BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Depends on what kind of riding you want to do. If you are interested in road riding try the Pittsburgh Cycling meetup group. They organize all kinds of rides in and around the city for roadies that range from short rails to trails rides to more advanced, longer, touring rides.

If you are more interested in off road, try Pittsburgh Off Road Cyclists. Again, they gear some weekly rides for beginners specifically as well as more advanced rides for experienced riders. You can find both at www.meetup.com.

Otherwise, just get your butt some hours in the saddle daily. Try to meet some more experienced riders and take some rides with them. You'll be suprised at how quickly that you can build strength and confidence just doing those two things alone.

Good luck, and welcome!

there is a really popular "team decaf" ride every week. it's not actually a team, they just leave from tazza d'oro cafe every week. also, check out the major taylor cycling club, they do a bunch of weekly rides as well.

i think there is also a weekly ride that leaves from the coffee tree in shadyside, but i'm not sure of the details yet

http://bike-pgh.org/events/calendar/

at the bottom there is a list of weekly rides

+1 on the Tazzo rides. Once the season gets going, they do multiple rides per week, each different skill levels. If you check out their website, you can subscribe to a low traffic mailing list that usually details the weekly rides.

The Western PA Wheelmen also do lots of weekly rides, though most start outside the city.

It's also a lot of fun just to explore the various Pittsburgh neighborhoods. Get the bike-pgh map, choose a neighborhood, and ride there.

The post so far are good advice for sports/recreational biking. Since you don't have a car, I'm guessing utility biking.

Lights - particularly a back blinky (or two). I keep one in a pack even when I don't plan on being out after dark - and two or more if I do plan on riding at night.

Learn the back ways around. See the thread "Swissvale to downtown" for examples. A beginning biker doesn't just want to take the roads he'd drive.

Good maps are important. The Bike-Pittsburgh map is great if you are staying close in the city. The Rand-MacNally or Univeral maps are both good if you go a distance from town by stay within about 15 miles from down town. Beyond that there is nothing that is convenient and good.

A good rack. No sense in wearing a heavy back pack. A rack and some bunji cords help.

Good tires. "It only takes a few minutes to change a flat." Five miles from home at midnight in the rain, time is relative.

Fenders are very helpful. Rain pants are, too.

This is, after all Pittsburgh.

I prefer to have my lowest gear be lower than the typical 24 speed (28 front chain ring and 32 back sprocket). Dweeb sales 'droids tell me that the 28/32 will be fine "once you get into shape." Right.

Be cautious on weekend nights. Lot's of drunkards. In Oakland, you have rookie drivers drunk for the first time in their lives. Meditate on that for a bit.

Mick

If you live in Oakland prepare to have bros mockingly yell "Lance Armstrong" at you every night.

"Gosh! I wish I could be as cool as a drunk undergrad!"

Works every time.

The irony is that it's true. I do wish that.

Mick

If you live in Oakland prepare to have bros mockingly yell "Lance Armstrong" at you every night.

haha!

i usually yell "dale earnhardt" back to them. usually gets a laugh

That's so funny, I can't begin to count the number of times I've been called Lance Armstrong over the years! In town, Northside, Southside, Oakland, It's all the same. Erok, I love the Dale Earnhardt response but what do you have for pedestrians?

uhhh. forest gump?

http://failblog.org/2009/05/08/serious-parenting-fail/

See how aware this kid is? And notice how he takes up the whole lane while in heavy traffic. This is a good example of urban biking.

Ha ha, and this is not http://thisisphotobomb.com/2009/05/06/photobomb-that-guy-crashbomb/

I agree w/ alankhg...I've taken to exploring Morningside on the weekends with the help of the Bike PGH map (to save me from any monstrous hills! )