Pittsburgh Alley Cat and Bike Scene

So a few people have contacted me from Pittsburgh PA to tell me about their bike scene.

Brian Janaszek writes about their first Alley Cat of 2006 the Caffeinator.
"There were seven checkpoints, all at various coffeehouses around the city. At four of the stops, the racers would have to drink a shot of coffee and bring their little dixie cup as proof of the stop. Two other stops simply had tags hanging on the facade. One checkpoint was a "dummy"--that is, unmanned, with nothing for the racers. It was up to them figure that one out on their own. The checkpoints were:

* Tazzo d'Oro, Highland Avenue in Highland Park
* Quiet Storm, Penn Avenue, Garfield
* Crazy Mocha, Butler Street, Lawrenceville
* Crazy Mocha, Liberty Avenue, Bloomfield
* Crazy Mocha, Oakland Avenue, Oakland
* Beehive, Carson Street, South Side
* Beleza, Buena Vista Street, Mexican War Streets (the finish line)

By the time 2:00PM came around, there were 40 riders milling around the tennis bubble in Mellon Park, trying to stay warm. Not a bad turnout at all, though, oddly, few riders were messengers. It's interesting, because alleycats, at least here in Pittsburgh, have become citizen events, which, ultimately, is a good thing, because it draws a larger, more diverse crowd..."

flickr page pix
Also:

Jake K wrote me about:
Bike Fest
BIKEFEST 2006 is a project of Bike Pittsburgh, the organization working to make Pittsburgh more bicycle-friendly. Our goal is to show off Pittsburgh's unique beauty, while celebrating bicycle culture and safe riding. Last year’s fest was a huge success, so we decided to do it again!