Between the sizzling grill, the woman twisting balloons into the shape of parrots and a man in a Hawaiian shirt tapping on drums, the intended island party theme was obvious.

	Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Two bicyclists on Dasani "Blue Bikes" cruise along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail on Friday. The Blue Bike program gives trail riders the use of 30 bicycles to use on the 37-mile trail that runs along the Allegheny and Ohio rivers. Click photo for larger image.

On a spot along the Mon River that used to be just another patch of industrial decay less than a year ago, Friends of the Riverfront celebrated another expansion of the city's growing trail system by officially opening about a half-mile stretch on the South Side. The stretch of trail had once been a concrete facility.

The result of the $440,000 project between First and 10th streets has the feel of a free, civic space in the truest sense. Using the trail, of course, doesn't cost riders a cent.

And now they don't even need a bike, because the Coca-Cola Co. has spent $65,000 on 30 Trek bicycles the public can use for free.

"You may have a bike," said Dirk Gerdes, spokesman for the soft-drink maker's Dasani brand of bottled water, "but what about your coming to town or flying in? Now they can get a bike to ride the trail."

People in the situation Gerdes described -- looking for a bike to ride Pittsburgh's trails -- have typically gone to Golden Triangle Bike Rentals. Co-owner Peggy Krall, of Pleasant Hills, is concerned that will no longer be the case now that free bikes are available. Her business rents about 20 to 30 bicycles a day for $8 per hour or $28 for the day.

"Why in the world would anyone want to pay for a bike when they can get one for free?" Krall said. "Yeah, it's going to affect business."

Krall, who has two other part-time jobs, said the business, now in its sixth summer, has just started netting a small profit in the past two years. Tucked beneath the light rail transit station on First Avenue, her inconspicuous shop is just starting to get noticed.

"It's been a lot of hard work, and it's probably going to go down the tubes," Krall said.

Friends of the Riverfront doesn't see it that way.

The group's interim director, Tom Baxter, said Friends of the Riverfront took special care to not hurt the small business, even asking the city planning commission to recommend where to place the free bikes so as not to encroach on Golden Triangle's Downtown patronage.

"We determined that most of their business is on the Eliza Furnace Trail," said Patrick Hassett, assistant director of the Planning Department.

The bikes provided for free by Coca-Cola will be on the South Side Trail at the terminus of Fourth Street and on the North Shore Trail at Heinz Street and River Avenue. Geographically, the availability of bicycles appears pretty evenly distributed.

"We did our due diligence to make sure her business wasn't harmed," Baxter said, adding that he communicated with the owners during the project.

"He called, but he did not say anything about what they were really going to do," Krall said. "If he says he told us that they were going to have 30 free bikes, I don't buy that."

While free, the other bikes cannot be grabbed on a whim. Riders have to go to the Friends of the Riverfront headquarters at 33 Terminal Way in the South Side during business hour to get an electronic card, which can swiped like a credit card to unlock the bikes.