Will more people each year commute on bicycles? (Pittsburgh, Dormont: homes, live)

[bluecarebear]

I don't want to bike in the rain. Personal preference.

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

I don't want to bike in the rain. Personal preference.

You seem to miss the point. There's is a difference between 'possible' and 'actual' rain. In my experience in Pittsburgh, quite a big difference in fact. I'll let you ponder that deeply. But yep, if a possibility of rain is enough to deter you, then you won't ride a bike much in Pittsburgh.

One thing I'd certainly agree with about the climate for biking is that it is hard to predict, but as h_curtis said earlier, the number of days I get wet riding is a very small percentage. That, my blue furry friend, is reality ....

[SlurmsMcKenzie]

I've given bike commuting thought but have always been intimidated by the barriers posed by a West End commute (Noblestown/Steuben/Greentree Rds, West End Circle, West Carson, etc...). I'd love to eventually see some sort of bike trail along Chartiers Creek, allowing residents of neighborhoods from the city all the way to Carnegie easy access to the river trail and town.

[selltheburgh]

Originally Posted by gortonator

Yep - so horrible that in the city/East End that possibility of rain has actually materialized as one 3 minute downpour, the first since Saturday or Sunday (I forget exactly), around 9.02am this morning - ironically 3 of the 6 minutes it takes me to ride to work

Do you ever go outside, bluecarebear? I guess summers are a little warm for furry beasts such as yourself.

I biked in that rain this morning before 9 and it wasn't bad. I passed 4 other people on bikes in East Liberty and Friendship. It was more of a light rain than a shower. I didn't need to change because I dried up in minutes after I was done.

[gg]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

In other cities, yes. Pittsburgh, no. The weather is horrid even for motorcycle riders. Take this week, a possibility of showers off an on every day.

I rode every day and didn't get wet once. I know how to look at radar before I leave. It is that simple. I don't care if I get wet on the way home. Sometimes I enjoy it and I shower anyway, so who cares? I don't ride to work if it is a downpour, which is very rare. Hard to believe, but it really is rare. I should know, I am living it.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Burgher

You must be one of the dedicated few who ride Canton Ave. in Beechview.

I am not the best climber. Some of those guys would eat me alive. I am pretty big and the best climbers are ALWAYS smaller folks. Under 170lbs. I can't be that light.

[ferraris]

I totally disagree with curtis about enjoying the hills, but he's right that they aren't necessarily the obstacle that they initially seem to be. The average hills can be conquered pretty easily on the lowest gear of a bike. It's the gargantuan never ending hills that cause a problem in Pittsburgh: streets like PJ McArdle, Troy Hill Road, Bates Street, and in my own case, McLure. I still consider myself primarily a transit commuter, but after about a dozen days bike commuting this year, spread out over a couple months, I was finally able to get all the way up McLure, which is a non stop hill for 8/10ths of a mile from Eckert to Davis (as steep as 19% grade according to Strava) . Each ride I would make it a little further along and then walk my bike up the rest of the way, until I was finally able to do the whole thing. I definitely do not enjoy going up that hill, but if I were to bike commute on a regular basis, I'm sure it would become less and less of an obstacle.

Granted I'm healthy and in my twenties, and it's not a very busy road, but still it has been less of an obstacle than I had originally figured it would be (though I'd avoid it in a heartbeat if there was better route for me to take). If I faced a hill like that on my way to work, I never even would have attempted to bike to work.

[CaptainPittsburgh]

Bill Peduto says:

"You've been the ones who have been advocating for years, knowing Pittsburgh has the infrastructure to be able to build out a cycling infrastructure as we build out our streets and development," Mr. Peduto said, crediting Bike Pittsburgh, a nonprofit that aims to make Pittsburgh safer and more accessible for bicycles, with laying the framework for a citywide cycling system. "Today we start on that journey with you. ... Today we put the money and the infrastructure behind it to get it started."

Read more: New protected bike lanes to be finished by Labor Day - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

[norcider]

ferraris, on McClure. I hate that hill as well, not so much the steepness or length, those damn blind corners. More than a few times somebody was way too close to me rounding the bends. As for an alternate, have you tried Brighton to Woodland to Shadeland? It's more or less flat once you get past Breadworks. Edit, just realized the climb from the end of the Shadeland bridge to Davis isn't steep but it's fairly long, still may be better for you.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by norcider

ferraris, on McClure. I hate that hill as well, not so much the steepness or length, those damn blind corners. More than a few times somebody was way too close to me rounding the bends. As for an alternate, have you tried Brighton to Woodland to Shadeland? It's more or less flat once you get past Breadworks. Edit, just realized the climb from the end of the Shadeland bridge to Davis isn't steep but it's fairly long, still may be better for you.

Honestly I don't have the cycling confidence for Brighton and the roads leading to it yet; I've been using the trails for the most part. McLure is the busiest road I've been on. I haven't had any close calls on the corners, but it does stink going down the hill and having to pull the brakes at such high speed so I can take the corners safely. I've been thinking about taking Lecky to Brighton, and then Harbison to Shadeland; or maybe taking McLure to Antrim then California.

I think Shadeland is pretty much flat for its entire length from Woodland to Orchlee. It could definitely be a good option if I start feeling more comfortable on the roads.