Pedal Pittsburgh 2019
08-26-19, 08:10 AM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Pedal Pittsburgh 2019
Did anybody here do this yesterday? My wife, her friend and I did the 25 mile route and I was curious what other riders' impressions were?
FWIW my wife and I are not seasoned group riders but we've ridden several group rides in the city over the past several years and this one was probably the biggest with 3,000 participants. I saw a wide gamut of capabilities in the crowd and I feel like we were somewhere in the middle. Even though I rode an entry level hardtail fitted for MUP riding I was able to keep a good pace on the windy and hilly streets by working my gears more efficiently and not being glued to my saddle. My wife rides a Trek FX2 and she did well too. I feel like we did better than her friend who had a road bike with skinny tires.
Though the purpose of the ride was to spread awareness of bike paths within the city I feel like there should have been more volunteers dotted along the route to help direct cyclists' observation of traffic laws. I rode another urban group ride this spring that seemed to have more involvement with volunteers riding along and directing the group and directing traffic when necessary. Largely, the group was very confident - maybe a bit too much so at times. Some approached it like they were riding the Tour De France and others were joyriding and taking selfies. Gladly, I did not see or hear of any injuries - though one person in our group nearly had a close encounter with a transit bus on the North Side. He erred on the side of caution and gave the bus the right of way; the driver probably did not see him as he had fallen behind the group. I feel like we as riders could have done better to follow traffic laws.
All in all, we had fun as a group and I feel like next year we could do the 40 mile route; we already have done so on other group rides this season but those were on rural rides.
PS: I'm also starting up another thread on an upcoming event, the 3-2-1 Ride which in the past has followed the same route but is changing this year. I'm wondering why since Pedal Pittsburgh got some media attention - which IMO is what its goal was.
FWIW my wife and I are not seasoned group riders but we've ridden several group rides in the city over the past several years and this one was probably the biggest with 3,000 participants. I saw a wide gamut of capabilities in the crowd and I feel like we were somewhere in the middle. Even though I rode an entry level hardtail fitted for MUP riding I was able to keep a good pace on the windy and hilly streets by working my gears more efficiently and not being glued to my saddle. My wife rides a Trek FX2 and she did well too. I feel like we did better than her friend who had a road bike with skinny tires.
Though the purpose of the ride was to spread awareness of bike paths within the city I feel like there should have been more volunteers dotted along the route to help direct cyclists' observation of traffic laws. I rode another urban group ride this spring that seemed to have more involvement with volunteers riding along and directing the group and directing traffic when necessary. Largely, the group was very confident - maybe a bit too much so at times. Some approached it like they were riding the Tour De France and others were joyriding and taking selfies. Gladly, I did not see or hear of any injuries - though one person in our group nearly had a close encounter with a transit bus on the North Side. He erred on the side of caution and gave the bus the right of way; the driver probably did not see him as he had fallen behind the group. I feel like we as riders could have done better to follow traffic laws.
All in all, we had fun as a group and I feel like next year we could do the 40 mile route; we already have done so on other group rides this season but those were on rural rides.
PS: I'm also starting up another thread on an upcoming event, the 3-2-1 Ride which in the past has followed the same route but is changing this year. I'm wondering why since Pedal Pittsburgh got some media attention - which IMO is what its goal was.
