The annual Bike to Work event in Schenley Plaza on May 18 — designed to encourage two-wheeled commuting to Pitt — treated cyclists and potential cyclists to prizes, demonstrations and tips for making the trip safely and easily.
Representatives of the Bike Cave cycling repair space, which opened last fall outside Wesley W. Posvar Hall as a project begun by the Pitt Bicycle Collective, were on hand to talk about maintaining your ride, while Pitt Police performed safety checks and the Department of Parking, Transportation and Services registered bicycles on a national repository, the Bike Index. Port Authority of Allegheny County personnel demonstrated its bus bike rack, while BikePGH, creator of the event, offered discounted memberships and a host of other organizations offered encouragement and information.
Sarah Hemler, a bioengineering graduate student in the Swanson School of Engineering, bikes to Pitt from nearby Greenfield at least twice a week. “It’s close — and I help the environment,” she explained. She was enthusiastic about this year’s Bike to Work gathering, since it meant “joining a community of cyclists and having fun with other people who are excited about cycling. When I see other people biking it inspires me to want to be healthier.”