Bike Pittsburgh

Bike Pittsburgh Message Board » Community » Ride Board » Dirty Dozen

Dirty Dozen

1. 

   Andrew
   

   frequenter
   

   
   Login to Send PM
   Posted 1 year ago
   

   Well, it is that time of the year again. I just wanted to find out who is interested in doing it. It was a fun/rewarding/tiring experience when I finished it last year. Time to put the clipless pedals back on.

   Danny Chew just sent out an email with the details the other day:

   The 26rd Annual Dirty Dozen up Pittsburgh's 13 steepest hills will be held on Saturday, November 29th at 10am. Anticipating another large crowd this year, please show up as early as 8-9am to start registration early. Meet at the Washington Boulevard Track (Where the ACA holds weekly criterium races in the summer). I recommend a low gear of 39x27. The route is 50 miles, but will take at least 5 hours because we go neutral between the hills, and there are 3-4 stops atop hills where I offer snacks and drinks.

   I plan to go 10 places deep again on each hill this year. Can somebody please drive along the route with me (Still recovering from a recent herniated disk surgery, I will most likely not be riding this year) and take videos of the top finishers on each hill?

   Also, new this year, there will be a 3 place prize list for women riders only, but they need to ride up EVERY HILL to be eligible. The breakdown will be:

   1st woman - $150
   2nd woman - $100
   3rd woman - $ 50

   Register the day of the event, and there is a $5 entry fee. For a listing of the hills, history of the event, and former winners, go to:

   http://www.dannychew.com/dd.html

   Please feel free to call me at (412)421-3143 for more info.

2. 

   bjanaszek
   

   bossanova
   

   
   Login to Send PM
   Posted 1 year ago
   

   I'm in. It'll be my first.

3. 

   reddan
   

   bossanova
   

   
   Login to Send PM
   Posted 1 year ago
   

   Me too.

4. 

   bjanaszek
   

   bossanova
   

   
   Login to Send PM
   Posted 1 year ago
   

   Worth noting that Dan will be going for the "first recumbent finisher" award this year, which will function as training for next year's attempt on a unicycle.

5. 

   reddan
   

   bossanova
   

   
   Login to Send PM
   Posted 1 year ago
   

   [cue circus music]

6. 

   Swalfoort
   

   frequenter
   

   
   Login to Send PM
   Posted 1 year ago
   

   Reddan -- A unicycle? Brings to mind a recent experience that qualifies among the strangest things I've seen in Pittsburgh. It was a guy on a unicycle riding down the yellow line on West Carson Street, in the vicinity of the Incline. Maybe the center of the road was the safest place for him to be riding, but it struck me as pretty ridiculous. Drivers were definitely doing a doubletake. I lost sight of him when I turned into the Incline parking lot, but I think he continued eastbound, towards downtown.

7. 

   reddan
   

   bossanova
   

   
   Login to Send PM
   Posted 1 year ago
   

   I'm slightly more likely to tackle the 2009 Dirty Dozen on a unicycle than I am to ride down Grant on said unicycle wearing naught but a Union Jack bandanna and a banana hammock. Slightly.

8. 

   HiddenVariable
   

   frequenter
   

   
   Login to Send PM
   Posted 1 year ago
   

   i plan on riding it. it'll also be my first. are there going to be any training/scout rides that anyone knows of?

9. 

   bjanaszek
   

   bossanova
   

   
   Login to Send PM
   Posted 1 year ago
   

   The Western PA Wheelmen have been running scouting rides on Sundays. Check their website for info. I believe they are doing the southern hills this weekend (Canton, Boustead, etc).

   If you have the time, a very small group of us have been riding the South Side hills at lunch during the week (Sycamore, Welsh, Barry->Holt->Eleanor).

   Also, I'm basically not riding anything but DD hills between now and the ride, so email me (bjanaszek/gmail) if you're looking for someone to ride with.

10. 

    HiddenVariable
    

    frequenter
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    since i work from home, i'm free to go for a ride at any time. what time do you guys go and where do you start?

    any time i can get to ride hills with folks, i'm happy. my friends have practically given up riding for the year, and never did hills with me, anyway (i believe you know patrick).

11. 

    bjanaszek
    

    bossanova
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    We usually meet at the base of one of the hills in the South Side.

    There is chatter of a ride tomorrow, around 11:00 AM. Dan wants to do some other hill, but I'm sure we could convince him to do the 3 DD hills that are right there.

    You're Dave S., right? If so, I think I have your email address--I can email later and give you details...

12. 

    HiddenVariable
    

    frequenter
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    dave d, actually. hidden.variable/gmail.

13. 

    reddan
    

    bossanova
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    Alright, I'm a sucker for peer pressure. Official hills it is.

    We might just have to add Flowers-Tesla, if we're gonna get all serious about it. ;-)

14. 

    Andrew
    

    frequenter
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    A ride tomorrow at 11. I would go if I didn't have to work :(

15. 

    HiddenVariable
    

    frequenter
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    i would go if i didn't have a date.

    it's a bike date, though! so i think that exonerates me a bit. i might do the wheelmen ride on sunday, though. i've never done any rides with them. anyone can just show up?

16. 

    HiddenVariable
    

    frequenter
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    ok i take that back. i moved the date back to later in the day, and i'll be there at 11.

17. 

    reddan
    

    bossanova
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    Re: Wheelmen rides. Yep, just show up...all are welcome. Start times are prompt, so I'd advise showing up 5 minutes early.

    Barring disaster, I'll be at the one on Sunday as well. That's gonna be fun: Sycamore, [Crane], Canton, Boustead, and some form of transit back over Mt Washington, probably Southern or something like that.

18. 

    StuInMcCandless
    

    bossanova
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    I did an Eleanor Street to Eleanor Street ride today, solo. I live on the one in the North Hills, itself no slacker in the stiff grade department, but I had *no idea* that the one in Arlington had such a grade! Yeeek! Ummm, before I try that one for real, I need to invest in some different gearing!

19. 

    HiddenVariable
    

    frequenter
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    what would happen if one or more of the streets were closed? boustead, as of tuesday morning, was closed at the bottom, and there was a hole in the road that stretched all the way across. and today, ravine street in sharpsburg was closed at the bottom. there was enough room for a bike or pedestrian to get by the construction, but not 130 bikers.

20. 

    steve k
    

    frequenter
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    i could imagine it being like logan st last year where a one bike bottleneck was created by two cars.

    that sucked.

21. 

    jenna
    

    newbie
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    I am coming to town Tuesday, anyone want to get together to ride through out the week? email me!

    jennalatour@gmail.com

22. 

    hooty
    

    freewheeler
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    Boustead Street is open for traffic as of this afternoon. There are a few steel plates covering up some construction work at the bottom of the hill so cyclists will need to watch out for those. The road condition is terrible with many potholes, cracks and loose pavement. Should make it interesting for Saturday! Weather looks good so far...

23. 

    HiddenVariable
    

    frequenter
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    i probably should've updated that a while ago. i had seen boustead was open last sunday, on the boustead repeats ride. the road covers didn't seem too slippy, for what that's worth.

    ravine, on the other hand, was still closed as of this past sunday. the road is officially closed, but there is a basically one-rider-wide lane on the outside of the fence that surrounds the work. perhaps more importantly, there is an approximately 3" diameter metal tube coming down at an angle over the path. for me on my bike, it's about forehead level, i would guess, though maybe i've been ducking needlessly far. if that doesn't get cleaned up (and it's been there for over a week), it could make for an interesting start to the second hill.

24. 

    Andrew
    

    frequenter
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    Have fun out there today!

    I am not going to ride. I don't think I am in good enough shape this year. The cold temps have made me lazy.

25. 

    hooty
    

    freewheeler
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    Great ride again this year. The weather was a bit chilly but bearable. Thanks Danny!

26. 

    reddan
    

    bossanova
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    Yeah, that was a sweet way to spend a day.

27. 

    StuInMcCandless
    

    bossanova
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    Pictures, pls? Videos? I had to work, so missed everything. Looks like the weather was just about ideal!

28. 

    HiddenVariable
    

    frequenter
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    i had a whole lot of fun on the first two hills before i ripped my big cog in half and damaged my wheel in the process (no, i'm not at all bitter!).

    luckily the film crew were my friends and i had a rack and a ride, and i got to watch the rest of the race. in fact, to anyone who rode it: there's a decent chance we'd like to talk to you, for documentarian purposes, so please email me at hidden dot variable at gmail if you rode and you think you have something you'd like to say!

    and also, to put into words something we were all thinking a month ago, congrats once again steevo!

29. 

    scott
    

    Staff
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    5 in row! Nice work Steevo.

30. 

    Rockpile08
    

    newbie
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    Thanks to the course marshal/rider and photographer who tried to help me in Etna. I drove up from Virginia, had fun on the first two climbs but couldn't downshift for the third hill. A little walking solved that. Rode in a 12-tooth gear to Etna where we discovered the shift cable had snapped. I'm not sure anyone could climb effectively with a 12-tooth rear gear -- I know I couldn't but it was an easy but disappointing ride back to the start line. As I was leaving I met two riders coming back. One had a flat and lost contact with the group. They were then going to go back out, in reverse, and try to meet up. Hope they made it. Looking forward to next year!

31. 

    steevo
    

    bossanova
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    146 person group rides are pretty awesome.

32. 

    steevo
    

    bossanova
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    oh, thanks too guys. Good seeing you all there.
    pics will be up on chew's site. however there are some on youtube already if you search. also:
    http://picasaweb.google.com/chrispopovic/
    600 or so pics there to start with.

33. 

    zak_47
    

    freewheeler
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    next year i wont be jobless and broke and i shall return! i miss pittsburgh. good job steevo.

34. 

    steevo
    

    bossanova
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 1 year ago
    

    thanks zak

    wish i had a record of all the names chew has called you and places that you have been from.

    kovelev from Seattle etc. haha

35. 

    derek
    

    newbie
    

    
    Login to Send PM
    Posted 5 months ago
    

    Is this for 2009? Or was this the info for 2008?

Reply »

You must log in to post.