My comments at the P.R.T. Board meeting, September 26, 2025

 Good morning, members of the Board, Ms. Kelleman, elected officials and other dignitaries.

My name is Stuart Strickland, McCandless Township, and I speak only for myself, though I am the current Secretary of ACTC, the official citizens' advisory group to the P.R.T. Board.

I am here to help answer the question, what can YOU -- the Board -- do in this situation. I will not waste time on suggestions what Harrisburg should do, or asking you to do the impossible, or things that are out of your control. There are things that P.R.T. staff can do, and it's your job to help focus their efforts in that direction.

The Allegheny County Transit Council is your friend. Your sounding board. Your rider representatives, chosen by riders themselves. That is what we were legislated to provide and that's what we've been doing since its predecessor organization, TAP -- Transit Advocates and Patrons -- was formed in 1980.

Back in 1994, ACTC developed a 10-point plan for helping make transit service more desirable. Copies of this hung in the Board room at Manchester, and every operating division, for many years. It's worth re-stating it here:

What the Rider Expects

Every transit rider is entitled to expect:

1. To be treated like a paying customer whose business is important.

2. To receive pleasant, calm and patient service from all transit personnel.

3. To board a clean, trash-free, and appropriately heated or cooled vehicle, and have a seat if traveling a longer distance.

4. That the vehicle will stop, at the curb if possible, will be on time, and that the driver will check the area for additional riders before leaving.

5. To be driven safely, as smoothly as the road allows, and free of quick stops, lurching starts and hard turns.

6. To have a transit trip cost less than a similar trip by automobile, and not take significantly more time.

7. To have convenient access to readily understandable fare, scheduling and routing information.

8. To be able to tell when and where to board the vehicle, and figure out where it is going before boarding it.

9. That any changes to the schedule or routing will occur infrequently and be made with adequate advance notice.

10. To have complaints, concerns and suggestions accepted, acted upon promptly, and to be advised of the action(s) taken.

I know you cannot force Harrisburg's hand, but you and the staff can make the lot for the transit rider more attractive, despite all the gloom and doom from the public and hostile media.

I think it comes down to this: Listen to ACTC, do what's on that 10-point list, and be vocal about what you are doing well.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

My testimony at the transit hearing, April 29 2025

Good morning Ms. Kelleman, members of the Board, elected officials and other dignitaries present.

I cannot be the only person in this situation. Yes, I have a reliable car, a clean license, and can afford to drive and pay to park downtown. But I don’t want to! Why should I be forced to part with $25 to $30/day just to keep my car close to my work? And be forced to get stuck in traffic both direction? That’s nuts.

Let me put it simply: I take the bus by choice. I do not want that choice removed.

35 years ago, I had four cars and put 60,000 miles on the fleet each year. But a temporary move made a transit commute possible, and I found I liked it. On our next permanent move in 1991, we chose to live near a bus line. In three short years, we retired three of those cars and lived with only one for the next 18 years. The money we saved not keeping multiple cars on the road allowed us to pay off the mortgage eight years early, paid for my Masters degree, allowed us to live on one moderate income, and we still became debt free by our 50s. All because I could use the transit system for over 90% of my travel needs.

In 1995 I was only making $36,000 a year. I don’t know what that is in today’s money but it sure isn’t six-digit territory! Using the bus saved my family $12K/year in today’s money, 18 years in a row. That $12K is triple-A’s estimate of what it costs to run a car for a year.

I want everyone to have the same opportunities I had! I ask everyone here, what would you do with an extra $12K/year? Pay off debt? Get out from under that college loan or that second mortgage? Go back to school? Take a vacation? Start a business? My wife and I not only paid off the mortgage early, we also put both our kids through college. Further still, not keeping two/three/four cars running helped us keep the one older car running longer, so we were able to put off its replacement by five years, then pay cash in full when we did replace it.

In short, transit is not a government handout for the poor. For those of us a little higher on the ladder, it meant major quality of life improvements, all because I chose to use transit.

To reiterate:

·       I do not want only to avoid these cuts.
·       I also want the 2011 cuts reversed.
·       I also want the 2007 cuts reversed.
·       I also want the 2002 cuts reversed

SO THAT everyone can have the same opportunities that I had!

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak.

Post-snowstorm shoveling trip, MLK Day 2022

 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stressed service to others, among many other things, so on my day off, to honor that, I took it upon myself to grab a snow shovel and help Pittsburgh dig out from a 7" snowfall that occurred overnight.

I had ideas of biking into town, but opted not to, mostly because I wanted to turn in a proper snow gauge reading from 7am, and leaving earlier would interfere with that plan. I wasn't on a schedule, though, so leaving at 7:40 was just fine. Carrying a snow shovel on a bike would have been adding that much more difficulty, and walking in 7" of snow was difficult enough.

The real motive for the trip, however, was that Sarah wanted me to find her an N95 or KN95 mask, in preparation for her trip downtown later in the week for jury duty. I had four offers for help with this, but went with the friend who lives off of Wilkins Ave in Squirrel Hill. The trek at hand, then, was to get to friend's house, pick up masks, and return home. All else was up to me.

Rough itinerary

Part 1: McCandless morning

I took the house's better shovel. If you recall my Christmas 2020 post, I prefer to use a flimsy old plastic shovel for most snow clearing around the house and driveway, but for bigger jobs, a newer, much sturdier shovel. That in hand, I hoofed it the most of a mile to McKnight Road. I made no attempt to clear anything on the way there. Once I got to McKnight, I made quick work of the remaining snow in the bus shelter on MKnight at Perrymont. Indeed, it looked like there's a heater under the cement slab, as it was clear and dry, whereas everything around it had either the 7" from overnight, or a ton of half-frozen slush. In any event, I shoveled a notch out to the driving path, a path back to the bottom of the Perrymont sidewalk, and the not-a-sidewalk along McKnight down to Perrymont.

With that done, I traveled a hundred yards south to the bus stop at Malibran, in front of the gas station. There, I cut a notch in the snowbank at the edge of the parking lot, and shoveled a path down to the bus stop sign.

McKnight at Perrymont bus shelter

 

McKnight at Malibran, path from gas station to bus stop

 

 

Part 2: Downtown morning
I exited the 12 at the first stop downtown, 9th and Penn. There used to be a pizza shop here, and the proprietor was pretty good about clearing the sidewalk. But shop and building are gone, so I knew nobody would clear this. As I exited the bus, I shoveled a brief notch in the snowbank so I could get off, which was used precisely one second later by someone waiting to get on. I proceeded to shovel about 50 feet of sidewalk between shelter and the actual stop, and cut a second notch where a following bus might stop to discharge passengers.

9th Street at Penn Ave, bus shelter and 50 feet of sidewalk near the stop

 

My primary purpose in coming downtown was to clear the sidewalk in front of what once was the Smithfield Café, between 7th Ave and Strawberry Way. This never gets shoveled, so after one day and a frigid night, this becomes 100 feet of unwalkable ice rink. So I got to it, clearing one shovel width from the parking garage down to the first storefront that looked occupied. This took some work, as it was already getting pretty packed down. I managed to get a second shovel width for most of that length, as well. I took some care not to make much noise around the homeless people's tent set up in one abandoned storefront. As it had gotten down in single digits overnight, I wondered how they were faring, but did not inquire. Anyway, when I was done, I stopped in at my office to thaw and dry out. Also got some actual work done and a bite to eat from the small self-serve cafeteria downstairs.

Smithfield Street in front of the closed former Smithfield Café

 

Part 3: Downtown noon
I had a reason to come into the city, and a rough time when I was expected at that spot. Around noon, I packed up my gear and started to head east. Before I crossed Fifth Ave, I took a moment to cut out a notch in the snowbank where the 67 Monroeville and some other routes stop, outside 3-PNC. Along came my 71D, so shovel in hand, I boarded and headed for Negley Avenue.

 Fifth Ave inbound bus stop between Wood and Market Streets
Then caught an outbound 71D bus to get to SqHill/Shadyside

Part 4: Squirrel Hill
Attempted a bit of the South Negley sidewalk but it was too much
Shoveled sidewalk in front of a couple houses on Wightman St
Helped a man on Fair Oaks who was shoveling

The 5Av/Negley stop was similarly a hip-high snowbank bordered by a yard of slush on the street side, and packed snow on the sidewalk. As I did with 9th and Penn, I backed up to where a second bus might open its doors, and cut a notch there, as well as where the rear door of the front bus would be, and the front door. Also cleared the sidewalk that entire length, all the way down to the intersection.

Fifth Ave at Negley, sidewalk from the rear of where buses stop up to the corner

 

South Negley Ave has an enormous hill off of Fifth, and while I ascended the sidewalk, I watched two cars attempt it. One bailed early, one later, when they realized they were not going to make it to the top. A minute later, a four-wheel drive pickup flew up the hill like it was a drizzly evening in June. I attempted to clear a bit of sidewalk in an area where there was no homeowner to clear the walk, but it was too much, and I was barely on time. 

Up Negley, over Dunmoyle, down Wightman, over Fair Oaks, a bit of Wilkins, and left onto Beeler, and the purpose of my mission was accomplished. On the way, I improved a couple of sidewalks where someone had made an honest attempt to clear a walk but gave up, and also helped another man clearing his walk. Did this a couple places on Beeler, too. 

 

Part 5: Oakland before late lunch

The most fun scene I saw all day was four college girls hauling snow from the sidewalk and nearby street into their driveway, and packing it down. They were building a ski jump! Their driveway was just long enough and steep enough that they could get up a bit of momentum, and with their little snow bump, gain a bit of air for a split second. They were having a grand time, and so was I, watching them as I cleared off a sidewalk I otherwise had no interest in. Sorry, no photo.

Shoveled sidewalk in front of a house on Beeler where someone had started but not finished shoveling

Here is where my snow-cleaning project got serious:

• Helped a man shoveling on Beeler at the corner with Forbes
• Shoveled out the crossing on both sides of Forbes at Beeler
• Shoveled out a bus stop on Forbes next to the CMU parking garage
• Cleaned up the crossing across from the end of Craig St by Carnegie Museum
• Crossed Forbes, cleaned out a slot to get to the Forbes at Craig inbound bus stop
• Cleaned out slots by the double bus shelters on the outbound side of Forbes by Carnegie Museum

 

While digging out a slot by the shelters, I found a CMU student's ID card in a snowbank. She probably dropped it in the snow getting off the bus. It took maybe a minute to find her on Facebook, and a minute later I contacted her on Messenger to get it back to her, and she replied right away. Thinking she would run right over, I said I'd be in the Subway having lunch, and to just look for a snow shovel once she got inside. As it turned out, she couldn't get away right then, so I ended up taking the ID to the CMU campus police station on Filmore. I figured that was the safest way to get it back to her without waiting until evening to leave Oakland.
 

Part 6: Oakland after late lunch
After leaving the Subway restaurant on Craig, I again went into shoveling overdrive:

• Cleaned up a bit of sidewalk in front of a closed store
• Cleaned up the crossings on Filmore and Dithridge, both southbound and westbound (both sides)
• Cut a notch in the snowbank on Bellefield at Filmore
• Cleaned up the crossing on the other side of Bellefield across from Filmore
• Removed snowbank at Fifth Ave at Bellefield, outbound stop
• Cleaned up pedestrian crossing at Fifth and Tennyson, cathedral side
• Cleaned up pedestrian crossing at Fifth an Thackeray, same side

Then caught a 67 Monroeville downtown and thawed out at office for 2nd time

 

Part 7: Downtown afternoon
 

Before I left the city for the day, one more stint at making downtown more walkable:

• Cut notch and cleaned up outbound Liberty at Sixth Ave stop
• Removed major slush buildup across Sixth Ave at Liberty, three places:

1. 1 - Before trying to cross Sixth
2. 2 - By the island in the middle of Sixth
3. 3 - Once getting across, next to the T station
   

.

• Cut notch and cleaned up pedestrian crossing of Liberty toward 7th St
• Cleaned slush out of the way on both sides of crossing Wood Street at Liberty
• Cut notch and cleaned up pedestrian crossing of Liberty across from Tito Way
• Cleaned path across the end of Strawberry Way

Then caught a 12 McKnight to head home. It was getting too late to get photos by this point.

Across the end of Strawberry Way at Liberty Ave.

.

 

Part 8: McCandless afternoon

One more little effort before I hiked Perrymont to thaw out, get a shower and eat dinner:

• Cleaned up the first spot of the day, the approach to the Perrymont bus shelter
• Started to clean the sidewalk on the north side of Perrymont but it was too much

 

All told, I did at least 30 spots in one form or another. Shoveling notches in snowbanks, clearing sidewalks, or removing snow from sidewalks. Would that 50 more people did what I did! Not expecting money or even a gift, just doing good for neighbors, friends, co-workers and total strangers. We're all here and we all need to get around safely.

• Continued home

Icycle Bicycle 2022

Some people do the Polar Bear Plunge on New Year's Day, jumping into the freezing cold river, if only briefly, but Pittsburgh cyclists traditionally do the Icycle Bicycle Ride. I'm not sure when it started; must be at least 20 years ago. I've ridden most years since 2009. Regardless of the weather, cyclists show up and ride around the city as best as conditions allow. If there was a two-foot snowfall, anyone who made it there at all would push their bikes through the snowbanks. That hasn't happened in anyone's memory, but they'd do that if they had to.

Jan 1 2022 presented little challenge beyond a steady drizzle. It wasn't even that cold, 50s F (10+ C), more typical of early April, but apparently enough to dissuade a few riders. Total turnout was 15-20, only two women, though we had at least two first-time riders. The route isn't difficult, no hills, little troublesome traffic, though we were on a few busy streets. 

Why do this? The most significant reason, for me at least, is that I can say I rode somewhere in calendar 2022, and in January, when many bikes are gathering dust, waiting for a warm day. I do ride 12 months a year when conditions allow, so this at least gets those boxes checkmarked. Beyond that, any group ride is worth showing up for. Meet new people, share news with old friends, discuss commonalities and differences in our collective bike experiences around the area, find out if anyone has anything interesting planned. I also like to compare equipment -- what do others have that I do not and how is that working for them? What do I have that others don't and how is that working for me?

Once we get underway, I like being with others, especially if someone else is leading. I may learn new paths, shortcuts, where to turn off a trail to get to a bridge or major street, and vice-versa. Most of these are not on any GPS system, so you just have to experience them to know where they are and go. I know the area pretty well, but even I picked up a couple of pointers or noticed road configuration changes, to file away in my head for next time.

The route was simple enough. Starting at REI in South Side Works (which was open at 10am, unlike some past years), straight down East Carson, past Station Square, out West Carson, up the ramp to the West End Bridge (the only hill on the route), right lane on the bridge, ramp to the casino, past the Science Center and both stadiums, River Avenue, a couple quick turns to get up on the downstream sidewalk of the 16th St Bridge, Penn Ave through downtown, through Point State Park, around the Point (group photo! I'm on the far right), out through the Mon Wharf (river level aaalmost up to flooding it but not quite) to the Smithfield St Bridge ramp, to the Jail Trail, over the Hot Metal Bridge, and back to REI. I didn't measure it but it felt like 7 to 8 flat miles.

There were a couple of surprises.

1. The Jail Trail recently developed a serious lake close to downtown. I sent in a 311 request to have the storm drains checked for leaf clogs. I'm not even sure where those drains are; there are no markings or posts. It was easy enough to find the ones not under water, but none have paint symbols on the adjacent concrete wall.
2. At 11:25, we didn't hear a loud boom, heard across the region especially south and west of the city. Many in their homes did, including quite a few farther east than where I was. The initial hypothesis is that it was an exploding meteor, as no point explosion or earthquake was reported. A weather satellite did note a flash over the Pittsburgh area at that time, supporting the idea of a meteor. Rain and clouds obscured visibility of anything in the sky.
3. Less a surprise, more a plan, I rode wearing sockless, open-toed shoes. This proved helpful when I traversed the flooded trail, where the water was pedals deep. My feet did not get overly cold, as I feared could happen, but I don't think I want to try it at temperatures any colder than 50.
   

Anyone else desiring to try this next year, or joining any group ride at REI, if you must drive there, your best bet for parking is under the Birmingham Bridge, accessed from the end of South 18th Street. It's a quick, three-minute ride from there to REI, parking is free, and no need to search for a spot, unlike trying to park on a street near REI, or a garage.

A few of us then adjourned to Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh for lunch and conversation, as we have done in past years.

All in all, a very pleasant start to the new year, as was intended!

A brief primer on clearing snow

Christmas Day 2020, Pittsburgh awoke to three or more inches of snow, and it continued lightly falling through much of the day. One of my wife's presents was a battery powered leaf (and snow) blower, which she tried out immediately by clearing the back steps down to the driveway. It worked fine, but she didn't clear the 70-foot walkway out to the mailbox. I did that one by hand later in the afternoon, when the snow had tapered off a bit, though not ceased entirely. Along the way, I took a few pictures.

[picture 1: porch and broom]

Here is what I started with, just a dusting on the porch, and maybe an inch on the steps. The broom was the weapon of choice here.

[picture 2: steps half cleared]

Once I got the snow off the first couple steps, I remembered that the snow came down after an hour of sleet and freezing rain. At this point, I did nothing with that, only removing the layer of snow atop it. To be honest, I might leave it like this. That crusty stuff is not slippy. If it were glare ice, such as from exclusively freezing rain, that would be unavoidably slippy, but this crusty stuff provides a decent amount of traction, and who's to say there isn't glare ice underneath it. You can step on it and not slip.

[picture 3: all the steps cleared]

For the bottom couple steps, some of the crusty ice brushed off with a bit tougher brooming. A later pass with a square spade might clear it entirely.

[picture 4: a bit of brick sidewalk]

This shows how much snow came down since mid morning, when Sarah used the new toy to blow it clean. This square foot of brick took maybe 10 seconds with the broom, the same as was necessary with the blower.

[picture 5: five feet of sidewalk]

Using only the broom, I cleared the three or four inches of snow off the sidewalk, not trying to do too good a job. Gabe's footprints from going out to get the mail last night, when there was only an inch of snow, are clearly visible. His weight packed down what little snow had fallen by that point, but this alone shows, it doesn't take much to start an ice pack under a bit of traffic. Total broom time at this point, maybe a minute, and that's being generous.

[picture 6: snow shovel]

My snow shovel of choice was a neighbor's throw-away 15 years ago. The handle is broken, and the cheap plastic blade is quite fragile. To me, this is the ideal tool. Because of its fragility, I cannot push it very hard, and therefore cannot push myself very hard. I take my time, not trying to dig too heavily into what snow is at hand. If I have a foot of snow to clear, I just stand in one place and only peel off 3-4" at a time until I get to bare ground. Here, there is only about that much, so I think I can just use it as a snowplow. This shovel works marvelously as a plow. (I later did most of the driveway via plowing with this shovel, in only about 10 minutes.)

[picture 7: 10 feet of sidewalk]

The first use of the snow shovel was to re-clear what I had just broomed. I plowed another five feet, then used it, scraping sideways, to get rid of Gabe's footprint-packed ice packs, and also any remaining snow off the edge of the brick. This as well took only a minute or two. 

[picture 8: 60 more feet of sidewalk]

Snowplow time! All I did here was plow the snow. Every four or five feet, I would need to take the shovel and actually lift the snow out of the way, but this entire length took less than two minutes, and hardly raised my heart rate at all, no more than climbing a couple flights of stairs.

[picture 9: our yard critters]

The sleet, freezing rain and snow toppled our yard decorations. The fans to keep them inflated are still on, and I suppose I should go back out to set them back upright, but let me finish writing this first. (Gabe came out and took care of this, minutes later.)

[picture 10: use of the broom]

Starting over at the staircase end of the walk, I cleared the walk with the broom a little better. This was the most strenuous part of the work, and also took the longest. What I was doing here was knocking down the deep snow alongside the walk, so I could move the broom vigorously across the entire width of brick. What's left at this point is almost bare, dry walk. 

[picture 11: finished walkway]

Finishing the above to the end of the walkway, by the mailbox and street, took a full five minutes. What I was trying to accomplish here was to remove, as fully as possible, any H₂O in whatever form: snow, sleet, packed snow. Fortunately there was no ice directly on the bricks, so this is about as close to just after an August rain as you're going to get. It is not at all slick, unless your shoes are slick. Pro tip: If you're going to be walking after a snowfall, wear good shoes. You wouldn't drive a car in the rain with slick tires, right? What are you expecting, every sidewalk to have heating elements embedded in them?

[picture 12: aftermath]

During the 20 or so minutes I was outside, it continued to snow lightly. You can see there is a trace of snow on the bricks, which had been swept clean in picture #4, above. Once this snow ceases entirely, I should be able to go out and sweep, or blow, this clean again with little difficulty.

What else I should do is get out the square spade and clear off the remaining crusty ice and snow off the back steps. Update: This happened about an hour later.

But in none of the above do I need to use salt. In my opinion, far too much salt is thrown on sidewalks, far too often. The point of shoveling is to remove moisture before it freezes or is compressed into a condition that makes it unwalkable. Get rid of the snow while it's still fresh. Get rid of any frozen water of any sort before it melts and re-freezes to make it unwalkable. Get rid of all upstream snow that would blow or melt onto the walk. If there isn't any ice that can't be scraped off easily, and there isn't any snow left that will become packed into ice, and there isn't any source of snowmelt that will flow back onto the walk, then there is no need for salt. Stop using salt. Clear your walks fully first.

End Rant!

Never mind fault, nobody is looking at the real problem

The Washington Post ran a story a few days ago about a fight between a cyclist and a motorist on M Street in the District, a four-lane street. Apparently, the cyclist was in the right lane, the motorist came up behind and honked, the cyclist took offense, the motorist grabbed the guy's bike, and the cyclist responded by clobbering the driver with his U-lock, sending the guy to the hospital to get 18 stitches. Lots of other stuff involved (drugs, a non-functional ankle bracelet, lots of stuff involving race).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/white-bicyclist-charged-in-what-dc-prosecutors-say-was-racially-motivated-assault-on-black-motorist/2019/01/03/f7838ae8-0f80-11e9-84fc-d58c33d6c8c7_story.html

After reading the story and about a hundred comments, the one thing everyone missed is that a driver came up behind a cyclist on a four-lane street and honked at the cyclist. All else is downstream of that.

The cyclist was legally in the lane. Ignore for now any inebriation. Not relevant to the upstream issue. Cyclist was biking slowly, as if that mattered. It doesn’t matter if the cyclist was totally stopped. Four-lane street, you change lanes and go around, regardless of what the obstruction is. That’s what four-lane streets are *for*.

I will assume the driver was at or below the speed limit. I have no reason to think he was speeding, though my own experience from 10 years of on-street cycling tells me that 50% are 5 mph over, 10% are 10 mph over, and 1% are more than 15 mph over. But even if he was at or below 25, there’s no reason for him to lay on the horn. Just silently change lanes and go around.

Not doing that started the chain of events. So, why’d he honk instead of changing lanes? There’s the fundamental problem, never mind everything else. That is what every cyclist deals with on a constant basis, whether city, suburb or rural. Drivers simply do not know what to do when there’s a cyclist ahead. Cyclists are startled or annoyed, or scared out of their wits when this happens.

We have a cyclist who lives in the same area as where I bike occasionally, who’s regularly been in the news for being difficult when approached from behind. At the base of it, he’s right for insisting on lane control, but he’s been known to block cars trying to pass legally, and once brought rocks into a courtroom to pelt anyone he disagreed with. So, yeah, there are some idiot cyclists, but that does not excuse motorists who didn't just go around him, thus triggering the bad interactions.

I blame state departments of transportation for not educating drivers what the rules are. If everyone had to take a written exam every four years when renewing their license, and had to show they know what the rules are regarding interaction with bikes (and motorcyclists, horseback riders, pedestrians, motorized wheelchairs, etc.), maybe we’d see less of this.

We will only get significantly greater cyclist mode share, and have a hope of reducing the nation’s carbon footprint, if we can reduce driver stupidity on this.

Bicycle goals for 2019

It’s 10:47 p.m. on New Year's Eve, so I’ll scribble down some ideas off the cuff. I won’t refer back to my similar post from 2012, but instead start over. (Though it was fun to re-read that entire thread!)

1. I know I am riding less than I was, since I work from home a lot, and often don’t leave the house for days in a row. So a good goal would be to have at least one purposeful ride per week, somewhere.

2. The biggest problem with traveling downtown is poor to non-existent bike parking in downtown buildings. Steel Tower has only 16 slots for a population of several thousand workers, 2 PNC doesn’t have a single indoor rack for a 34-story building. Trying to get any of this rectified would be wonderful.

3. Toward riding in traffic, trying again to get local cops to be able to use radar for speed control.

4. Toward driver licensing, trying to require better driver education through implementing a written test at each license renewal. I don’t care if we hand them the answer key along with the test, so long as they pick the right answer and sign their name to it.

5. Toward my own situation, improve my indoor storage space and set up space for the bike stand I got for my birthday.

6. Clean out the trash. I have about 10 bikes I either don’t ride or can’t ride. I need the space, and frankly most are little better than scrap, or are clearly scrap.

7. Continue participation in Walk//Bike Ross, Walk Ride North Side, Walk-Bike Shaler, and Bike-Pgh to further the cause of cycling on a community basis.

8. Similarly, set up or assist someone else with setting up a McCandless equivalent to Walk//Bike Ross. I have ideas for defining a set of on-street paths for getting from one place to another within McCandless without having to deal with its high-capacity, high-speed stroads.

9. Ride my 29″ unicycle in group rides. It worked really well on the one Underwear Ride.

10. Finally properly resolve my Rule 9 problem. I’ve never found rain gear I like that actually works.

That’s enough for a half hour of thinking. Howzbout yinz?