Bicycle Licenses, Coffeeneuring #6, TourTalk, PINK! and a Solar Eclipse

Our conference in State College wrapped up mid-afternoon and I had another opportunity to ride around town before heading back to Pittsburgh.
I decided to head back onto campus and get a Coffeeneuring trip in. Saint's Cafe was my destination.

My natural inclination is to check out the other bikes at racks. I noticed two of them had the same green sticker on them. Bicycle Licenses? Further investigation needed!

I stopped at the coffee shop and got a refill for my mug. Every table, stool and chair was occupied by a student and an Apple laptop. No seats for me!

While I was adulterating my coffee with half and half and sugar, a man walked up to me and asked "Are you touring?" YES! I look the part! WIN!
We spent a great deal of time talking about touring around PA and MO, mayor Peduto, trips I'd wanted to take, trips he suggested for me, RORO on Amtrak. Very nice conversation. Before we parted ways, he told me about a bike shop around the corner called FreezeThaw.

This would be a great place to ask about the bike licenses. An employee, Paul greeted me and complimented Fizz and answered my question about the licenses: they're 'strongly encouraged' (AKA: not legally required) by the University so they have some idea of who's locking up on campus. He also told me that my locking to a sign post was a no-no and that the City would cut my bike lock and haul the bike away for locking to a street sign. Yeesh. The racks nearby were full too!

I thanked him and asked him which way Park Ave was. He told me I could cut through campus to get there. Riding on the sidewalks there is very common; heck... even the bike shop told me to do it!
Weird.... riding on sidewalks is OK, but locking to a streetsign is verboten?

So, I rolled through campus, slowly.

Lots of foot traffic.

I encountered a cyclist in soooo much hi-viz pink: pink helmet, pink bike, pink water bottles, pink tires, pink jersey. My eyes! 

I gave him a "Love the pink!" shoutout and he acknowledged my greeting with a smile and a point... It must be the secret handshake variant for the Hi-Viz Pink Cyclist Club.


I loaded Fizz on the car and drove back to Pittsburgh. The sun was low on the horizon and I need the visor and sunglasses badly. But there was something odd about the sun... I kept staring at it....whoa! An eclipse!

Not my photo, but this is what it looked like.

I never get to see solar eclipses due to weather or some conflict, this was my first! Yes, I blinded myself for a while, but I got to see a solar eclipse!