I just finished laying out 2 ride routes for car free Friday on August 20 in Carnegie, for rides in the evening. One is a casual loop for beginners around the lower area, the other is geared toward hill climbs for more of a challenge. Each should take less than an hour, they can also be linked and ridden together for real fun. I am going to lead the easy ride, but we could really use a volunteer(s) to shepherd the hill climb route. Also the start will be right at the end of the G1 Pat route, if that helps, but bus racks are iffy.
Unfortunately it will mean missing the August FOC, but volunteers or participants will be greatly welcomed. Send me a message. Thanks.
Bus racks on the G1 are indeed iffy. At least half the G1 trips are on rack-less 1900s. The G2s are the usual 3-in-4-chance 40-footers, but even then, you would have to get off at Bell Station, as the G2 DOES NOT go to Carnegie, carry down a set of steps, then bike a large piece of a mile to get there.
The 31E and 33E trips will also get you all the way there. Most of these are on 40-footers.
What a great way to see Carnegie! Getting bikes out there for people is going to be a challenge, especially if the bus is iffy.
I contacted Venture Outdoors and Golden Triangle Bike and Blade to see if they would offer rental bikes for the event, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen.
How feasible is it to lead a bikepool out to
Carnegie and back again that evening? How long is the ride from Pittsburgh? Would the return trip to the city at night be reason for any more concern than usual - the layout of the roads, traffic speeds, etc.?
Thanks Stu. I've noticed that at off-peak hours the 1900 buses seem to give way to the smaller buses with racks. Is there any predictable pattern to that, or is it just random?
If somebody organized a bike pool, that would be cool. It's like 6 miles from town, max. I don't think the ride back in would be anything unusual either, Noblestown Road to the West End circle to Carson.
Noblestown Road to the West End circle to Carson
...but that might scare the hell out of some people, especially at night. I can handle Noblestown OK, but I've never ridden through the WEC and I would be nervous about WCarson in daylight, let alone dusk or dark.
I'm wondering if, given that we have seven weeks lead time on this, we can make special arrangement with PAT to allow a bunch of bikes on the inside of a 40-foot bus. The typical inbound G1 at night has at most 10 to 15 people on it. If everyone is getting on at Carnegie Sta and gets off at a single stop Downtown, and uses the back door, maybe we could get away with it. The old high-floor 2600s/2700s have nice wide aisles in the back; we could easily carry a half dozen bikes and riders, and still pick up the usual crowd going down the busway.
Can't promise anything, but I'll ask.
Hope you all can make it. Looking forward to hosting everyone. Happy Hour at Pattys' Pour House after! No, that is not a typo!
PAT is listed as a sponsor of the thing, some kind of special accomodation would be pretty nice.
@Edmonds - count me in as an assistant on the beginner hike. I do not want to be committed to the hill climb event, although I may CHOOSE to do it.....
What about an escorted ride from the Idlewood or Bell Station Busway stop to the Carnegie Park and Ride Lot? it's only about a mile or maybe two, and you could take back-ish roads most of the way.
Bell Station has a ramp, in addition to the steps, and the ride from there to Carnegie Station is flat and seems pretty easy. When I've been there in the evenings (6:30-8 say), even the main roads have little traffic.
Besides the G1, G2, 31E, and 33E, the 31D and 33D also get you within a few easy blocks of Carnegie Station. (For 31D and 33D, getting off when you hit Washington Avenue is easiest.) All these buses stop at the Hilton outboard, so you can just catch the first one with a rack that shows up. (Almost all also stop near the Duquesne Incline, convenient to the Station Square Trail.)
Hope to see you all on Friday!
I pre-rode and marked one route for the Friday evening rides, should be good. I ran into this fellow, Chris, he builds things. the chopper must weigh 150 lbs. Invited him to the ride. I hope though he gets a brake installed.
See y'all.
Outbound, all of the above will get you to Bell Station. Exit at Bell Station if on G2. Don't ride the busway from there to Carnegie Station, though. Carry bike down the steps. Local streets aren't bad at all.
edmonds59, what would you say to this path from Bell Sta? Down steps, R Rosslyn Rd, L Bell Ave, L Morrow St, L Railroad Ave, L Highland Ave, R 5th Ave, L Dick St, R Logan St & look for bicycles.
That's a fine route, Stu, though there is a bit of a climb on Morrow. To avoid that you could simply do Arch to James (an alley), jog over to Mansfield, to the pedestrian entrance for the bus way.
Also, if anyone would like to ride and would like to bus out, but is concerned about being stranded on the wrong side of the escarpment at night, I will sweep the courses by car before leaving, and I can shuttle a small number of people in a pinch back into town. I will also give my cell to the Carnegie Police for emergencies. We'll do everything possible to ensure that no one gets stranded.
Carnegie, however, does not promote "biking and drinking". See ya Friday!
Bump
Anyone else from the board going?
I'm planning on riding FOC, but that's dependent on the G2. If the G2 stands me up like it did last month, I'll just bike over to Carnegie and join the festivities there.
just walked thru carnegie. work here and took a stroll to the bank.
where exactly might one meet up with the rides at 6?
Everything starts at the parking lot at the municipal building, on Veterans Way, right at the end of the West Busway.
My office is right at the bell bus station. Is this going to be a weekly ride? I can't make it this week : (
I'm leaving for Downtown from Bloomfield at 4:30 to catch a G1 right to Carnegie Station. There's a temporary stop (this route is going to change names again in September) at Smithfield and 4th.
Many of the G1's have bike racks, but it's not guaranteed.
This is not scheduled to be weekly, things were set up for this special event. However, now that the maps are developed, I think they will be available for anyone to use on their own at their own convenience.
thanks for the ride. definitely overdue that i see some of the nooks and crannies the route took us through.
Honus Wagner's house was the highlight for me, for sure!
I found some info on the old cemetery we passed up by the library. The firt burial was in 1781!
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njm1/09-RossFamilyCem.html
Thanks, marko, that's great. The first person buried was only 7. 
