Bedford County, Pennsylvania's Hideaway Hollow

If you're planning to spend some time cycling in the foothills and mountains near Pennsylvania's Blue Knob State Park (Pennsylvania's 2nd highest mountain at 3,146 feet), the owners of Hideaway Hollow asked me to spread the word that their bed and breakfast is convenient to Blue Knob Mountain (see photo right) and that they're happy to accommodate cyclists.

According to owner Patty Poet-Lajoie, "Our vacation home is bicycle friendly and we can provide pre and post bike trip storage, as well as a hose outdoors for washing bikes during the bicycling season and bottled water for riders. We can easily accomodate those traveling with bicycles and will offer a discount to cyclists."

Patty also mentioned that a series of bike trail loops built by the local tourist bureau are within 2 miles from the inn and that the Tour de Toona follows many nearby roadways.

To learn more about Hideaway Hollow, visit their website at...
www.bedfordcounty.net/hideawayhollow

If you offer bicycle friendly lodging, use the link below to email me the details including what makes your accommodations bike friendly. I'll be happy to pass on the word to fellow cyclists.

Larry

Labels: bicycle friendly lodging, Blue Knob State Park, Pennsylvania, Tour de Toona

by Larry Lagarde

In all the world's great cities, public transportation or mass transit is viewed as essential to the well being of the metropolis; yet, in many North American communities, mass transit is struggling. Case in point: Allegheny County's Port Authority.
(Graphic: Drive to work; work to drive.)

For years, the Port Authority (P.A.) has struggled with financial challenges. Created by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1956 to plan and develop Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's port facilities, the P.A. grew to be responsible for all bus service and commuter light rail serving the region. As suburbia grew, the P.A. added routes and traveled further to meet the demand. Due to insufficient governmental subsidies, the P.A.'s struggle to remain solvent has lead to a slow increase in fares and cut backs in service.

The Port Authority's plan to cut services & raise fares is the result of a century of car culture blinding us to the obvious. We all know that oil supplies are dwindling, pollution is triggering global climate change and traffic congestion creates road rage; yet, we continue to drive our cars. Why? Because in our emotion driven psyches, cars symbolize mobility, mobility means freedom & freedom means bliss.
(Photo: Bikes add freedom to mass transit.)

President Bush once said we were addicted to oil. In truth, we Americans are addicted to our cars. Like changing any ingrained habit, breaking ourselves of driving everywhere will be painful.

Until mass transit becomes more appealing, people will continue to rely upon their personal motor vehicles. To be appealing, mass transit must be reliable, affordable, safe, frequent and available throughout our metro areas.

Using a bike that folds makes mass transit feasible to more users by making transit stops more accessible from greater distances. Because they fold, riders can take their folding bikes onto the bus, subway, etc. As more people discover the advantages of folding bikes, use of mass transit will rise; however, more must be done to make mass transit attractive to a wider base of users.

My thanks go to Ed Heath for drawing attention to Pittsburgh's transportation issues via his blog, Cognitive Dissonance.

Labels: Cognitive Dissonance, folding bikes, mass transit, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, public transportation