r/bicycling412

Wasn’t the gap trail closure by kennywood supposed to reopen today? Anyone have an update here? Thanks!!

After climbing from the Run to upper Greenfield, I turned from Flemington onto Windsor for the last short climb of the day. An SUV pulled off Mirror and pulled to the right to let the car in front of me pass, and stayed parked for me to finish out the climb.

I tell you, that was a four wheeled oversized Santa and Christmas in August!

Seriously, nice to know not everyone is a jagoff. We managed to exchange waves and it pretty much made the ride.

Hi all I hope this is appropriate to post here,

I’m 26NB and take classes at CCAC main. I like riding my bike to school but I am not really that versed in riding on the street with cars, which is most of my commute to school. There are bike lanes but as you all know if you commute around here, they’re disastrous. If you are experienced in this and are willing to join me on my small commute to school and teach me how to bicycle safely on the road, I’d appreciate that.

Um, comment or dm? ( Idk how this works ) if you’re queer friendly and willing to help me out! I have major anxiety even posting this & I am also not going to lie sometimes I smoke a cigarette while riding my bike so as long as you’re okay with that too.

I also would take the chateau trail but that just means I have to bike up major hills before school and I am NOT trying to stink up the classroom with sweat 🫡

Edit: thank u to the awesome people that commented. Im so scared to join a group ride but I’ll never know unless I do it right? I should stop smoking too but with the way the world is rn I could use a few more packs in my lifetime.

A friend and I were just discussing him and both noted we haven't seen him around in years. I had heard through general pgh grapevine chatter that he worked in tech so maybe he moved, but I figure this is a small enough city/community that someone here had to have known him. I always appreciated seeing him biking around town.

Hey all, anyone have any ideas on how to successfully advocate for a bike lane cleanup in Neville? Got my first flat in a decade there recently and it's entirely because the bike lanes are absolutely filled with rubble and metal debris (the flat in question caused by a huge metal shaving that went right through the entire tire). I've never seen such a nicely established bike lane so poorly maintained regarding street cleaning.

Hey all, I'm looking for some ideas on new places I can take my toddler to ride her balance bike. Ideal places would have flat-ish sidewalks, preferably in a park, with minimal other bike traffic and no car traffic. Ideally in the North side of the city or North hills but open to suggestions anywhere.

The little ripper can't get enough of her bike and I want to make sure we don't fall in a rut of going to the same few places.

Places we currently go that work for us:

Allegheny River Trail Park: Currently the number one spot but a little further from home than ideal. Perfect trail for her to ride on and has two playgrounds where we can take a break.

Allegheny Commons Park: Good spot for it, plenty of sidewalks and multiple playgrounds.

Places we've tried that didn't quite work:

Jail Trail: Works okay but can be busy with cyclists

North Park loop next to the pool: Has car traffic which makes it no good, she's also not ready for the pump track yet.

Riverview Park: Basically nowhere flat in the whole park lol

And the Urban Pathways, busses, parents vehicles and security guards are all parked and standing in the Penn Avenue bike lane from 2:45 - 3:30 everyday. Today I was almost hit by a schoolbus driving over the cement curb meant to stop vehicles from entering the bike lane. It's somehow gotten worse from the spring.

I don't want to sound ungrateful to Aldi, but their new bike rack feels like malicious compliance rather than trying to actually help their customers lock up safely. The rack is a bad design and it's so close to the curb that you can't even really pull your bike all the way up into the rack. This is like the sort of rack that an elementary school would have in the '90s.

And of course, it's farther from the store than any of the parking spots provided. I tried using it once and subsequently I have just used the disabled parking signs again. Which I don't really like doing because, while I don't think that it's actually going to interfere, the last thing that I want is to make grocery shopping harder for anyone who is disabled.

Their rack at the other Penn Avenue location is so good, why can't they just do that again. Maybe they can design it in such a way that it will actually protect their windows next time one of their driving customers decides that the store should have a drive-through.

Any ideas of what to do here?

Shout out to /u/Swimming_Outside_218/ for leading the way on this project.

I am going to the Renaissance Faire this weekend. A friend is riding me from McKeesport and back. I need a safe spot to lock my bike for about 12 hours. Does this exist in McKeesport?

Hey there, friends. GIVE UP just opened up registration for the THIRD ANNUAL Trash Bag Century taking place September 13th 2026

The link goes to our page with all of the information but as long as i'm here i'll talk it up a little: Back in 2024, my friend Leah texted me something along the lines of "what if GIVE UP did a supported century." We spent the next few weeks roughing out a plan, sending possible routes to each other, and eventually getting a bunch of our friends to volunteer, and just like that, TBC was thrust into this world by sheer force of will.

The Trash Bag Century is a 100% free, fully supported 100 mile bicycle event that is returning for its third year in a row. What does "fully supported" mean? Well-stocked rest stops, marshals out on the course, and SAG vehicles out roaming around in case you break down and need a rescue. We can only do this because GIVE UP and our friends band together to volunteer in support of you having a great bike ride.

The ride is mostly flat and (in my opinion) makes a great first hundred-miler. The course does hit some mud and gravel at times, so plan your tires appropriately, but you're not going to be hitting singletrack in the woods or anything.

We keep it free to keep it accessible to everybody. This is not a fundraiser or a cash grab. There are no sponsors and for as long as my opinion means anything in planning it, there won't be. We are really just in this for the love of the game and all of the volunteers pride themselves on putting together the best bike event possible despite it being free.

One downside is that we don't mark the course. I tried the first year, but it was kind of a cluster. You will need to be able to follow the route on a bike computer or at least stick around with somebody who is.Its not a super complex route, but i don't want you getting lost, either.

With all that said, if you're looking for a fun party hundo in September, come check it out. You get to hang out with your GIVE UP buds all day and then we've got a great finish line party at the East End Popup. Last year we had an impromptu brass band form at the finish and i'm not sure we'll ever top the sheer chaotic joy of that day, but damn if we won't try.

Hope to see you at the start line on September 13th, i'll be checking folks in and slinging pastries there again this year, say hi when you see me.

xoxo, bingo.

p.s. we can always use volunteers and even if you can't ride or volunteer, you should come to the finish line party and drink beers while cheering on finishers

Wanted to give a big thanks to the biker who stopped to help me fix a flat tire on the Fort Duquesne Bridge after the Steelers game tonight. He took the time and several CO2 cartridges to get me rolling and saving me a 9 mile walk home. Seriously, I really appreciate it!

As a lifelong Packers fan, I’m usually prepared for late season disappointments(good luck with Mike and Aaron...) and that preparedness usually extends to carrying the necessary bike recovery tools. That said, I’ve now learned it’s important to periodically check that those tools are actually compatible and functional. My pump wasn’t working, and my tire lever was sitting at home on the workbench.

So learn from my mistakes and double check your tools, and be thankful for fellow cyclists in this city who are willing to lend a hand. Thanks again to the guy who stopped to help.

Hey all! I’m 28F from South Side Pittsburgh. Recently got back into cycling and would love to join a group to ride with more regularly and I’m really interested in the GiveUp group. That said - social anxiety makes it sooo intimidating to show up to a group setting as a solo newbie without a social anchor. Would anyone else be interested in joining me for the social ride planned for next Thursday, August 20th? Or are there any current GiveUp regulars in this community who’d be up for a tag along? DM me or comment!

I was wondering if anyone in the South Hills or Pittsburgh area has had a physical altercation with the older man who dresses in colonial garb. It seems that his form of protest is getting violent and I have heard of 2 instances where he has either run into people with his bike and has put hands on people. If you happen to be anywhere near him and oppose his political views, please be careful.