BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

http://twitter.com/pghtrails is moderately updated. Dunno what your route is but you can also go downtown via Fifth Ave. or cross over to the South Side.

But daytime temperatures will be above freezing during the day regularly, so this snow hopefully won't last too long.

PennDOT's Brady Street Camera is always helpful. The camera is located near the section of the jail trail near the Birmingham bridge.

It refreshes every 5 seconds.

http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Penndot/Districts/district11.nsf/TCID330?OpenPage

From the passenger side of a car going over the bridge into Schenley park and looking down on Thursday evening, the Panther hollow trail did not appear visible at all. All white until you got to the parking lot down at the far end--and that was before the snow we just had. Of course, that was just a 5 second glimpse from above--but thought I should mention it.

Hollow trail has not been remotely passable for almost 4 weeks and probably will not be for at least 2 more.

F*ck you public works.

I forgot to mention that it is completely covered in feces due to negligible dog owners.

...completely covered in feces due to negligible dog owners.

for another post (or website perhaps), but if anyone is down for shoveling I'll be there Sunday 10ish starting from the run.

dunno if Big Jim's is open on Sundays, though it'd be a nice watering hole afterwards.

...completely covered in feces due to negligible dog owners.

You mean negligent?

Lots of poo and saw only one dog on a leash. I cleared about 300 or 400 feet of trail from the 4 mile run side. Could have done more, but I was pretty tired and hungover. Ice was pretty thick at the trailhead, but thinned out after 100 feet or so.

Dan I have your scraper. there is no poo on it.

Dan I have your scraper. there is no poo on it.

I never thought anyone would ever say that to me.

...completely covered in feces due to negligible dog owners.

You mean negligent?

haha. yes. or......completely covered in feces due to negligible dog ownership skills.

@sloaps:

You are awesome. I wish I would have seen your post about shoveling as I would have helped. Let me know if you want to resume next Sun. Assuming it isn't all melted by that point.

Supposedly the Jail Trail is rideable at this point.

I peered down onto the Panther Hollow portion while out for a run this afternoon- there was some pavement visible near the north end of the soccer field, but it was all thick slush/ snow north of the Blvd. bridge.

Jail Trail is rideable. Junction Hollow is still a hike a bike. Both according to a friend who rode in via road (ish) bike today.

Does JH need a shovel party? Or should we just let nature take its course?

The forecast is above freezing every day and starts staying above freezing day-and-night by Sunday, so it's probably not worth it.

I can only hope that by Friday the 2" to 3" of packed to loose granular ice on the Junction Hollow trail is gone.

Doubt if it will be gone by Friday. But it would be sillly, IMO, for a shovel party.

Maybe get some lawn chairs. Sit and drink beer and watch the snow melt. The trail will be open by the end of teh weekend.

Can we hold you to that Mick? I am not convinced- the hollow always stays considerable colder than other areas, which is a nice thing on a hot summer day.

I'm thinking of taking a shovel cruise down the hollow maybe Sunday afternoon, just to give a guarantee.

If my predictions are unsucessful, I'll return all fees, of course.

Just fill out Form 1023B3454C9, version F in triplicate, sign and notarize it. Send me tht form, along with your credit card number, your social security number, the passwords to your online bank accounts, and the names of your pets, and I'll be right on it.

You can trust me.

just as long as it automatically enters me into the Nigerian lottery which I hear is pretty high nowadays.

So it's Sunday? Spak, you down for Sunday?

No guarantees, but I might be able to get there, too. Is there any actual ice left that needs chopped? I'll likely be coming by bus, and don't want to carry more than one tool.

And sorry, Mick, but the cat doesn't have a name.

@Stu: And sorry, Mick, but the cat doesn't have a name

How to ever get it to come when you call then?

HHAHAHAHA (I've owned cats)

Sorry to ruin your fun weekend plans, but I just talked to Councilman Kraus' office and we're trying to get this plowed before the weekend.

@scott-

Your faith in the city's plowing techniques is touching.

But, Scott. I will have girl scout cookies! probably just tag-a-longs, because I only have 1-1/2 boxes left of the do-si-does

nom nom nom

It would be such a shame for the plow to ruin our 'fun'

If said plow never shows up (likely) then I will be down for a brief shovel party before my not so brief pierogie making 'party' in the afternoon

Has anyone had a chance to see the north shore trail past the casino to see how clear they might be?

I was going to go for a run downstream past the casino on Friday afternoon and will report before 4 pm.

so i think the dogwalker with the blue plastic snow shovel I saw yesterday in junction hollow may be responsible for the additional clearing.

Got an update. PHT is still scheduled to be plowed before the weekend. I'll get another update tomorrow.

Northshore trail is clear from downtown till just past the casino, then its still 4-8 inch deep icy snow.

Here's the deal on Junction Hollow. I've been observing it from the Blvd of the Allies bridge.

It looks passible. There is still a lot of snow on it.

A couple hundred yards or so has been plowed sometime ago, just north of the parking lot. That is now wide, clear, dry path.

It looks like someone has cleared a shovel-width path under the bridge for another hundred yds or so.

Here's hoping Scott is right about the plow.

In any case, I expect there to be packed ice on parts of the trail and various places where a plow would leave snow right where a rider would want to pass.

The weather today and tomorrow is 35-40 in the day and about 20 (that's cold!) at night.

What I envision:

-Starting at 2 pm Sunday. (Give stuff a chance to melt.) Meet at the north end of Junction Hollow trail.

-Cruising first Junction Hollow, then maybe some of the jail trail (like the entrance at Bates St.)or Hot Metal.

-There might be some icy stuff along the trail, but I think we would be clearing the entrances, exits, and any really bad parts of the trail.

-I envision mainly riding with shovels - and that any problems would take just a couple of minutes to clear up.

-I don't think it would be worthwhile to travel a distance to do this patrol by foot. I could be wrong, if they don't plow, though.

In any case, after sunday, the temps are in teh 40's in teh day and above freezing most nights - this will all be clear in a bit even if we do nothing. Although if we don't do it AND the city doesn't plow there might be some icy spots for the next two weeks.

I'll bring cookies.

Mick

Does anyone know if the south side trail is going to be cleaned up soon? A few sections were plowed about a week ago but between the 9th street entrance and about 13th street its a mess. There are many trees and branches fallen across and hanging above the trail. Even if they wanted to there is no way to get a plow on that section right now.

I won't be near a computer between now and then, but I will be at the North end of the Junction Hollow trail at 2 pm on Sunday, if anyone wants to join me.

Mick

I'll take it Junction Hollow was not plowed before this morning then? If anyone is still out there with shovels round 5:40, I will come through on my way home from work and shovel a bit- I used to hoist a shovel professionally.

Curious if this was plowed. I sure hope so. If not sorry I'm not there to help. I'm at home trying to finish a grant before leaving tomorrow for DC.

No plowing done. I stopped and helped Mick clear a path at the last remaining gap in the snow.

I did see tire tracks Thursday night, but not much difference in trail condition. They may have plowed, but most of the trail was thick ice by then.

Dan I still have your scraper.

Panther Hollow was not plowed but they somehow managed to plow the straight parts of the bike track on Washington Blvd...

this is very disappointing since I was reassured as of Thursday that it would be done before the weekend. I'll see what I can do.

Panther Hollow was clear yesterday.

A path one bike wide was cleared yesterday afternoon. We rode past 3 guys shoveling the path. I think one of them is named Alan. Thanks much guys!

Yeah, although Alan posted above I'll post for clarity: Junction Hollow is clear. There is at least a 3 to 4 feet wide path - two feet wide under the Boulevard - and shoveled clear around the trailheads at northern and southern gated termini with Boundary Street.

there is still a very large tree blocking the section of the trail that connects Saline Street by the ball field and Big Jim's to the Boundary Street trailhead in Four Mile Run. Not so much a big deal, because most folks ride on Saline Street through that section due to the car parking, gravel and other debris.

In the hour or so Mick, Alan and myself were out there, I saw at least 30 bikers...

Obviously a pretty important gateway for people on bikes. Too bad the city has ignored it.

Thanks for clearing it guys!

yeah. thanks!!

Thanks from me too - I'll be riding back that way tonight! I wish I was available to help with the shoveling. Maybe I'll bring a broom and sweep the debris off of one side of the Birmingham bridge tomorrow... or do you still have one stashed somewhere Erok?

by the way, can I just mention all the warm fuzzies I feel with our biking community? Instead of just complaining about things never getting done and sitting on our arses, we actually lead with our actions and DO something about it.

Rock on Pittsburgh Bike folks, Rock on.

Well done lads! It was so much faster and nicer (why walk when you can ride) getting home from work.

On my way in this morning, there was a large tractor with a large plow blade on it heading east about midway on the Jail Trail. Was he going to close the barn door after the horses were gone?

I think the plow cleared about 100 yards north of the parking lot sometime before the weekend. There was plenty of shovel-partying to be had for 3 guys.

Had a plow made a trip - all the way - down the trail within three weeks of the big snow, there would have been nothing for us to do. Just sayin'.

It wasn't like Hot Metal a couple of weeks ago. There, half a dozen guys worked for hours on end for a couple of days and the results were discouraged at the end.

Maybe next year instead of having guys spend a few dozen man-hours shoveling, we should maybe have a lot more folks dialing 311 and letting the city know we care.

Note: Judging from the expression on her face, at least one pretty woman in lycra evidently processed a guy saying "hello" as "being hit on" even when the guy was actively shoveling the path she was riding her bike on.

Thanks, guys! I've gotten kinda comfortable in the Birmingham Bridge-to-Forbes route home, but it's good know this quiet option is back on the table.

Thank you guys, so so much.

> there is still a very large tree blocking the

> section of the trail that connects Saline Street

> by the ball field and Big Jim's to the Boundary

> Street trailhead in Four Mile Run.

I've got a saw and nothing better to do after work today so maybe I'll swing by and see what I can do

Perhaps a modified pedicab with a plow blade could be used for things such as this.. add two stoker spots in the "cab" part.. beef up the wheels and tires with big studded jobs.

Put a nice low granny gear on it.. let her budge.

I was on the southside trail yesterday. Pretty much all of the snow is melted but there are lots of fallen trees blocking the trail just about head level just past the 10th street bridge. If anyone is itching to saw something that would be a great place to start.

Ok, I just received an email from the City saying "They've been working on the trail since last week." Not sure what that means, but there was a little bit of effort put in at least. Sorry more wasn't done before you guys got out there and shoveled. You guys are awesome and inspiring. Thanks so much!

Love,

BikePGH

Perhaps a modified pedicab with a plow blade could be used for things such as this.. add two stoker spots in the "cab" part.. beef up the wheels and tires with big studded jobs.

Put a nice low granny gear on it.. let her budge.

I was working on this idea last year. I ran into a few design issues, the biggest being traction:. Even with studded tires I don't think there would be enough weight to adequately plow. Another issue is reverse. I could think of some complicated solutions, but the only simply one I could think of was fixed gear.

So my design comprised of an automobile snow tire or a powersport tire and wheel, a custom hub (with a pretty big gear), a MTB crank set, two 26" wheels in the front for stability, recycled snow shovel blade for a plow with a lever to actuate it, and a salt spreader on the back for some added weight for traction.

Now the biggest issues: cost, weight, and storage. Even with as much recycled materials as possible, it would still cost a few hundred bucks. The weight (un-loaded I'm thinking it would be at least 100lbs) and size would make it difficult to store.

If anyone had serious interest in this, I think it could be done.

> working on the trail since last week. . .

I saw that on the Eliza Furnace, the tree that was down near the Birmingham Bridge has been cleared off the trail. When I had at it on President's day, I was able to clear some away but, with the trail snow covered, I couldn't tell how much of it was still on the trail. Apparently a lot but it's been pulled off the asphalt fully now.

Not sure if the city was responsible for that or if some other good citizen just hauled the branches back.

ndromb: the weight issue is one of the reason I was thinking take the normal passenger seats of a pedicab and make them stokers.. you get the benefit of extra pedal power and extra weight for traction. as for reverse.. well if you have 3 people.. you can probably just muscle it around.

With 3 people pedaling, a pretty stout chain would be in order tho.

As for rear tires. perhaps something like motocross tires would work.

Tip for anyone needing to remove a downed tree when you forgot to pack a saw: I've had pretty good luck with yanking branches off, one by one, or pieces of branches. Depending on the size of the tree or limb, you may be able to get it down to something you can move with little to no help. "Yank backward and peel."

Northside trail, esp. millvale trailhead is completely covered as of yesterday. I should be headed to the jailtrail/furnace sometime this week, I'll pack a hacksaw.

The tree down near Big Jim's is a bit much for my 2-foot hand saw. A chainsaw would make short work of it, though.

"The Greenfield Chainsaw Massacre"

Perhaps a modified pedicab with a plow blade could be used for things such as this.. add two stoker spots in the "cab" part.. beef up the wheels and tires with big studded jobs.

There is some sort of cargo tricycle left out for trash collection in the 300 block of Carnegie Place in Point Breeze. Maybe it's the right frame to build the plow on.