Pittsburg ATV parade 2007

Registered Pennsylvania ATVs

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PaAtving participates in the 2007

St. Patrick's Day Parade

As the 2nd largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the Country, Pittsburgh's 2007 event was dedicated to the memory of the late Mayor, Bob O'Connor. It's only 4 days from the start of spring but the unpredictable weather can go either way for the parade with temperatures last year in the mid 60s and this year barely reaching the 30s. 20+ members of PaAtving and various ATV groups gathered in the upper Mellon Arena parking lot to join the parade route at the #157 spot. There were 210 groups in total that braved the Winter Storm to come and be a part of the day.

The parade was to 'officially' start at 10am, however, for the PaAtving group, it started off with a bang around 9am in the parking lot when an Army Palletized Load System (PLS) hit a sheet of ice, locked the breaks and gingerly slid down the parking lot into a 2007 Limited Edition Can-am 800 XT.

At first, you could have heard a pin drop as the crowd stood in amazement watching the 16.5 ton, 10 wheeled machine helplessly slid across the ice and hit the 700 pound 4 wheeler. Then you could hear the sighs as those who saw this magnificent event wondered how much damage was done to the machine. Army PLS Fact Sheet

Several PaAtving members ran to the ATV to assist with pulling it out from under the front of the PLS. Luckily and amazingly, the only signs of damage were a few cracked pieces of plastic. The ATV was still ready to go and be a part of the parade. Does Can-am have the toughest ATV on the market? This question is open to interpretation, but no one could argue on this day that the Can-am took a licking but kept on ticking! Can-am Outlander Max 800 H.O. EFI LTD Fact Sheet

After a few minutes of decorating, the Can-am Limited joined the other ATVS in the line-up. Green was definitely the theme as ATVers decorated their quads with shamrocks, light up strands of garland, blow up Leprechauns, flags, and more. After a few more hours of waiting it was time to join the parade route. There were groups of all kinds participating in the parade, including high school bands, dance groups, fire departments, television personalities and even the Sierra Club!

The parade route was approximately 1 mile long, starting on Pittsburgh's 6th Ave and continuing down Grant Street to the Boulevard of the Allies. Attendees stood on the sidewalks and streets starting on 6th avenue. The crowd was a big mix of ages, with some as young as 1 and some as old as 80 enjoying the festivities until late in the afternoon. As our ATV group moved through the route we were treated to encouraging words and screaming from attendees. It's a thrilling experience to watch the participants and their excitement as our group passed.

We continued through the route to the main stage where a formal introduction was made about our group and our commitment to the ATV Community. The parade route ended shortly after the main stage introduction.

After a 2nd brief waiting period in the freezing temperatures, our group was kindly escorted by Pittsburgh City police back to the parking area.

We traveled back up the Boulevard of the Allies – through traffic lights over the entrance to the parkway and under a bridge. (Pittsburgh has 70+ bridges, the most of any City in the country) It was truly a remarkable experience riding through the streets of Pittsburgh side by side with cars, trucks and every day vehicles.

After going back into the parking lot, most of our group packed up and headed home. Some decided to continue the St. Patrick's Day celebration at a local sports bar …. The rumor is they played a lot of Wheel of Fortune and had a Pennsylvania wilds time.