BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

If you didn't stop at the Oakmont Bakery you didn't have half as much fun as we did this morning, Val. They were mobbed today, but it was soooo good. Biking out there removes any guilt for wolfing down a piece of chocolate cream filled heaven! You've gotta try it next time you ride through there.

Shit. I went right by that place, was hungry as hell and even looked up and read the sign! Now I know, at least. Please shoot me the name of whatever they make best! I bet it would've tasted better than any gel, too... PS: Please include the names of any good watering holes, out that way, too! Thanks!

Everything I've tried at that bakery has been really good. Creamiest coconut cream pie ever, fabulous chocolate cream pazcki (gone until next lent now), and the family just declared the cherry pie I bought there yesterday as EXCELLENT. I don't think you can go wrong with anything in that place.

@srpit, ONLY because you like the best desserts, I'll pass this on to you. Meat & Potatoes, the best restaurant in the state for 2012, is right downtown... their desserts are the best you'll ever find. Anywhere. I won't say how I know but I don't own it or work there. Like I said, best desserts of anyplace you'll find IN THIS CITY.

Winter is dying hard! It's time for a spin through town to Oakland, maybe hit a couple trails in Schenley. This weather is schizophrenic...

Yesterday was finally great weather (on a Monday) for doing my Winter Validation Ride to WV and back. I got a late start due to domestic exigencies, so didn't quite go all the way because I didn't want to ride back across 51 in the dark. I started in Ben Avon, down to Brighton Heights and across the bridge to McKee's Rocks, right on 51 North and all the way to Moon Township to the trailhead. I was not expecting the hilly section contained in that short stretch of road between McKee's and Coraopolis but it got my attention! I ended making the turn at just over the 40 miles mark, still several miles short of the state line. I opted for my touring rig with one front pannier attached. The original plan was to take the 'cross bike but I decided to trade extra weight for comfort. The stats ended up being 81 miles and 3000 feet of cumulative elevation; altogether a success, even though it had it's hurtful moments! I'm looking forward to hitting it again on the 'cross bike, maybe with some 32mm Ritchey knobbies and a small pack, now that I know most of the terrain. I'm going to round up and make it a solid century, and try to hit it once or twice a month. We'll see how it goes..

As a lazy old guy, I take Neville Island from McKeesRocks to Coraopolis and skip those three heartbreaking hills. Industrial and ugly but it's flat, and there's a Kings under I-79, and an easy restroom stop at the RMU ice rink just before you go back on the mainland. A quick turn south on 51 for 1/2 mile and you're at the Groveton Trailhead.

Vannevar, I'm old and lazy too. I almost took the island route and I've eaten at that King's, before. But Pain and Punishment were part of the mission profile for yesterday, so I strapped on those hills. They didn't break my heart but I may have grown a third testicle, climbing over them on the leg home...

Most eloquently put.

Not sure where to go with that. 1. You could donate it to Lance, he's one short. 2. You know the origin of the pawn shop symbol, right?

I'm laughing my head off. Please tell me the origin of the symbol, something tells me it will be funny. @Stu, when you have the time could you please give me a cheat sheet for how to load photos to this site? And could you please tell me why in the hell it isn't a LOT simpler? Thanks.

Real short version: Use flickr.com or equivalent. Click on your photo on that site, get the URL to the pic (starts with http and must end with .jpg or .gif), then paste it here, substituting angle brackets for these square ones: [img src="http://www.flickr.com/path/to/your/photo.jpg"]

Thanks, Stu!

Wikipedia has some info on the likely origin of the symbol, but for some reason it omits the giant-fighting story. Re: images. You can also click the small icon right above the box where you type your message. You no longer have to upload to a site like flickr first; you can upload right onto this site. (Or if your image is already on a site like that, the button will type in the HTML code Stu showed.)

Steven, thanks for the help and the link, interesting story indeed.

Actually, the story isn't about killing a giant with three bags of rocks or about placing three coins on a trading table. Those explanations are just ridiculous. The legend, which was explained to me in Naples in '76, is that the patriarch of the Medici was a combatant-turned-financier who was widely known to be "gifted" with a 50% oversupply of family jewels; he was quite proud of his endowment and used it to advertise the family short-term loan business. More than just a biological marker, it was sort of an existential statement; we have more balls than you have. Do you want a piece of this? Didn't think so. You might consider it an early exercise in branding. No competitor would dare risk the wrath of the Medici by feigning a similar business mark, but when the House of Medici fell their trademark became the universal symbol of their industry. Seriously.

Righteousness. I do enjoy History.