Along with the new date, Sunday August 5th, there will be some new twists this year. 

The first twist: a CAR-FREE section. Woohoo! A section of roads will be closed to traffic from 6am until 1pm to allow kids of all ages to enjoy the streets. 

There's a ride for everyone: The 7 mile car-free route includes the Birmingham Bridge, East Carson Street, and the riverfront trails. The 30 mile route starts with a mile and a half of car-free roads and then takes you to the Northside, the East End, Downtown, and more. The Metric Century (63 miles) includes the 30 mile route with bonus loops and hills before returning to the South Side.

Every rider will enjoy the Finish Line Festival at the SouthSide Works. After the ride, kick back with friends and enjoy music, drinks, a beer garden, food, a bmx show, bike vendors, and more. 

If you'd like a complimentary massage after the ride with breakfast and lunch catered by Whole Foods, choose the VIP ticket option. 

So, grab your kids, your friends, and your neighbors and sign up today. 

Click here for details and registration

BikeFest 2012 is on the way, so that means it's time to start planning events for the August 5-19 festivities. BikeFest 2012 kicks off on August 5 with PedalPGH, followed by a mid-BikeFest Party. We are looking to you, Pittsburgh's cycling community, to help out and get involved!

Help make 2012 the best BikeFest yet: Submit an event

Every year we have a variety of events on the calendar ranging from group bike rides to movie screenings to repair workshops and more. The heart of BikeFest is what new and exciting events that people, like you, come up with and submit year after year. Submissions must be in by July 19th to be included in the paper calendar.

Friday, August 10th: BikeFest Party

Dust off those dancing shoes. The party is on! BikePGH will be dancing the night away on Friday, August 10th at the Pittsburgh Opera. This legendary party not only raises funds for BikePGH, it also gives us a chance to see old friends and make new ones. 

Penn Brewery will again provide the beer, Kevin Sousa creates the VIP eats, you just need to show up and have a great time.  Be prepared for great raffles, silent auctions and other fun stuff.

VIP Session runs from 6pm-8pm and includes admission to the main event. Main Event runs from 8pm-midnight.

Tickets are now available!

Click here for more info or to purchase BikeFest Party Tickets

The Royal Netherlands Embassy, in cooperation with the City of Pittsburgh and BikePGH, will host a 2-day event - the ThinkBike Workshops from June 21-22. The ThinkBike Workshops will bring together Dutch bicycle transportation experts, local transportation planners, engineers, and cyclists to plan and discuss how Oakland's Fifth Ave/Forbes Ave corridor can become more bike-friendly. 

The workshops will address bike safety, commuting by bike, biking to school, bike parking, and public transport through the corridor. Successful ThinkBike Workshops were recently held in Chicago, Washington DC, Miami, San Francisco and Los Angeles. 

Opening and Closing Sessions are open to the general public.

Opening Session: 

Thursday, June 21 - 9am-10:30am 

Carnegie Mellon University, Hamburg Hall, room 1000

Following the Opening Session, two teams of experts will spend a day and a half surveying the Fifth Ave/Forbes Ave corridor and discussing how the corridor can be improved for optimal bike use. The outcome will be presented to the general public, including decision makers, local cyclists, and other interested parties at the closing session.

Closing Session: 

Friday, June 22 - 5pm-7:30pm

Carnegie Mellon University, Hamburg Hall, room 1000

Click here for more info

The Northside, Bloomfield, and Oakland neighborhoods earned several miles of bike lane stripes recently.  

If you like these developments, we encourage you to take a few seconds and say THANKS!

Call or email the Mayor's 311 line here 

We hope you're enjoying the National Bike Challenge so far. We're having a blast riding and watching the rivalries heat up between various cities, workplaces, and teams. As of this update Pittsburgh has a respectable 922 participants and just about 120,000 miles logged. Help us reach 1000 Pittsburgh people, Pittsburghers, Pittsburghians, Yinzers, whatever you want to call us, but when we hit a 1000 you can call us awesome! The National Challenge recently surpassed 25,000 people.

New Prizes: Two new prize sponsors have been added: New Belgium Brewery and Better World Club. There's still plenty of time to start riding and logging your miles - and be eligible for the June drawings. The competition runs through August. Prizes are awarded monthly based upon the total number of Challenge points you have accumulated at the end of each month.

Staying Connected: There's a great community building in the comments section of the National and Pittsburgh Bike Challenge, where people are sharing the highs and lows of their rides, not to mention some observations about how the app can be improved, which we welcome wholeheartedly.

Pedal for Pints: Mike Kotyk from OTB reports 86 people have signed up and only 82 pints redeemed so far. The staff says, "that customers love it" - no kidding! "Only 82 pints", obviously Mike wants to give away a lot more beer. Get on down to OTB to redeem yourself . . . needless to say, drink responsibly and ride responsibly.

Click here to sign up to the National Bike Challenge

The Department of City Planning is currently creating the first ever Comprehensive Plan for our 250+ year old City called PlanPGH. This comp plan includes a transportation plan called MOVEPGH, which launched earlier in the year.

Click to see larger map

Join the MOVEPGH team for an open and interactive discussion about walkability, transit, bicycling, and more.

• Add your voice in our advocacy for safe streets and better bike facilities 
• Get discounts on great cycling events like tickets for BikeFest! 
• Demonstrate your support for our mission and vision
• Join the fun and exciting bicycling community in Pittsburgh
• Receive a receipt for a tax-deduction  
• Receive discounts from dozens of local bike shops and businesses that support a bicycle-friendly Pittsburgh