And so, it begins...

Today was the first time I rode on Pittsburgh's streets. I'd been riding along the trails for a year or so (on a cheap bike that I never bothered to take pictures of).

Here's a photo I found on the interwebs of the same bike. I would donate it to FreeRide a few months later.

I needed to get to Point State Park to work the registration tables of WalkMS. Instead of driving downtown and trying to park, which I loathed every year, I rode the crappy bike in. I did so helmet-less as I recall. I didn't ride with a helmet on the trails. I didn't even own a helmet. This was not something I'd do on subsequent trips with traffic. It was a cold April morning as you can see by the way folks are dressed, but I managed to work up a warm-n-toasty internal temperature that everyone else was lacking.

I'm the one in the back who looks like she's goofing
off, but really, I'm working hard...you know: delegating.

I'm in the STAFF shirt trying to herd walkers quickly through the reg lines.

This very short trip into town and back triggered a love of riding around the city and healthy respect for the rules of the road. I took to the Web to learn as much as I could about cycling safely with traffic. I sought out and found Bike Pittsburgh, soon became a member and used their message boards to learn about cycling in the the Burgh.