Another bridge at Bavington.

I got an email from Ben that they had a new prefabbed bridge ready to go in to replace an old one, so I decided to meet up with a group on Sunday to put it in.  We didn't have to haul the bridge to far, it was pretty heavy, but But Ben did strap a dolly to it making it easier to move.
It took us about 2.5 hours from start to finish.  the new bridge is in solid and doesn't move at all.

We cut some brush and thorns on the hike out.  I took Ripley with me and she had a great time.  She was running around and trying to play with everyone.  I got home in time to watch the Steelers game.  I should have stayed in the woods.  :-(

Light up night ride.

Barry from Dirty Harry's sent this out via the PORC email list.  Sounds like a fun ride.

"Friday November 20th: This is light up night for Pittsburgh. Usual drill is we meet at 8:00pm at the 1st Avenue And Grant Street Parking garage (you can park at the garage) at the downtown end of the Eliza Furnace Trail. We can assemble right in front of the Golden Triangle Bike Rental Shop next to the trail. If you have a roof top bike rack remember to take your bike off before you enter the garage. There are restrooms in the garage and at the trail head. The Pennsylvania Wheelmen are also meeting here so don't be confused with other bikers.



1) We start riding as close to 8:00pm as possible.Please be on time as it will be cold waiting. (If you get there late you can catch the group at Station Square as we come back from the first part of the loop)


2) You must have a helmet, lights (front and rear) and proper clothing depending on the weather. Bring warm clothes. (You can always use a head lamp duct taped to your helmet)


3) If it is raining hard we will not ride.

4) We do an 8 to 10 mile ride heading out the Eliza Furnace Trail to the Hot Metal Bridge, back through Station Square and then a circuitous climb up to the West End Overlook, watch the fireworks and then ride down over the West End Bridge, over 6th street and finally stop at Mama Luccia's Pizza at 433 Wood St. near Forbes Ave for pizza. BYOB is permitted! (you could bring a lock for a bike stack)

5) This ride has a lot of city traffic so you need to be comfortable riding at night with cars.


6) A mountain bike or cross bike is best but a road bike will work just fine.

7) You can bring snacks and EXTRA CLOTHING for when we get to the Overlook. (it can get mighty cold while waiting for the fireworks)

This is a fun ride at a rather slow pace. The darkness and traffic make it a bit challenging so be careful. Try to wear bright jackets and have plenty of lights. There are some dark sections of bike trail we will be riding on. Weather looks dry at this point but cool."
 
Light up night info for the city can be found at
http://www.downtownpittsburgh.com/light-up-night-2009

Dirt Rag Magazine Blog » Blog Archive » Cold Weather Riding Tips

This is a recap of several installments, with links to them. I've never been a cold weather rider, but they make it sound so easy.

Dirt Rag Magazine Blog » Blog Archive » Cold Weather Riding Tips

Looking for rides?

The only place to find out about all the rides is the PORC (Pittsburgh Off-Road Cyclist) Website and E-mail list.
You can sign up for the E-mail right from the home page or you can just check out the calendar.

Weekly ride listings and special events.

They are also on Facebook

PTAG Year-end Party

Sunday, December 13 at the Cabin in North Park

Meet 9:30, rides hikes start at 10:30.
Lunch at 1:30

Join us to celebrate the hard work and achievements of all of the volunteers for 2009. Highlights to celebrate for 2009 include; new trails at Moraine and North Park, getting the DRJ trail recognized by the County parks Dept., bridges installed at North Park and Hillman, Mountain bike Fest and more.

Food and beverages provided--covered dish or food item encouraged too
Rides and hikes for all levels will be arranged--weather permitting
Consider donating swag/cash for our awards presentation to the top volunteers.

Contact Mike Connors, Mikes E-mail ,if you want to donate or help with any part of this celebration.

I'm no creature of the night.

The lack of daylight over winter really bums me out. I’ve already had to start putting blinking bike lights on our Dobermans to keep track of them when we go out after work. They step out of the spot lights on the back of the house and go invisible. Combine that with their tendency to chase deer and we’ve got issues. It's pretty dark by the time I get home. The parking garage I use for work has had too many thefts to leave my bike in the car and bringing it into the office isn’t a possibility. I know these are sound like excuses, but the season for me is pretty much over.  I don't like riding in the cold.  I snowboard in subzero temperatures, but riding my bike in the cold just doesn't do it for me.

We plan on getting in a few trips to Rays MTB indoor park, but it’s really time to start thinking about cross training. I’ve been cutting, splitting and stacking wood for winter, which is hard work, but a steady exercise regiment is needed.

We have a small gym in the house and a pool with a lap machine. We have a Bow Flex a spin bike and an elliptical machine. Out of all of them, the spin bike is the most boring. We have some spin DVDs and Lora bought some of the Biggest Loser workout DVDs. The spin DVDs are from the 80’s or something. They are really bad. The Biggest Loser workout DVD’s are actually pretty tough and entertaining.

Swimming is my thing though and I need to start doing it on a regular basis. It’s supposed to be good for my shoulder too.  Now if I just put down the Xbox controller and get wet.

Another lost video

No sound on this one, but some video from our stop at Raystown Lake on the way to RCST in September.
No audio on this one.

Videos

Some videos I never posted.  All were made with the GoPro Hero Wide. 

Here is one from Rumble on the Ridge with my friend Scott.



Here is another time lapse I made.  This one of clouds.  This is a really cool feature of the camera.




And last but, not least.  Just playing around with the camera.