BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Sounds good. There won't be an impromptu political rally for it, correct? Personally, I think is fine if we roll by as many mayoral campaign offices as we can as well as crash sites to honor the victims, however I'm weary of it turning into a political rally..... Just asking...

no rally

top for tomorrow.

If anyone is coming straight from work and looking for a place to eat beforehand, the Greek Food Festival is taking place at St. Nick's on 5th Ave right near Schenley Plaza. http://www.stnickspgh.org/

top for this evening

Small note: this week through Saturday is the Children's Festival at Schenley Plaza. Although most events ended for the night at 2pm, Schenley Drive Extension (the road that runs alongside Carnegie Library and Music Hall) may be closed.

Thanks BB, Jim Logan, who planned the route and most of the logistics knew this and has been in communications with all the appropriate people.

Right. Still might be relevant for those who might be riding or driving up from, say, Greenfield, especially if they were planning to park a car near the Plaza.

good point.

wish i could of been there at least i was able to meet up with you guys with my bus while stoped at red lights on liberty avenue

Very powerful and moving speeches by Dan Y., MJai, and little Iain and his family. It's great to see such a turnout, but I agree with what Ahlir said on the other thread and long for a day where we don't have to have a Ride of Silence anymore. KDKA and WPXI both had great coverage of the ride (hm, no video on the WPXI one, hopefully they put it up sometime.)

Fantastic event, it was great to be there. The positive energy and feeling of community was amazing. The way that Dan started out speaking haltingly and gained strength as he spoke was just heart rending. I didn't experience any negative interactions with motorists. There were some iffy moves by riders. Some education in our community is def needed, but that's another issue. The old dude in the background of the Ch 11 video was weird, he can't possibly be a biker. ;)

Bill, you mean the two old dudes in the background of the KDKA video at about 2:00? Naaah, can't possibly be bikers. Seriously, though, I thought the KD piece was well done. I don't know if anyone else noticed that the father of little Iain was weeping while Scott was talking about the family. I didn't realize it was him, and them, and that I was standing right next to them, until Scott started talking.

When the cargo bike showed up and I realized that was Iain, man, was that a holy shit moment. After the speaking I shook the fathers had firmly, touched his arm, looked him in the eye and wished him good luck - it felt strangely like he got some strength from that. I think he needed some of that.

Deeply moving. Glad we had it, sorry we had to.

A couple of nice pictures on the P-G photographer's Tumblr. http://everyinchofsight.tumblr.com/ You can see the Dad's emotions all over him in that shot.

This was a great event. I grabbed my kid and sobbed uncontrollably before we rolled out after hearing from victims. People were trying to sign in and I was a total mess. The ride itself was great. One van merged into us and yelled "get on the sidewalk" (classy) but most drivers and peds were very respectful and curious, so I would say we did succeed in raising awareness. I walked up to Iian and his mom when they rolled in because I thought it was the cargo bike from try-a-bike and I wanted to tell her how much I enjoyed riding it. She said, no, that wasn't us at the oval. And then I realized who they were -- what a great family! Unstoppable. btw, for those of you I didn't meet formally, I was running around before the ride with sign in sheets, wearing jeans and a black pgh t-shirt. My son has purple hair and rides a red bike with bright green bar tape, pedals, and tires. Please keep an eye out for him on the streets.

If Iain's family reads this, could you post the poem you read before the ride yesterday on this bboard? It was difficult to hear all the words. Also, if you sent it into the Post-Gazette, say, as a letter to the editor, perhaps they would print it. It was nice to see your family at the event yesterday and I wish I had said hello.

I'll let Kristen, Iain's mom know. Good suggestion, Paul.