Murals in a new light and re-learning a route.

The Pirates have introduced a new set of animated introductions for each player and they incorporate Pittsburgh's murals!




Here's the one they use for Andrew McCutchen:

It's the "The Two Andys" mural on Smithfield Street. Awesome stuff.

I spent Sunday breaking free from the house. Hubby was due to be extra cranky as he had to do a 36 hour fast before an invasive procedure on Monday that I would have to drive him home from. I'll leave that up to the reader's imagination.

Before I rode, I cleaned and re-lubed Ruby's chain, cassette and rear derailleurs with the ParkTool cleaner. I was kicking myself for letting it go so long as I noticed rust and a squeaking noise when I rode last. The rust is gone now and there are no squeaks to be heard.

As I started out, I noticed the Buffleheads were back! I had the good camera too! Only a few of the original 20 remained, but they bobbed about a bit before taking flight for me.

First, I wanted to learn the route from Oakland down to the Eliza Furnace trail on the South Side. Vannevar and S had shown me once before, but I needed to go at it alone to truly learn it. It's a complicated route, some of it is marked and the rest, you're left to fend for yourself. I didn't do too badly. I missed my Neville St turn but eventually got there backtracking via side streets. I wound up heading up Juno St before I realized I'd gone the wrong way and turned around.

I made it!

On the way there I got some shots along Gold Way of the Troll under the Bridge.

Someone gifted him a 40

Then I went to a new favorite restaurant. Amazing Cafe.

Black rice and veggie curry with a Clean Green to wash it down. Nom.

After lunch I headed past the Eagles nest and a plethora of cyclists out on the trail. Wow, it was crowded! I got to the Waterfront and stayed on the roads as suggested.

I needed something to read while waiting for Hubby's procedure tomorrow. I parked at Barnes and Noble's bike rack and headed in for the bathrooms and book heaven.

What should I get? Re-read a classic? Stimulate some brain cells?

Nah. I like the movies better.

Mindless fluff! Yes!

Then I headed back to the South Side and REI for the bathrooms, a rest and a drink. I was sucked in by a pannier I'm hoping will work for baseball game trips. I also got a new bell. The cowbell fell off on my ride today and the bell I was using was barely audible.

It doubles as a tote bag.

I saw all manner of bike on my travels today: a tandem recumbent, a tandem (that I was impressed to see take a tight turn on one of our switchbacks), lots of regular recumbents and even a disabled persons' bike:

On my way back there were more birders checking out the Buffleheads and I stopped to chat with them, we remarked at how gorgeous they were.


No beeps other than a thank you beep when I let someone pass on Gold Way which is a very narrow street. My ongoing saddle and numb fingers issues are grating on my nerves (pun intended). The new gloves helped lessen but not eliminate the numb fingers.
33 miles on a lovely day.

A new bike lite

After tonight's ballgame, I got back to the locked bike and found that someone had left an unopened can of beer on the back rack. Silly drunks! I want LIGHTS on my bike, not 'Lite's! Thanks though.

Lite beer? Are they trying to tell me something?

'Volunteerism' needs a 'U'

Left early today to head down to Friends of the Waterfront and help with the GASP/RASP program only to find out that it was postponed due to the weather. No worries, I just rode in the rain. It was torrential at times and rather windy. The cape didn't do too much blowing around. I got a "Nice cape!" from another cyclist also out in the rain. That brought a big smile to my face.

Waiting at the Terminal building when the rain started.

On my lunch hour ride I was happy to see that the casino has installed water-filled plastic Jersey barriers! This is a step up and in the right direction in keeping cars off the trail.
Excellent work, Rivers casino! 

The bufflehead ducks were back too. I spent a few minutes watching them. Why couldn't they have been there yesterday when I had the good camera ready to get shots of them?



My co-workers think I'm insane to ride in the rain. I love it. I aimed for puddles like a 5 year old splashing about in her galoshes. Wheeee!

More volunteerism:

At the non-profit I work for, fundraising season is fast upon us. We've got a Walk event coming up soon. It is very hectic around here. Volunteers abound!

So, for the heck of it, here's two bikey folks I know who are participating in upcoming charity rides:

LINK: Daniel's Cure De Tour page!

LINK: Terry's MS 150 page!

Kudos, gentlemen!
My only experience with charity rides is working them: a sea of 800 men in spandex bike shorts. I love my job.

Achievements unlocked: Switchback Mastery and Traffic Mettle

Today I tried to sneak in a bit of riding before a baseball game and before rain hit the area. I rode over to REI for some gloves to help alleviate the recent numb fingers issue I'm having. Rode back via Station Square and noticed the Duke Incline cars are decorated with huge Pirates banners. Very cool.

I took my obligatory #30daysofbiking shot under the McCullough bridge after I checked on one of my geocaches.

I met hubby and we did some bird watching at PNC Park.

Dugout box seats #covet

I used the raincape while we got rained on at the game. Felt particularly stylish in houndstooth while everyone else was wearing hideous disposable ponchos or plastic bags. My pannier doubled as my waterproof camera bag. I stayed dry with all my bike gear and bike clothing doubling as game gear. Win!

Noob Achievements:

Switchback Mastery

I'm noticing my downward rolls on switchbacks are getting much better. I don't crash into the outside rail (or anyone coming up the switchback, which nearly happened once) and can even manage to keep the bike in the center. Maybe one day I can make a tight enough turn to keep the bike on the inside?

Traffic Mettle

It dawned on me one day last week that I no longer avoid riding in traffic. I rode the trail to the Strip and had a decision to make: do I return via the trail or take the streets? I chose the streets and I didn't give it a second thought...

I recalled the first few times I rode in traffic:

I was rather anxious. I remember butterflies and actually trembling while stopped at lights with cars. Despite my fear, I forged on. I would be damned if I would let my fear impede my need to travel by bike.

Fitbit and sleep pattern tracking

I was mistaken when I thought that I had to pay extra to log sleep patterns with my Fitbit. I was delighted to discover this.

So, I've been tracking my sleep patterns diligently. I wish I were as diligent when tracking my calories. Fitbit makes this so easy: you just tap the bracelet rapidly for a few seconds and you're in sleep more. A note of caution: clapping replicates this, I learned I was in sleep mode at a Pirates game and had to run it through my shoelaces to keep it from logging my day at the ballpark as a nap.

So you get these neat daily reports. For more detailed reports, you have to pay extra.

Here's an good night's sleep (not up for an hour in the middle of the night)

A typical bad night: wide awake at 2:30

A free sample report they gave me. Nice, but not something I want to pay an extra $50 for.

It pays to ride in the rain...

... because: BUFFLEHEADS!

I noticed out of the corner of my eye this morning on a rainy ride a bird I've never seen before. There was an entire raft of them cavorting in the river in front of the casino. This isn't even their normal range, this was a rare event. They were just passing through on a migratory route and would be gone in a day or so.

A stock photo of this gorgeous bird.

What the cellphone camera captured. (ugh)

I'm in awe of these beautiful, tiny ducks. 

The daffodils are blooming! 

This was a good day.

Opening Day makes for new, old routines

Monday was Opening Day.
Baseball... one of my other passions.

The view from our seats

Opening Day is a Holiday in the US, and in colder climes it represents the return of Spring and the end of Winter. Thankfully we were blessed with a Home Opener. Sometimes the Home Opener is plagued by bad weather, but this year we were doubly blessed with a sun-drenched day. I got a burn on one side of my face and one ear.

I like to ride my bike to the Park, it's only 3 miles round trip, but being forced to walk those 3 miles that might cripple me for days vs an easy ride on the bike.
Walking 3 miles vs those same 3 miles on a bike are vastly different things. One will kill me, the other is a breeze.
Least year, I was using a different bike with no pannier.
Now, I have decisions to make: do I leave the pannier and basket on the bike? They'll be stolen or damaged if I leave them, or someone will make off with anything I leave in the pannier. Decision made: leave them off.

So, I have to strip the bike down whenever I go to a game. This will be a routine I don't like. Should I convert the pannier to a waterproof camera bag? Maybe I should get a new camera bag that fits on the bike? Maybe a backpack?   Arrrgh! Decisions!

I was perfectly happy with my basket/pannier/bag setup and now I need new routine(s) and setups for Game Days and non-Game Days... one for dry days and one for rainy days.


This will take planning and at least one new bag. I'll probably have all the kinks worked out by mid-September.