Register for the August 5 Pedal PGH before noon on Thursday and you might win a $500 prize from Cardo. Cardo is sponsoring Pedal PGH and has provided BikePGH with a set of their communications systems. Systems that are built for cyclists. They work with Bluetooth to allow intercom for up to three riders. 

You can also use them for your mobile phone, wireless or wired music, and a GPS. This pair of devices retail for $500, but you can win it if you sign up for Pedal PGH before Thursday at noon.

Click here to register for PedalPGH and a chance to win!

The BikeFest Calendar is filling up fast with all sorts of great rides and events. If you're thinking of hosting an event, shift into the big ring and post your ride before someone else snaps up your time slot. Yes, there can be multiple events at the same time during BikeFest, but you're less likely to have events overlap if you post it sooner than later.

Here are just a few of the events listed so far: Golden Girls Themed Scavenger Hunt, Railbender Ride, Carrie Furnace Ride and Tour, Tour de la Mec. Will Betty White be at the Carrie Furnace, will she be bending rails? It's tough to say which events she'd choose, but you know she'd have a blast at BikeFest. Who knows, we've had our share of celebrities in Pittsburgh, so plan your BikeFest event now and submit it here online. 

BikePGH is pleased to announce the most recent recipients of our annual awards. Each year we call attention to an advocate, organization, volunteer, businesses and BikePGH general members who have made outstanding contributions to advance bicycle advocacy in Pittsburgh. Those receiving an award this year included:

• Organization of the Year - Mullen Advertising (Strip District)
• Advocate of the Year - Michael Boyd (Wilkins Township)
• Volunteer of the Year - Erica Peters (Bloomfield)
• Outstanding Commitment Awards - Nathan Swartz (Black Mountain, NC), Todd Derr (Squirrel Hill)  

The evening concluded by honoring the most recent round of local Bike Friendly Employers. Nine Pittsburgh organizations have earned the recognition over the course of the last year including Carnegie Mellon University, Deeplocal, Inspecttech, pair Networks, Pashek Associates, The Priory Hotel, University of Pittsburgh, and UPMC Presbyterian-Shadyside. The Mechanical Engineering Department at Carnegie Mellon also received recognition for the strides they've made to encourage bike commuting within their department.  

Bud Yablonsky was also on hand to say a few words on behalf of his son Dan, a BikePGH intern that was the victim of a hit and run incident just several blocks away from our offices in May. Dan is doing remarkably well considering his injuries were extensive and his continued rehabilitation will take several more months before he can start back to work on a regular basis.  Bud spoke eloquently about his son's journey to Pittsburgh, Dan's passion for bike advocacy, the crash that prompted Bud and his wife Fran to move to Pittsburgh for nearly two months, and the message him and Dan continue to share, "get back on your bike and ride!" 

Find out more about this outstanding community leaders on our blog

Back in May, our intern Dan Yablonsky was the victim of a hit and run a mere two blocks from our office.  

His incredible story was recently featured on the front page of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Just last week Pennsylvania legislature passed a law to close the "hit-and-run loophole." Prior to this law, the penalty in Pennsylvania for leaving the scene of a fatal crash was less than the penalty for a fatality involving a DUI. This bill makes fatal hit-and-run penalties equal to fatalities involving a DUI, reducing the incentive to leave the scene.  

Designed to strengthen penalties on individuals involved in fatal hit-and-run accidents was signed into law by Gov. Tom Corbett and will go into effect within two months.

Read more about Representative Reed's Bill

Rapha, purveyors of fine (very fine) men's and women's cycling clothing and accoutrements, are visiting Pittsburgh next week to crush some miles, peddle their wares, and hang out with the local cycling community. We're pleased to be partnering with The Beauty Shoppe and Deeplocal to show them a good time. And you're invited. 

The evening of Tuesday, July 10th, Deeplocal will host a FREE viewing of either Breaking Away or Flashdance (we'll take a vote night of) at their new studio located at 6016 Penn Ave, in East Liberty. We've been dying to show Flashdance for quite some time, but the opportunity hasn't presented itself until now. Those of you not familiar with the film might be wondering why the hell we would choose that particular movie. No, it's not because Jennifer Beals is a maniac (maniac!) on the floor. It's because she was bike commuting in Pittsburgh before it was the thing to do. In fact, she was even combining bike trips with transit (see above for a pic of her on the Duquesne Incline) 30 years before the Port Authority even got their first bike rack on the front of a bus.

Anyway, we'll leave it to the majority to decide which of the two films we view. Please show up at 7pm, and if you can, bring something to sit on like a camp chair or yoga mat, as there probably won't be quite enough chairs to go around. Oh yeah, and we've lined up a sixtel of Pedal Pale Ale from East End Brewing to whet your whistles.

To recap:

FREE movie and hang sesh with BikePGH and Rapha
Where: Deeplocal's studio, 6016 Penn Ave, East Liberty
When: 7pm on Tuesday, July 10th

Since the federal transportation bill expired in September of 2009, we've been asking you, our readers and members, to contact our elected officials to ask that funding for biking and walking was not cut from multiple bills that made their way through both houses of congress. 

We asked you to do this because these funds help build things like the Hot Metal Bike/Ped Bridge and install bike racks on buses.

We fought hard to preserve these funds, but at the end of the day, compromises were made in order to avoid stalemate and get a new transportation bill to the President to sign. That bill is called MAP-21, short for "Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act."  

Thanks to all of your letters, emails and phone calls, and strong support from Representatives Cardin, Cochran, and Blumenhauer, funds for biking and walking were not completely cut from the bill. That said, we are facing between 60 and 70 percent cuts over the next 27 months (the length of the bill). Needless to say, this is a bad bill for biking and walking.

Our colleagues at America Bikes put together an excellent analysis of what the new T- Bill means to Americans who walk and bike, and cities and towns who want to provide better walking and biking facilities for their citizens. As of October 2012, we all need to concentrate on state and local advocacy as much as possible to make sure PA doesn't opt out of using its bike/ped funding. 

Click here to learn what MAP-21 means for biking and walking

• 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