BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Define "big".

I don't know something close to the 50 mile

There was no water at any of the stops! Really annoyed with that. I left close to 7am and it isn't like I got to the rest stops before everyone else. There was Gatorade, but no water. Got a bit dehydrated because I kept thinking there would be water at the next rest stop each time. The other complaint is that they give out Tshirts when you get there. If you don't have a bag and you didn't drive, you have to wear the tshirt or carry it. Every other ride I have ever done, the Tshirts are given out later.

Ok sorry to complain about that stuff. I have done many rides, so I think I can point these things out and hope that maybe someone who is involved with organization will read this and improve it next year. But other than that, I do love doing this ride every year. I swear at myself at some point every year when I am climbing some hill on mt washington, but I am always glad to do the 60 mile option (even though it always comes in between 50 and 55 miles according to m gps). I was really inspired by a guy I met who had a hip replacement 10 weeks ago and was going at a really decent pace with me for a while. I got done a little after 11am, and was glad that I started early. Loved the fact that it rained on me while climbing up to mt washtington. Cooled me off. Now it is real Hot out there. Maybe I missed the turn, but I am Pretty sure that the hill down to the newer houses that sit across the river from the waterfront was taken out. Can anyone confirm this? That was always a crappy hill to climb right back up.

It was removed as far as I could tell. I did the 60 mile and it never directed me to Summerset. I thanked the people at the next rest stop for removing it.

I got water at the 2nd and 3rd rest stops (from a hose). They didn't have any at Schenley plaza, and I didn't need water after biking down the jail trail so I didn't bother checking.

Stef, could you send me your GPS data? Just curious and didn't keep track of anything myself.

Were all of the ride distances short?

There was no water in the coolers at the stops but I think most of them had a hose where you could fill a bottle.

Another "no water" comment here...I dunno, that seems like a pretty plain thing to think to have on hand for the riders.

I also found the signage on the 35-mile ride to was poor after the Oakland rest stop (that didn't have water, BTW).

The negatives were minute compared to how much fun it was to ride around Pittsburgh with everyone. Always a great bunch of fun.

I ended up doing the 25 mile instead of the 15 mile one (which I had signed up for), and I'm glad I did. Apart from the Highland Park hill, it was a blast. As for the lack of water, I just filled my bottles with the hoses at the stops.

Summerset was in fact removed from all routes. I was so ready to be a know-it-all and turn around when I got to it, too.

Signage was crappy all over the place. From the snarky "yay hill!" signs to just horrible placement that left you halfway through an intersection before knowing which way to go, I feel like a little more thought could have gone a long way.

I guess I got lucky when I filled my water at riverview park.

Foremost, whoever is responsible for dumping the march of dimes onto the waterfront trail during the ride should get a stern talking to, and possibly be pushed into the river.

I did get a little mixed up on the routes, it did suck there was no water, and the roads had a lot of pot holes, but no one has said they had a good time. Am I the only one?

Ah crap good point Mr Marvelous. So easy to get wrapped up in complaints.

DEAR CDCP, I LOVE PEDAL PITTSBURGH AND LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR, AND THE YEAR AFTER THAT, AND THAT YEAR AFTER THAT

Bold and obnoxious in case they actually see this.

I know a lot of people who use pedal pittsburgh as a way to train for the MS150, not to mention have a great time and ride some less-traveled roads. Always an awesome time, always meet new people, and always worth a celebratory beer.

(But seriously, that water thing is huge. Get that one fixed.)

I was one more than one decent and almost lost in on bad roads or pot holes. I took most hills slower because I didn't know what to expect the road surface to be like, that was my biggest complaint. But other than that and the water it was a blast.

I guess later on They were able to get water from the hoses, but there were a ton of people at the highland park stop by the time I got there and the shed or whatever it was that housed the hose/water hookup was locked. I saw RF and marko there and was advised that there was a fountain at the entrance to highland park. So I went clockwise instead of counterclockwise to get to it but it was a small steam shooting straight up and I was unable to fill up. I nearly stopped at my house. In regards to the shitty road surfaces, it was only really bad on east street. It was better than perrysville/federal in years past. I didn't notice bad signage because most of the route was unchanged from last year. The sign for the turn onto 27th was bad though.

The water thing did sort of blow chunks, but always managed to get water. Used to drink from the hose all the time as a kid. I have to confess that I did drop my chain once. Classic example of being in too high a gear on the cassette and shifting to the lower chain ring. Easy fix, just a wee tad embarassing. Great time though, with the weather actually cooperating.

THIS WAS REALLY FUN! 'Twas my first time, and I definitely plan to do it again, probably a longer ride next year.

I carried plenty of water and only did the 35 (which came in at about 31 according to GPS), but found hoses or fountains when I needed it. FWIW regarding the Schenley stop: it also had no bathrooms, because there were flush toilets, running water, and fountains right there. Still, having some big containers of plain water would be good (I don't drink Gatoraide). Also, more portajohns would be great. And more "keep going straight!" signs.

Also was a nice self-confidence boost, since I was passing tons of people on the climbs! Yeah!

jeg, did you have your screen name written on the back of your shirt by any chance?

robjdlc: Oh no, my identity has been revealed!

At the flock ride on Friday, yes!

At Pedal Pittsburgh today, no, but I had another fabric-painted shirt. (Bought a 20-pack of the stuff online last week after failing to find it for sale anywhere in the city of Pittsburgh. I think the novelty will take awhile to wear off. Yes, I am apparently still 8.)

@mr marvelous, I said it was fun..."a great bunch of fun" actually.

There are always gonna be snafus with things like this. Even the water thing was really no big deal. The problems were just the difference between a fun event and a flawless event.

I had a blast too. Did the 60, but by the last couple hills I was pretty beat. Had to stop and catch my breath a few times.

Overall, I had a blast. Although, the water thing hit me too, I dud the last 5 miles with no liquid at all.

Glad I got the chance to finally do it!

agreed, signage kinda blew and there could have been a little more police support in certain areas...like at the bottom of the big downhill leading into riverview....horrible intersection.

but....I had a great time and here are some photos - http://www.jonpratt.com/2011/2011-Pedal-Pittsburgh-0522

go team OTB/EEB

Nice pic Pratt! This was by far the most challenging ride I have done yet, due to the hill-age. I had some choice words to say when I saw that last monster of an uphill on Virginia (with the snarky signage). But overall I had a great time, some very cool views. I'd never been up Troy Hill before so that was neat. It was great training for the MS 150.

We skipped the Highland Park stop to wait for Schenely Plaza and they only had a pitcher of water and they were waiting for the tub of Gatorade to get there. We waited a while for that and then I rolled over to the other side of the park to fill up my water bottle from the fountain, since the one by the bathrooms was broken.

Oh and it was great, dwillen caught up nochasingiguanas and myself up on Mt Washington. I don't think I would have made it without the additional camaraderie!

Hey mr marvelous, and anyone else for that matter, if you're fired up and ready for another organized ride, there's another one just next Sunday over in Wheeling, they have a 62 mile route. I've never done this ride but Wheeling is kind of cool, and just about an hour drive away.

http://www.ohiovalleytrailpartners.org/tour.html

I would do it but I have to work a night shift that weekend.... cry

I had a great time but took a big short cut due to time constraints and complaining knees. It was a good feeling to make it up Troy Hill & to the Observatory without falling over

Ran into dwillen, bikeygirl & robjdlc at various points.

After the 2 big (for me) hills, I headed back through town and ran right into the March O Dimes/Babies traffic debacle.

Troy Hill was a neat climb - I liked the vistas & the cemeteries. The DIY hospitality crew of neighbors with home baked goodies and beer after the first part of the climb was pretty sweet.

yeah, at highland park, the water source was inside that building, which was locked. we called about it immediately, but no one showed up for over an hour.

Wow... maybe is because I was doing the ride at a slower pace, but I have no complaints!!

While I had my own water, I had plenty of snacks-water at the Riverview, Highland Park, and Schenly stops. I had no problem following the signs-arrows, highly enjoyed the "where am I going?" feeling following the route, and met & biked with some awesome people! Thank you Miasme, Tricia, Dan, Pseudacris and Marko for the encouragement along the way!!

I have to say, today was a new record for me! I rode over 60 miles on the bike today! That is the most miles I have done in a bike -EVER! Best of all, over 60 miles WITH hills! I have never climbed Troy Hill, Riverview-Observatory Hill, or Mt Washington for that matter! So.... yeah, I just went with the intention of having a good time and enjoying the ride -and I totally did!! We'll see how sore I am tomorrow, though

Thank you OTB-EEB-Commonwealth Press for the awesome T-Shirt!!

I really had a great time

ps: Troy Hill was amazing!! And so was Mt. Washington!! And I must add: I've never felt too confident about my biking skills -all I know is that I don't quit, or try not to quit when the going gets hard. But today, to have been able to sustain both the mileage, the steep grades, and the time/pace I kept -which was constant & fast at-times, with the mixed weather we had.... I don't know... I'm feeling pretty awesome right now

it was a really fun time, just annoyed that i expected it to be a better supported ride.. i can ride around town on that route for free with my own snacks and find my own water at parks and bathrooms, too. this is the first year that i have complaints.

anyway, here is the route i mapped. wish that my avg moving speed was higher.. actually it was until i started to climb up 27th street.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/87443169

Really enjoyed it, missed the turn onto Venture Street after the Riverview Park rest stop, ended up back @ the Children's Museum, so I did it again and turned it into a metric century. Fun stuff.

yet another year goes by where i either miss or can't do pedal pittsburgh. sounds like a good time, though. unfortunately (or not), i had a 8 hour hurling tournament in cleveland yesterday, making movement very difficult today.

There are at least 4 places to get water in HP... main entrance, a fountain near the duck pond, kid's wooden playground, and the pump house. Springs eternal, except during the winter. The cue sheet should point out known alternatives.

Riders on the 50 or 60 should also be advised at the Schenley Plaza stop that they are unsupported after that point till the finish. If you have experience with a long ride, you'll be ready for most situations... but if it's your first 60, it would be good to see that at least you have some water before/during/after the climbs up to Mt. Washington.

Does CDCP have some means of input for "comments/reviews"? Something more productive than "riding around Pgh is awesome n'at". Since it seems like they intend to keep doing this year after year, it seems like a simple edit-able checklist, that EVERYONE gets a copy of, of things to do would be a good way to make sure things improve each year, like "5/20/12 - 7:00 am. - have water at rest stops". Done. I'm a big fan of checklists.

They had a touch screen survey, but no place for custom input. If I remember correctly, they wanted to know if the toilets were all right, if riders were happy with signage, staffing & if riders had seen new parts of the city.

Does anyone ride the 50 or 60 mile route any other time? I would like to try it again on my own but I don't know how safe the route is without a group.

I would ride that again. I had a great winter and dared it on a 48x18 SS. Custom wheelset ala Thick Bikes. The original plan was to ride 48x17 and I am glad I did not. Almost had to get off the bike when we got stuck mid-hill behind a bus (a bus behind riders)on Virginia Avenue. It was a cool traffic jam, but stalling mid hill on too high of a gear could suck.

I'm glad the others posted their routes. I was convinced that I missed a few turns - since it was not close to 60 miles. It was a great day too, so I grabbed food, coffee, and then kept on riding.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/87370872

It is unfortunate about the water. I did know that there were fountains at Schenley Plaza and Highland Park, but plenty of others would not. By the time I got to Riverview they had the hose out. I dont like the huge line at the end, so I skipped that part and got some samich and brownie action at the Beehive. If only Pizza Sola had been open already...

@hiddenvariable -- there's hurling in pgh? I've been trying to find someplace to watch a game since I first heard about it.

@myddrin - pittsburgh has a team, or a club perhaps. games are somewhat far between since there just aren't enough people around who play. so we end up traveling to akron (or they travel here) quite a bit, and we also tend to play as many games as we are physically capable of playing, once we get a few teams together. we have a local match, i think, on june 4, in the north hills (out near hartwood). a lot of times, these things fall through, so send me a pm closer to then and i'll keep you abreast.

I went with the intention of being self supportive + did an extra 20mi on top of the 60mi in preparation for some upcoming touring rides but couldn't turn down a good porta-potty with flushing system and some orange slices.

I also volunteered to hang signs 8am Saturday morning and hung them as I would want them to be visible as a rider with a confirmation arrow immediately after each turn on the route. I had to check my map a couple times while riding on Troy Hill I think at Pittview or something and I also missed the sign at the BP saying to turn left long before the intersection. Any complaints about butler st -> highland park, and then through penn ave, friendship & back through the strip district, please let me know so that I can do things differently next time. I also tried to use 300pt Helvetica bold font on signs that split 25/35 and 50/60.

The only place the signage issue was really a problem that I remember was at the pedestrian bridge heading over to Penn Brewery (right after the 50/60 split off from the other paths).

I had to call back a few people who were trying to go straight...which I think would have taken them onto 28N. (Or at least that where it looked like they were headed.)

Other than that... more signs would have been good. But most of the time I felt pretty comfortable that I knew where I was going. And I'm someone who can get lost in a large, empty room.

Then again, I was deliberately pacing myself so I almost always had a few people in my line of sight in case I missed a sign.

Yea, I saw that arrow.. it pointed right to the freeway ramp. I stopped there for a moment thinking... "they want me to go on the freeway?" then noticed there was something about a bridge on the bottom of the sign, and then noticed the ped. bridge. A sign right on the bridge might have been preferable.

Oh yeah, I did that too. I went straight as if I were going onto 28 and looked back and saw the sign to take the bridge.

Can someone tell me why the route planners had you guys take Bates through South Oakland. That is probably the single shittiest road in the entire state. On top of terrible road conditions its very narrow, has cars parked on southbound lanes, and is pretty busy with traffic.

a couple more good shots from the ride

Kat rockin' the singlespeed on the 50 miler

Team OTB/EEB/MATT Machine/CommonWealth Press

Rain shadow at Riverview

It's not like this is their first event - they've been doing it for 18 years. So, the water thing is certainly perplexing but I'd imagine it's not just because no one thought of it - unless there's been a lot of staff turnover or something.

Doesn't someone on this board work at CDCP?

they just sent out an email with a link that allows you to post comments and suggestions regarding the ride.

@ salty Yep, that's me who works at the CDCP!

I didn't realize we were sending out an email asking for suggestions... please submit all of your feedback-- we like to hear it! You can also email me at rbolich [at] cdcp.org.

As for the water, that was unfortunately beyond our control. I know that sounds like a lame excuse, but we have been doing this for years (as someone mentioned) so it takes extenuating circumstances (like being locked out of a building that has water access) to mess up something like water. We try to address all issues ASAP on event day. One more thing: potholes & the March of Dimes walk were the city's fault. We submitted our event permit to their committee; it is that committee's responsibility to make sure two big events don't clash. I know Snakeguy submitted a 311 complaining to the city about that, and I think it'd be great if other people followed suit.

@rosielo don't get us wrong Pedal Pittsburgh is a wonderful event and I am very thankful for all the hard work the CDCP puts into it. I'm sorry we have focused so much time on one or two negatives and not the many many positives