Updated 4/12/2009: Fun article appearing in Sunday’s New York Times about the Paris Roubaix and other cycling stories. I am never really clear why some cyclists continue to contemplate…bikes or golf (we just had this conversation at tazza doro too)! Is it that we fear when we can no longer ride golf is it? I suppose when I can no longer ride, I’ll probably not be able to do much else either!

Lots of espresso, cafe au lait, croissants and wine flowing on Sunday, April 12th. It’s my favorite bike race of all time, the cobblestones of France…Paris Roubaix, one of the oldest bike races in history(1896) – rain, wind, spring in France and the brutality of the cobblestones on bikes and riders! One of these days I will be blogging from this race and drinking the coffees, espresso and wines from France! We’ll be watching at Tazza D’Oro come and join us.

Spent 4 hours in the saddle on Thursday and the view speaks for itself…maybe a little incentive for Team Decaf, I’m just sayin! The pic is the California Pacific Coast, riding south.

Hooked up with John Strait and cycling at Tazza D’Oro starts this Tuesday, April 7th.  Meet at Tazza D’Oro at 6pm and the ride leaves at 6:15 pm SHARP ( weather rules though)! BTW, this ride is Team Decaf. Any questions, contact John. Plus look at the Tazza D’Oro cycling page for more info - click here.

Tuesdays are tight for me but I will try my best to join in. How rad would it be to do a coffee and bike tour from Portland to San Francisco!  Who’s in?

One of our regulars, Chloe came up with the idea of organizing a bike ride which she is calling “Team Half Caf”. The ride leaves Tazza D’Oro on Thursdays at 6:15 sharp (all rules apply to this ride too). The ride will be 20+ miles with hills but slower pace on the hills. If you have any questions or are interested in joining this ride, please email Chloe by clicking here.

Chloe, thanks. Awesome idea and hope to be joining you guys.

Team Decaf will kick off the 2008 Tazza D’Oro cycling season beginning on Tuesday, April 1st – no foolin (6:15 pm sharp) and Team Caffeine will hit the road on Thursday, April 3rd at 6:15pm. Thanks to John for continuing to get things organized. John, are we really in our 8th year of Tazza D’Oro cycling?

General info about our Tuesday and Thursday rides can be found by clicking here. John also posted a calender of rides (click here) plus info regarding our rules and ride cue sheets. We could use some help with leading rides. So, if you are interested in being a co-leader, please email John at jstrait@acm.org.

Don’t forget we also carry the Bike Pittsburgh Cycling Maps – free – and also a few more copies of “3 Rivers on 2 wheels”. As the season kicks off we will be hosting some educational sessions in partnership with Bike Pittsburgh and many other cycling related events.

BTW, the picture above is from an ad for the movie “The Triplets of Belleville”. If you haven’t seen it or it’s been a while – watch it. We have a copy at Tazza D’Oro if you want to borrow it. It’s very French, extraordinarily creative, it’s about the the passion of strong women, human passion and the fine line of seeking happiness for ourselves and others. There are no words in the movie but the animation and the character’s mannerisms are unmistakable. Yea, I can relate on many levels but I hope to be part of the Tazza D’Oro rides again this year and hopefully there is someone behind me with “the whistle”!

Back in October, Bike PGH unleashed the newly designed Pittsburgh Bike Map. The map is incredibly reader friendly and highlights safe commuting routes, hills, high traffic roads and bike trail locations. The Bike Maps are FREE and you can get one at Tazza D’Oro.

Congrats to Bike PGH for once again stepping up and making Pittsburgh a bike friendly city and encouraging our communities to consider alternate modes of transportation. Check out all the info on the Bike Maps – click here.

is underway!!!

Today we watched the 1st stage of the Tour and we will continue until the riders reach Paris – Champs Elsyees on Sunday, July 29th.

Today, we sampled some complemetary French wines and feasted on fresh fruit, French Brie with plum tomotoes, fresh basil and grilled bread. Plus, we browsed the art on the walls. All artists are cyclists and the art event is hosted by UrbanVelo.

All airing times can be viewed at Versus and you can watch the Tour Live at Tazza D’Oro according to the listed schedule. We will also post daily updates along with weekly events. Stay tuned for addtional information..

I just looked at an email that was sent from one of our Team Caffeine riders reminding me about a really fun site called Bikely. Bikely is web site that allows cyclists to post bike routes from literally anywhere. I have found the site really fun and useful, plus it’s easy to become a member. Looks like John posted a ride from Tazza D’Oro to Fox Chapel and back. So, if you also have a good bike route you’d like to share – please post it. Also note, if the route/map does not have a cue sheet and you are viewing a map of the general area, as you start the tour you can click on any “balloon” on the map to get specific street/road names or comments about the route.

Don’t forget Tazza D’Oro also has maps and cue sheets located on Team Caffeine info page.

Team Caffeine and Team Decaf rides will begin on Tuesday April 3rd and Thursday April 5th. All rides begin and end at Tazza D’Oro. We leave at 6:15 p so please arrive a few minutes early to get your cue sheet and ride details. Please review additional ride information and rules by clicking on the link above. The group also organizes weekend rides but you will need to sign up for emails on the Team Caffeine and Decaf page (click on link above).

Ride Information:

Leader(s)
Various but main contact is John Strait
Cell # 412.656.3511
email: jstrait@acm.org

Team Decaf:
Every Tuesday at 6:15 pm (SHARP)
10-20 miles in length
Various routes around the city and at a comfortable pace. These rides are fairly flat with a few hills.
Rain Cancels.

Team Caffeine
Every Thursday at 6:15 pm (SHARP)
20 – 30 miles in length
Various routes are hilly and intense.
We regroup at the top of hills but the strongest riders may not wait long
Rain Cancels

Hey urban cyclists – two good friends of Tazza D’Oro have launched a new “zine” called Urban Cyclist. Jeff Guerrero and Brad Quartuccio are the cycling entrepreneurs who founded this really rad zine dedicated to hooking together urban cyclists in every city near and far. Check it out and join in. You can find Tazza D’Oro on thier site and our myspace name is rad espresso. Congrats, Jeff and Brad – YIPPEE!

What a perfect morning for some incredible espresso and a bike ride. Tazza D’Oro’s loyal bike crowd was out in mass today – working out the kinks and getting use to the saddle again. John tells me that beginning in April we will begin our Team Caffeine and Team Decaf rides so stay tuned. Get your bike ready Petunia!