Solar S’mores & Pedal Power

Before I got a drivers license, I spent my summers cruising around town on a bike.  It was a gray 10-speed splattered with pink and turquoise paint and I thought it was the coolest.  I loved to speed down the hill next to my house, feet off the pedals, until the day I wiped out on a patch of cinders.  The cinders were dropped by snowplows during winter storms and the street cleaner never seemed able to sweep them all away.  After that, I always kept my feet on the pedals and looked for cinders.  I pedaled to the town pool, the local library, and my friends’ houses.  My friends and I built bonfires in their fields, crafted massive s’mores and ate logs of cookie dough, and stayed up until the stars began to fade.  We’d wake up in dew-covered tents with the smoky scent of campfire still clinging to our hair.

When I moved to Pittsburgh s’mores and bike rides became a thing of the past, as I was nervous about riding on the city’s busy, pockmarked streets and starting a campfire seemed like an easy way to burn down the entire neighborhood.

While I’ve become comfortable riding my bike in the city, thanks to tips from friends and Bike Pittsburgh’s Pittsburgh Bike Map, there still aren’t many s’mores in my life.

Bike Pittsburgh’s Bike Map

That will change this Saturday (8/17) at 3pm during Outside the Lines: STEM + Art.  Abby will teach us how to make solar ovens which we’ll use to make s’mores!  No campfire or BBQ needed, just the power of the sun!  Let Abby know if you’re planning to join her for this awesome experiment.

Solar Oven!

Ride your bike to the Library this week (we have bike racks in front and in the parking garage!) and make solar s’mores with us!

Here are some of my favorite bike-themed books and movies and, of course, a book about s’mores!

Cycling in PGH, or: I want to (safely) ride my bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like
– “Bicycle Race” by Queen

Ah yes, the bicycle, pinnacle of engineering practicality–fun to ride, a great mode of transportation, and pretty as a peach. “Riding bikes” was a mega-important part of my childhood. Growing up in Bedford, PA, my friends and I would ride our 10-speed mountain bikes through hilly apple orchards, on wooded paths (more commonly trod by deer than people), and along country roads where traffic was sparse.

Funny then that I went years without riding a bike. All throughout college I walked or rode the bus. Eventually, I got a car, but still preferred to walk our city when driving wasn’t necessary. Getting a new bike for commuting (and just for fun) always crossed my mind, but I never took the leap.

I admit that I was a little afraid to ride a bike in the city. There are many stories of road rage directed toward cyclists that are hard to erase from your mind (two area doctors were severely injured this Memorial Day when a hit-and-run accident occurred on Butler Street). That and I was certain I’d make a mistake one day and get flattened by a city bus.

But things are changing. Wonderful organizations like Bike Pittsburgh are here to advocate for cyclists. Their efforts have gone a long way toward making Pittsburgh a more bike-friendly city. Bike lanes and handy bike racks are popping up all around town, making it safer and easier to ride Pittsburgh. (There is even talk of bike-sharing coming to Pittsburgh!)

It’s because of these changes (and the fact that I missed riding around on two wheels) that I recently bought a great little commuter bike:

So, don’t be afraid to ride your bike in the city–just be smart and be safe. Read Bike Pittsburgh’s safety guide and Pennsylvania’s state bike laws, too. You can even plan out your route with an amazing map created for BikePGH by DeepLocal.

And if you’re looking for bike shops, clubs, rentals and other resources, just check out BikePGH’s resources page.

Happy peddling!

– Corey, Digital Learning Librarian