5 day forecast
Walsh: Bikes, kegs ingredients for fun day
Share with others:
Be on the lookout today for 600 bicyclists, some of whom will be pulling kegs of Pedal Pale Ale.
They're scheduled to depart at 11 a.m. from the East End Brewing Company at its new location at 6850 Frankstown Ave. in the East End.
Where are they going? What alleys, avenues, boulevards, circles, drives, lanes, roads and streets will they use to get there? How far will they travel? When might they arrive?
It's all a secret, according to Bike Pittsburgh, the advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the rights of bicyclists. Its goal is to make Pittsburgh "a safer and more enjoyable place to ride" for people of all ages and abilities.
The ride, which will progress at a "gentle" pace maintained by the pedal-power of the keg-pullers, will range in distance from 6 to 10 miles and arrive "likely between" noon and 1 p.m.
Suggestion: Keep the kegs in sight.
The keg-puller at the head of the pack, who paid $250 for that privilege, will enjoy the first glass of ale, said brewer Scott Smith.
The 600 riders who signed up online should arrive between 9:30-10:30 a.m. to check in at the registration table and collect their drink coupon. The cost was $20 for "early birds" and $25 for "regular registrants."
Procrastinators are out of luck. Registration closed at 6 p.m. Friday. Those who volunteered to help assemble and direct 600 bicyclists are asked to report to the new brewery at 9 a.m. today.
Information: www.bike-pgh.org
The Trail Town Program will have a Spring Summit Wednesday on the status of the Great Allegheny Passage in Meyersdale, Somerset County. It will be from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Morguen Toole Company at 130 Center St. The site, despite its industrial-sounding name, is home to a full-service restaurant, regularly hosts live entertainment and offers lodging from the monastic (minus monks) to super suites.
The summit will provide an update on "all the new things happening in the trail towns" along the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, according to William Prince of the Progress Fund. Those towns include West Newton, Connellsville, Ohiopyle, Confluence, Rockwood, Meyersdale and Frostburg and Cumberland, Md.
The event also will enable trail town businesses and organizations to learn more about what other communities are doing to encourage bicyclists and other users of the passage to visit their towns.
Prince said the summit will provide information on the latest trail-usage numbers, marketing and business tips and preservation and sustainability improvements within the trail towns. The Allegheny Trail Alliance, the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, Preservation Pennsylvania and the Student Conservation Association are the co-hosts for the summit with the Trail Town Program.
Information: wprince@progressfund.org; 724-216-9160, Ext. 318.
CSX Transportation is continuing to work on its "peninsula" of land that overlooks a 1.5-mile segment of the Great Allegheny Passage from the Pinkerton High Bridge to the Pinkerton Low Bridge in Somerset County. It is bordered by the Casselman River.
The railroad is "daylighting" a nearby tunnel by removing the dirt, rocks and trees above it, then removing the roof of the tunnel so it can double-stack shipping containers in what are known as well cars. CSX said it will enable it to operate more efficiently and economically.
It said the project will have minimal impact on the passage. Flag persons are posted at each bridge to prevent cyclists from pedaling around what is known as the Pinkerton Horn when the company uses explosives. The project is expected to be completed in mid-to late 2013.
Information: www.nationalgateway.org.
First Published April 28, 2012 12:45 am
