they knew about it earlier? (Like most of the cool things going on in this city the local news only tells me about AFTER the fact)
It would be great if you can make it.
There has been a good amount of publicity through the usual Flock of Cycles channels, plus some flyering. A few blog mentions (including BikePGH), and a few neighborhood groups have sent it to their email lists. We can always use more volunteers if you'd like to spread the word or help during the event
Boostuv, she can always ride down with me.
OK, looks like there are going to be 20+ different kinds of bikes to try tomorrow. We got *almost* everything on the wish list coming in, including the requests for various saddle/pannier/rack/trailer options.
There will probably be a few surprises, too.
Bring helmets, sunscreen & cameras. There are nice shade trees and picnic tables.
Some rain might blow through, but I don't think it will last long if it comes at all.
Also, this is at the Washington Blvd Oval, not far from the Highland Park Bridge. Officially Called the Bud Harris Cycling Track (not to be confused with the oval in Schenley Park). You can also bring your own bike if you want to try it on the bus rack or ride around the oval.
"almost?"
I don't think my bike will fit on the bus rack
@headloss: B.Y.O. fiberglass shell + 4th wheel. We'll get you close enough...
@lyle: I don't think so either, but it might be entertaining to try?
I doubt a PAT bus driver would let me put my bike on a rack.
Nick & Lyle: you should both show up at the same bus stop just for kicks. Candid Camera Time!
Yeah, maybe I could try to bring it on one of the T cars at off-peak time.
I tried taking the trail cburch talked about but there was a locked gate blocking access to the DPW site.
Fantastic event. Thanks Pseudacris, reddan, and everyone else who put so much work into this. I had a great time.
I agree with dwillen. So much fun!
Ditto the above 2 posts - great event - so much fun! Many thanks to all.
Yeah, that was awesome, from the tall bike to the low bike and everything inbetween. Thanks for putting on a great event!
I had a ton of fun at this event! Thanks so much for putting this on.
Highlights for me:
- the tricycle-recumbent low-rider. soooo good.
- the red cargo bike with the front rack (perfect for a pizza)
- riding a tall bike for the first time (i will have to work on my mount and dismount)
- the AMAZING fruit salad - thank you, wonderful person who made that salad
- teaching my 35 y/o friend who never learned to ride how to ride a bike
- smiles everywhere, nicest bunch of people.
whoohoo!
bummed that i'm out of town and missed this, but i always get stoked to see these type of events happening in pittsburgh. yay!
what a great event! thanks to everyone involved in organizing this. thanks to everyone who brought bikes to try! i tried a unicycle, recumbent, friction braking, captain seat on the tandem, and the original tall bike! i wish my dismounts were more graceful, but no injuries. i took a few pictures with my phone.
http://gallery.mac.com/gdgirll#100471&bgcolor=black&view=grid
this was such a great time. I really enjoyed putting more names to faces and getting to know some of you better.
Thanks Stu for shouldering me for like 100 yards while I tried to figure out how to unicycle; I'm so close!
Thanks to the guy who came from State College and brought his crowd favorite; the white trike bent with disc brakes
Thanks to Reddan for letting me try his bent and for organizing this
Thanks to the people Nate, Ayrn, who were brave enough to ride the tandem with me
This was a wonderful event. I didn't figure anyone would try the 18" unicycles but the 24" got quite a few takers. I know of at least two others who actually got on and rode it a ways with little help from me, and easily a dozen more who gave it the old college try.
The PAT bus rack got a few tries, too. I know I demoed it a half dozen times.
Thanks to everyone whose bike I tried for a spin. reddan, stefb, among those I know a board name for. Nick D and Jane for the high bikes. The recumbents, both bikes and trikes, were cool. The steering was a little weird to get used to, but I guess anything comes with practice.
I missed out on the tandems. Maybe next time.
Even in the parking lot at the end, we were comparing mounting systems for cars. That in itself was worth the trip.
Again, thanks to all the Flock folks for helping stage this event. The behind-the-scenes people always get overlooked!
you know it was a good event when every single person i saw always had a huge smile on their face.
so bummed I missed this. I was on a group ride that was plagued with mechanicals and didn't get back in time.
Pierce, I didn't even see you there.
Connecting to another thread, I have the *worst* case of ass chafe in my entire life and I have barely any idea why. I didn't ride very much. From those recumbents? I think it must be because somebody put my seat up just a bit too high for me.
sounds like you need to head back to the HELP MY BUTT HURTS thread for more info
Everybody kept asking me if I was on the forums, so I figured I'd give up my lame answer of "No, I'm from State College" and register to post here.
Thanks everybody for trying out the 'bents and for being so patient with bike adjustments and the like. It was amazing to see people go from first-try-frustrated to zooming around the track in such little time.
I do have one favor to ask... I never managed to get any still photos. Would anybody be willing to share a few that I could use in conjunction with an article over at Recumbent Journal?
I'm sure a couple people here would be willing. Might also trying asking Gordon (I think you can search his username) he took a couple too
Thanks again for driving out here and helping expose us to bents
Thanks to Reddan & Pseuda for organizing this! And to all you trusting souls who lent out your bikes. I had a blast trying out all the different styles of bikes including all of the bents. But as fun as some of those bikes were to ride, that fully loaded Kona cargo bike was sweet –I never really had a desire to own one & now it’s on my wish list.
Sorry I missed, crazy day for me. I would of loved to come out and try different bikes and show support.
I'm bummed that I missed this, sounds like it went great. But, I did just get back from a great road trip, so can't be too bummed.
It was a fantastic event--thanks to Reddan and Pseudacris!
It was a great day! Many more thanks are in order & I'm probably forgetting a few folks, too: Nate and Mary, Travis, reddan, Stu, Nick D, all brought a ton of bikes and worked all day making adjustments and helping people ride. Ellen brought the fully-loaded-for-camping Kona UTE and amazing fruit salad. Tabby, Dave, Bihui, dwillen, stefb, boostuv, rachel, Lyle, erok & I and several others brought their personal rides down to share. Terry Doloughty from the Polish Hill Civic Association brought a huge shade tent, first aid kit, tons of snacks and a sweet vintage bike. Karen from Dirt Rag brought a cycletruck, trailers and a bunch of magazines. My boyfriend was a huge help. A couple of bicycle cops from Zone 5 dropped by and mingled for a while. I can't wait to see more photos: please tag them in the Flock of Cycles pool if you use Flickr. The Flock cooler/music trailer had a good sound mix all day.
My pictures are up. Use for whatever non-commercial endeavors you wish (and Trav, feel free to use for your journal, thanks for bringing out all those bikes!). I just ask everyone to include a photo credit: "dwillen", a link to my website, or my real name (find it on the previously mentioned website): http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvb9s46
Thanks!
Agreed wholeheartedly...it was a delightful day. I didn't make the time to ride as many bikes as I intended, but had so much fun that I didn't realize how fast the event went by.
Thanks to all who attended, whether as volunteers, participants, or both. I'm really glad I had the chance to spend an afternoon with yinz.
soooo bummed i missed this
dwillen, just checked out your site and i like your photos! especially the cardinal.
Thanks!
What a fun day! Thanks so much to the organizers and volunteers.
It was great to meet so many of you IRL as the kids say – RedDan, Rachel, Nate, Stu, Dwillen, Stef B, and others I'm forgetting.
It was very interesting to see how popular the 'bents were. Thanks to Trav for hauling them our way. That one tri-wheeler (most popular bike!) felt like a sports car.
Thanks to everyone!
Great to meet people, also great that a few of the participants just happened upon us and decided to join the fun. Maybe some day I'll find the courage to try a tall bike for real. Our 14-year-old is now determined to build one.
This looks like it was such a blast! I was out of town, otherwise I would have been there Hopefully there'll be a next time?!?
Bummer to have missed this, looks killer. Glad you all pulled together to make it happen.
^ I hope Polo went well. Please post pictures if you've got 'em.
this was better than going to kennywood!
i am SO BuMMED that gordon apparently had a camera misfire and didnt get any photographic evidence of me on tall bike, which i had a very hard mental time with, but want to ride again.
i loved all the bikes. i loved the triangle bike. i loved the fruit salad too, who the heck made that?! it was like a bottomless bowl.
if anyone ever needed to reaffirm their love of bikes at all, this was the event for you. it was SO FUN.
bonus: people in the traffic on washington blvd pointing when you ride by on the tall bike, or that low trike that was the greatest thing.
Yes I got some people staring at me on the little tall bike. Maybe someday I can ride the tall tall bike if nick will allow me
I found both tall bikes to be highly maneuverable at very low speed. I had a lot of fun riding figure-8s around a couple of leaves about 10 to 15 feet apart with both of them.
btw, this was how I got good at turns on the unicycle back when I was learning how. My house was about a half mile from a small playground. Once I could make it that half mile, meaning I had mastered going in a straight line, I practiced on a 15-foot spiral painted on a basketball court, and trying to hit every number on a hopscotch court, in order.
Mary, if he is serious about building one, I'd happily help.
I think a lot of people completely forgot they were also riding a cable actuated steering bike.
Thanks, Nick! He's quite serious. Today he went to FreeRide to check out some frames. Turns out they weren't open, but the nice folks let him look around a bit.
Have him look for non-chromoly, non-lugged steel frames.
In other words, department-store bikes.
Fruit salad was me, and I have to say I'm impressed that you guys finished it all. I figured I'd be lugging it home!
@epkiley, that fruit salad fueled a LOT of laps of the oval. Thanks for bringing it!
Thanks everyone! This was an awesome event. I didn't think I would get there in time, fortunately it went way past 1:00. I got home at 4:00.
This was definitely better than Kennywood. The risk of injury was more real. I still need to master the one bent with the roving handlebars, I've got a couple nice scratches on my legs to prove it. Also, getting started and then dismounting a tall bike for the first time definitely has a Phantom's Revenge feel to it . . . especially the dismount!
@Nick D I think a lot of people completely forgot they were also riding a cable actuated steering bike.
Indeed.
You talked about the steering and it was really interesting.
But while I was mounting, riding, and dismounting it, the steering mechanism was completely out of my thoughts.
What a fun toy!
the tall bike was hard to get onto but the recumbents were hard to learn to ride!!
I missed the fruit salad. Any chance that you'd be willing to post the recipe epkiley? Obviously it was something special.
Hah, not really. Just a bunch of fruit in a bowl -- summer does all the hard work. Can't go wrong when grapes taste like candy.
^Your fully-loaded cargo bike was fun, too. Made me want to go camping. I've never done it by bike.
This sounded so great I wish I would've been there.
I do have a bit of constructive criticism,
perhaps some of these great events could be planned for later in the day?
I don't leave work on Fridays until around 12:30am and after grabbing a tasty beverage or two and commuting to the house I don't get to sleep till around 3
The chances of making an early (in my world) event are slim to none. I also believe there are probably quite a few humans with the same problem as mine.
Signed, not operational until 1pm
I'm sort of the opposite as spak, but it leads to the same point. I clock in at 430am on saturdays for work,so while I'm functional early in the day, I don't get to leave work until 2pm. That being said, I understand the timing; it seems to be what works best for the majority of people.
Actually the event kept going until much later than orignally planned. I think it was about 4 pm when we got out of there.
Somewhat related, several of us attended the midnight flock (including Nick) and were at least talking until 3am, (which is when I left) I heard others talked until 4
I never would have made it, except Nick called me and I promptly rolled out the door
I think with the success of this event, maybe a longer one (or later starting) could be planned in the future
One of the benefits of starting early is that it was cooler. I probably would have been a lot more wiped out if say it started at noon
Next time, it would be nice to have hot coffee and hammocks for napping between rides! It wouldn't be hard to have a dawn-to-dusk jamboree. There'd just need to be more food & more volunteers. I look forward to seeing how this evolves & that more people can come next time.
I got home a little after 4a, did some work, went to bed around 5a, woke up at 8a, and was down at the oval around 9:20a. Who needs sleep?
I think the next one could definitely be an all-day event though.
I had an early errand, so knew I wouldn't get there any earlier than 10:30. I wasn't the last to leave, more likely among the last 10, maybe 3-ish. We still had a bunch of bikes there at 2, which is when the crew showed up to take away the bus bike rack.
I want to try this "bike" next year:
in all seriousness, it would be awesome to have some big multi person bikes like that... i vote for nick to make one.
I have some picks of a triple person tandem type bike with a two person trail-a-bike on back. It was crusing along the GAP. Pretty impressive.
Just FYI, the Jamboree resulted in me acquiring a unicycle and I'm quickly becoming semi-proficient in using it. Was practicing going along a school courtyard fence, then between basketball hoops, then around the courtyard randomly (still have some ways to go, but got the basics semi-down)
I am still thinking of buying a bent, although I read some articles and its way more complicated than buying a normal bike.
Plus I obviously haven't passed the re-education process that stops me from using terms like "normal bike".
@Pierce: I've got a uni in my basement that's been gathering dust for years...your example is inspiring me to think about cleaning it off and actually learn to ride it.
@salty: The best advice I can give is to try lots of models. Ignore most of the online advice; it's not necessarily wrong, but it's also not necessarily going to apply to you. There's just too much variation in the ergonomic factors in the recumbent world to reliably determine what you need without some seat time.
I have visions of a Flock of Unicycles.
"Flock of Cycles" was clearly very forward-thinking and inclusive in their choice of names. Uni-, bi-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, and hexa-[*] all welcome.
[*] A bicycle + two trail-behinds + bike cart in serial.
[*] A bicycle + two trail-behinds + bike cart in serial.
I thought it was crazy when I saw a tandem pulling a trailer and just one trail-behind at the Reverse Keg Ride in November, 2009:
I assume the trail-behind rider was catching a lift in the trailer proper.
I think I saw that setup (including the missing rider) at this year's keg ride.
I think I saw that setup (including the missing rider) at this year's keg ride.
i remember it well. they had a cardboard fender for the trail-a-bike, and the little girl on it had the biggest smile i'd ever seen, as she yelled (while in heavy bike traffic), "daddy, go faster!"
Next time around, I think I'll be focusing a bit more on trikes and will try to select 'bents that are much easier to adjust for different riders.
If you want to get a crazy collection of bikes, including sociables, look up Bob Swaim and get him to attend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9sNlLp-AEU
i'm not going unless there's a conference bike!
I put together a short (3 minute) video last night. Since it's for a recumbent site, it does focus on those bikes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GorUPLtN5HM
That's a great video. Since I missed this event, where could I start checking out some 'bents?
Nice video!!
Nice one, Trav.
@Bill:
1) Ask me nicely, and you can try my P-38.
2) RBR in State College is by far the best shop I know of within easy driving distance.
Cool, thx. It just looks so chill out there in those things,,,what's the verb form ... recumbent-ing?
what's the verb form ... recumbent-ing?
Most of us low-slung sorts usually just go with "riding".
Makes me wonder what the collective noun should be, though. A "slouch" of 'bent riders? A "laze?"
A bend of 'bents.
Recumbulate.
Collective: Hassle. As in: A hassle of recumbulators steadily rolled past the pedestrians discussing the presumed trajectory of a partially gesticulated jelly bean, considering variations in relative humidity, temperature and lattitude.
Haha, I can't believe I used the term "upright", that's the kind of thing I'd only expect to hear an actual bent rider say. I'm starting to worry about myself.
Definitely a cool video.