Hartwood Acres Trail Care Day This SATURDAY

From Maurice:
"Meet at the Hartwood parking lot on Middle Road at 10:00a.m. on June 27th (lot near the concert stage). PTAG's experienced crew leaderswill be on hand to direct the volunteers, as we work together to improve the drainage and fix troublesome wet spots on the trails.Volunteers should bring work gloves, eye protection and wear sturdy boots. All necessary tools will be provided.

The work session will run from 10:00a.m until 1:00p.m. after which we'll re-group and enjoy cool beverages, compliments of PTAG and County Parks. Then we'll hit the trails for recreational purposes, either on foot and/or on mountain bike, depending on the group's interests. We love working on the trails, but playing on them is even better!

After we work up an appetite playing in the park, we'll head to J.D.'sPub/Restaurant on the corner of Harts Run Road and Saxonburg Blvd for some free pizza courtesy of the Friends of Hartwood and specially-priced draft beer. Thanks to J.D. and Friends of Hartwood for supporting the Hartwood volunteers!"

OTB Urban Ride Report

Last night was the first OTB Bicycle Café urban ride. There were six of us on the ride and we picked up a 7th on the way back to OTB. Mike led us around the city. Our route took us down the bike path past Station Square, over the Fort Pitt bridge, over the Duquesne bridge, along the north shore, across the 6th Street bridge, across the 7th Street bridge, up to Washington’s Landing, across the 31st Street bridge, Railroad Street to Grant, to the jail trail, across the Hot Metal bridge and back to OTB. I think we did about 14 miles altogether, practically no hills at all.

This was a pretty casual ride. There was lots of playing around on stairs, rocks, curbs and anything else we could find. We rode around the new casino and got a little peak in side. We stopped at Red Fin Blues on Washington’s Landing for a drink. It was a beautiful night for a ride. We hardly had to deal with any traffic, even when we got into town. Other than hoping a few curbs this was a pretty easy ride.

There was even a live band over at the South Side Works. Seeing the city by bike is a really cool experience.

Back at OTB after the ride, everyone got their draft on the house and we had some great food.

The next ride is tentatively scheduled for July 6th. Don’t miss it! And don't forget about the 2nd art and crafts show this Saturday!

OTB urban ride Tuesday.

Sorry for the late notice, but I just saw this.

OTB urban ride Tuesday (June 23rd) leaving OTB Bicycle Cafe promptly at 5:45.
It will be a moderate ride with a little fun built in based on desire of those in attendance.

After the ride the first draft is on the house.

PTAG Bavington Train Maintenance Report.

The PTAG Bavington trail maintenance on Sunday had a good turnout. Arriving at 10:00 there was Allegro Hearth Bakery goods to be had. Then groups were organized and sent out with various tasks such as putting in some drainage pipe, brush clearing, and tree removal. Lora and I were tasked with tree clearing on the mail loop, also known as the Ewok’s playground. I used My BOB trailer to carry the chainsaw and large pruners. Ben had made a map with 3 trees marked on it. 2 of which were on the loop we were assigned to. Lora and Headed out and immediately ran into a new tree down from the heavy storms. We ended up removing 7 trees on that loop, 8 counting the small one on the double track back to the parking lot. Others were brush cutting on that loop and even cut in a reroute around a large mud hole.

The last tree we cleared was a big one. The trail there was pretty wide so I decided to cut a large section out and use it to make a feature. The tree was just slightly longer than my 24” chainsaw blade, but we managed to take care of it. Then we struggled to get it into place next to the other section. I think it made a nice feature.

After the maintenance was done a group ride headed out to enjoy the work that was done. A large assortment of large burritos from Chipote Mexican Grill in Robinson was delivered. Chips and salsa was also provided. Beverages were had and I raffled off 2 iPod shuffles. A PORC shirt was also raffled off.

It was a good day. Now go ride it before it grows back in!

Bike Stolen - Titus TI RacerX

Jeff B's bike was stolen. It sucks when anyone's bike is stolen.

It's a 29” 2007 Titus RacerX Titanium frame with orange Chris King hubs and headset.

Stolen out of his vehicle in parking lot just off Ellsworth Avenue, Shadyside.

Keep an eye out and let me know if it's spotted.

Thanks

Poison Ivy

I used to say I never get poison ivy, but so far I’ve had it twice this year. The first time I had to take steroids to get rid of it. I have a small spot on my leg now, but it’s not that bad. Lora has it pretty bad on her leg and she is now on the steroids and our doctor gave us a steroid cream to put on it, which helps with the itch.

We thought we were careful and we washed after each ride. Lora was using Ivy Block, but we discovered it was expired, whoops. I just took my first dose of Oral Ivy, which is basically liquid poison ivy. It is supposed to help with the symptoms and prevent the reaction. It has been around since the 1950's and was invented in PA. It's considered a homeopathic treatment. I'll let you know if it works. I'm a bit nervous about drinking poison ivy, wouldn't you be?

Poison Ivy secrets an oil, called urushiol, that is a skin irritant. Some people are like me and usually don’t get it, but as I found out, the more you are exposed to it the greater chance you have of getting it. It’s not just the plant you have to worry about. Its anything that comes in contact with the plant, like your bike, tires, shoes, pets, etc. The oil spreads easily. Some people where knee high socks to help prevent the ivy from touching their skin, but you have be careful when you take off your shoes and socks and what they touch.

It’s everywhere. “Leaves of three let it be” as they say, but if you are riding in the woods chances are you are going to come in contact with it. Not all plants with 3 leaves are poison ivy, but why take the chance. Even though you usually see it on the ground it is a vine and can climb other bushes and trees, “Hairy vine, no friend of mine”

Peace, love and single track.

Bavington Big workday Rescheduled for June 21

** Don't forget Sunday's workday **
It is a big surprise project, that is very important for riding at Bavington.
I will be donating 2 iPod Shuffles to be raffled off.


The big PTAG Bavington Workday has been rescheduled for June 21st. The original date was June 7th.
10 am FREE yummy baked goods from Allegro Hearth Bakery, then dig.
12:45 Ride and such
3 ish Eat some Chipotle and relax.
BYOR (refreshments)
Meeting location: Old model airplane airfield parking area, just off Old Stuebenville Pike
Ben Staud

Please come out and help.

After work brush clearing at Bavington.

I met Ben after work for roughly 3 hours of brush clearing at Bavington. We work on the end of the main loop from the Haul road parking area. As we walked in we saw where someone had used a string trimmer to cut the grass. On the Sunday all trails ride Biber said they saw someone with two dogs cutting the grass. We'd like to thank that person.

We still walked threw some tall grass to get where we were going and I would stop and flick the ticks off every once in a while, eeew.

We got a lot of work done. Ben was using the brush cutter and I was cleaning up and using the big pruners. We cleared a huge section of trail. I think the next project is to clear the brush on the figure 8 on the old side. Anyone want to help?

I got home, scarfed some food and played stick with the dogs. I came in and decided to strip down in the garage. I immediately noticed a tick attached to my inner thigh about half way up. I twisted around and saw one on my back. A little tweezer work and some help from Lora and they both came off. I'm amazed that they had already latched on to me. How did the one get threw my jeans? I did a very thorough check and got a shower. Something tells me I'm going to have an itchy night. :-(

More pictures on flickr

Short Bavington clip.

This was a very casual ride, so nothing exciting. Just a glimpse at the great single track Bavington has to offer.

Bike rack use?

I think scooters are great for those who can't ride their bike to work because of distance, time or lack of a place to wash the sweat off. Scooters get the best gas mileage out there, but is this where they should be parking? Parking in a spot intended for bicycles? I think the city should have scooter and motorcycle designated parking spaces.

Sent from my mobile phone

Bavington ride, more camera info.

We did a tough ride at Bavington Yesterday. We did a bunch a trails the reverse of the normal way and they really didn't work well in the opposite direction. It made for a tough day of riding. Some trails are very overgrown and I hope to do some more brush cutting soon. The ticks were very bad in the fields. I check after every section of tall grass and ended up with about 6-7 of them on me. blaaaah
Poison ivy is really growing in in some areas. I'll do a post with our poison ivy tips soon.

I shot some video with the GoPro Hero Wide camera mounted on my helmet. It isn't any heavier than a helmet light. Even though there isn't a remote for it I found that it was pretty easy to use with it up there. The camera only has 2 buttons, power/mode and record/select. I set the camera so it went into video mode as soon as it was turned on. When you press the record button there is a low beep. When you push it again to end the recording there are two beeps. They are very soft, but if you aren't moving you can here them. I found it pretty easy to reach up, turn the camera on and start/stop recording. I'll do some quick edits and throw up some video tonight. Nothing very exciting, but some beautiful single track.

NASA now has a sport drink.

NASA just introduced a new sports drink called The Right Stuff. They should have just called it "TRS".

Anyhow think about how many billions of dollars NASA has to spend. Is this the answer to your hydration needs? Everyone knows that the space race is responsible for a lot of technology, maybe this is the next step in hydration?

They claim 20% better hydration than anything else on the market. If it's true it could be good news, but taste is important too. If you don't like it you aren't going to drink it.

This is straight from there FAQ.

"Endurance and collegiate/professional athletes will be most sensitive to noticing the benefits associated with using the Right Stuff. However, anyone that suffers from dehydration, whether from exercise, sun and heat exposure or other causes like jet-lag, altitude sickness and too much alcohol will also get valuable benefits from using The Right Stuff"

So besides riding on a hot summer day, it can help you with your hangover, awesome!

Anyhow, I wouldn't mind trying some of this.

Weekend Happenings.

Kirkpatrick Park Cleanup
Join PTAG for a trail clearing & cleanup of Kirkpatrick Park in theHill District.
Saturday (June 6th) as we celebrate National TrailsDay. We'll be partnering with Venture Outdoors, Hill HouseAssociation, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, REI, Allegheny CleanWays,and the American Hiking Society to cleanup and restore a trail throughKirkpatrick Park.
Where - Kirkpatrick Park (Hill District)
When - Saturday, June 6th 10:00am - 1:00pm
What - Trail Clearing & Litter Sweep

First monthly Bavington "All-Trails" ride
Sunday June 7th
Roughly 28-35 miles
Meet 10 am, ride leaves 10:30
Modest 7 mph pace (my dogs don't like to go real fast), very fewstops, 2 20-minute breaks
Sand Baggers will have to wait a lot and Boat Anchors will be abandoned.

Photo Essay: 20 of the Freakiest Custom Bikes on the Road

Photo Essay: 20 of the Freakiest Custom Bikes on the Road