I awoke this morning to the sound of muffled tires on pavement. This meant only thing–snow. This little burst of winter has caught me out a bit–I don’t have a winter bike build up yet, and I’ve been considering just using the Surly all winter. So off I went into the snow, our street already […]

Posted on December 5th, 2007 by admin
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Sardis-Saltsburg Loop Note: map does not accurately reflect the ride. More below. Call it the Oddball Ride. I meet Dan (recumbent rider) just down the hill from the house, on my Albatross-bar’ed fixed gear (sans basket). I waffled quite a bit about the bike choice, but when I put the Bianchi on the stand to […]

Posted on December 1st, 2007 by admin
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Today was the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Hot Metal Pedestrian/Bike Bridge, and since I work all of a quarter of a mile from the bridge, I thought I would ride over during lunch. I’ve been anxiously awaiting the opening of the bridge, as it allows me to avoid a few nasty stretches of […]

Posted on November 28th, 2007 by admin
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I have, yet again, re-configured the Surly for commuting. I decided I wanted to ditch the basket, primarily so I could ride the bike on the weekends without the added weight. I put on my old Carradice saddlebag, and tried to carry the laptop in my messenger bag. After a day’s commuting, I had two […]

Posted on November 27th, 2007 by admin
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Hunter Road Loop Short ride today, but on new roads. Plum/Hunter Road out of Oakmont is really nice climb. Long, too, which is surprising, given how close it is to the city. I could see linking Hunter with something like Coxcomb or Logan’s Ferry for a relatively short but difficult ride. In other biking news, […]

Posted on November 25th, 2007 by admin
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Old Mill/Saxonburg Loop I’ve wanted to do this ride for some time, and just haven’t gotten around to it. Few folks are interested in the last bit of Old Mill Road, with its mix of dirt, gravel, and chip seal. Personally, I find this quite inviting. The full length of Old Mill is really a […]

Posted on November 24th, 2007 by admin
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Starz Road/Guys Run Link-up I intended to ride farther, and into uncharted territory, but a later start and looming rain clouds kept me closer to home. My plan was to just do the Starz Road ride, but when I got to Freeport Road, there was still daylight to burn, so I turned the bike up […]

Posted on November 17th, 2007 by admin
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It is currently snowing, and the grass in our backyard is frosted with with white. A veritable winter wonderland. And it’s not even December.

Posted on November 16th, 2007 by admin
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Four Hills, Plus I finally managed to make it out with a few folks who were doing their Dirty Dozen training. We did High Street/Seavey Road, Center, Ravine, and Berryhill (the only one I haven’t done before). Another good learning exercise. The High Street/Seavey Road combo felt pretty good, even on a minimal warmup (all […]

Posted on November 11th, 2007 by admin
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Through me you pass into the city of woe: Through me you pass into eternal pain: Through me among the people lost for aye. — Dante Alighieri, from The Divine Comedy Over the summer, our oven stopped working. We ignored it for a few month because, really, who needs to turn on the oven when […]

Posted on November 10th, 2007 by admin
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