Tag Archives: Bicycle

krayniks bicycle restoration

Kraynick’s Bike Shop & A Beautiful Bicycle Restoration Video

This video just popped up on the Pittsburgh subreddit and it is worth 5 minutes of your time. It is a beautiful little story about how the filmmaker, Dean Bogdanovic, purchased an old bike on Craigslist and fixed it up at Kraynick’s Bike Shop in Garfield. This video checks all of the boxes for me… pretty Pittsburgh pictures, check, a story about locally owned business, check, vintage bicycles, check (I have a hot pink one in my basement waiting for a restoration). This five-minute video is a delight to watch. Even if you aren’t a regular cyclist or bicycle collector, I think you will enjoy the scenery.

One little plea to the filmmaker and cyclists in Pittsburgh, please consider wearing a helmet when you are riding.

Nine years ago I wrote a post about how Mr. Kraynik fixes donated bikes for kids. Does anyone know if Mr. Kraynick or anyone else around town fixes up bikes for kids?

Frank Lenz: Local Adventurer, Avid Photographer, Big-Wheeled Bike Enthusiast

Last Friday evening, I went searching for Frank Lenz, one of Pittsburgh’s most notable cyclists. To be fair, Lenz went missing almost 120 years ago, in Erzurum, Turkey, so I really didn’t have much hope of finding anything, but I figured I’d give it a shot.

I headed over to the Brew House Art Gallery on the South Side, where David Herlihy, the author of The Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer and His Mysterious Disappearance, was slated to give a talk about Lenz’s journey by bicycle around the world, his disappearance, and the adventures of William Sachtleben, another cyclist who had ridden around the world, and who was sent to find Lenz. Prior to Herlihy’s talk, I had not heard of Lenz or Sachtleben, but a worldwide cycling tour intrigued me, and plus, who doesn’t liked those old-timey, big-wheeled bikes?

Lenz and his companions, rocking the big-wheelers

Lenz and his companions, rocking the big-wheelers

Lenz was apparently a big fan. Born in Philadelphia, he moved to Pittsburgh and became an accountant by day, and a weekend warrior who captained the Allegheny Cycle Club. He organized and competed in his fair share of big-wheeled bike races, and pioneered the burgeoning field of cycle photography—an impressive feat, considering that cameras were just as cumbersome as bicycles at the time. Lenz developed a way to transport camera equipment on his back while riding, as well as a method of taking pictures of himself on his bicycle, by placing a trigger on the road, which would activate a camera on a leading car when his front tire (the big one) rolled over it.

Lenz used his growing portfolio to convince a magazine called Outing to fund his trip around the world. Outing agreed, on the condition that he give up the big-wheeler for the newer version, called a “safety bicycle,” which is similar to our modern one. Lenz reluctantly agreed, and, in May of 1892, he set off. Beginning at the Smithfield Street Bridge, Lenz rode for Washington, D.C. to pick up a passport, and then to New York City. He then crossed the U.S. in about five months, then sailed to Japan, and braved tough conditions in China and India before heading to Turkey. In May of 1894, almost two years after his departure, Lenz disappeared. Hoping to find him, Outing sent William Sachtleben, who had completed a similar journey, to Turkey. Sachtleben discovered that Lenz had apparently insulted a chief in nearby Kurdistan, who had ordered him murdered and his body buried by a riverbed. After some wrangling, the Turkish government paid Lenz’s mother $7,500 as a reparation for her lost son

Today, Lenz is commemorated with a sign on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, the final leg of the Great Allegheny Passage, which connects Pittsburgh with Cumberland, Maryland, and which mirrors the path that Lenz took on the first leg of his now legendary trip around the world.

This sign can be found on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail

This sign can be found on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail

Links Worth a Look – March 10th

Here are some links/articles/blog posts that are worth a look:

Follow IheartPGH on Twitter – we share more links there almost daily!

(Bike)Ride in to 2009

Winter bicyclesImage by Damiel via FlickrHere is one way to kick off the new year.  The Western PA Wheelmen host an annual first day of the year bike ride – Icycle Bicycle Ride.  Rain, snow or shine they have been riding on new years day for 30 years.  Meet at REI for some hot chocolate.  Bring a helmet.

January 1, 2009, 11 am. for more info.

via Venture Outdoors Blog

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