All those pink, yellow, green and blue signs that have been popping up along Pittsburgh streets in recent weeks weren’t just there for decoration.

They were mounted strategically throughout multiple neighborhoods and nearby suburbs by BikePGH to denote the four routes for PedalPGH, its annual fundraiser that has raised more than $1.5 million toward the local nonprofit’s stated mission of making “biking and walking commonplace for all Pittsburghers” since it took over as PedalPGH’s main organizer in 2011.

PedalPGH has grown from attracting 1,000 riders in 1994 to 2,700 in 2011 to an expectation of nearly 3,000 participants this year. It certainly seemed like a large collection of Western Pennsylvanians had converged on Allegheny Commons Park West on the North Side on Sunday afternoon after their PedalPGH rides were completed — cooling down, mingling with fellow cyclists and trying out food-truck offerings from Franktuary, Straub Brewery and Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream.

“I know a lot of Pittsburghers bike,” said Sean Oglesby, 32, of Highland Park. “But today really puts it all in perspective, like how many people are actually out.”

Image DescriptionA group of bike riders, part of hundreds who participated in PedalPGH, take off from Allegheny Commons Park West on the North Side on Sunday. (Lucy Schaly/Post-Gazette)

Biking seems to be fairly well-entrenched as a Pittsburgh transportation staple these days. The number of Pittsburghers biking to work regularly rose from 1.5% in 2014 to 4.5% five years later, according to a 2019 survey conducted by the Green Building Alliance. About one-third of survey respondents who commute via bike also indicated that they ride year-round.

Data from the U.S. Census’ 2021 American Community Survey showed that biking, walking and transit in general were down that year due to the shift that left about 30% of Pittsburghers working from home during the height of COVID-induced workplace disruptions. Emily Hatfield, tourism group VisitPittsburgh’s director of communications and public affairs, praised PedalPGH for consistently drawing “residents and visitors alike” in to participate in the celebration of the Steel City’s biking culture.

“It’s a great opportunity to explore Pittsburgh’s 90 unique neighborhoods and marvel in the city’s historic bridges, riverfront attractions and outdoor recreation opportunities,” Ms. Hatfield said. “We’re excited to see its continuance again this year and know it stands to make a lasting impact for the community.”

Riders showed up to the starting line at various intervals beginning at 7 a.m. for one of four races: the 62-mile U.S. Steel Epic Endurance Challenge, 40-mile Outside+ Grand Tour, 25-mile Steel City Media Local Tour or 7-mile BikePGH River Loop. For PedalPGH 2023, BikePGH opted to move the starting and finish line from its previous location on the South Side to the North Shore and add municipalities such as Bellevue, Ben Avon and Franklin Park to the 62-mile ride.

Cyclists of all ages and experience levels were on hand Sunday for PedalPGH. Mr. Oglesby completed his second 62-miler in about 4 1/2 hours and was proud that his “legs just held on long enough” to get through the steep Mount Washington section.

As someone who has biked in places like Cleveland, Chicago and Washington, D.C., he believes “Pittsburgh’s right there with them” in terms of its cycling infrastructure and appreciates BikePGH for demonstrating that through events like that held Sunday.

“The more they do, I’ll always keep continuing to sign up,” he said.

Image DescriptionFour-year-old Finley Warnock gets a ride from her mom, Emily, as they start their ride during PedalPGH at Allegheny Commons Park West on the North Side. The Warnocks are from Jefferson Hills. (Lucy Schaly/Post-Gazette)

Dajana Bilic, 41, of North Huntingdon, clocked in at two hours and 36 minutes for the 25-mile ride. It was her first PedalPGH, and she was just happy that the weather stayed clear and that the route wasn’t overly hilly. Ms. Bilic only began seriously biking about three months ago, but she has found the city’s bike lanes to mostly be marked and clear. She said, “Drivers seem to be conscious of us.”

Brian Ramoutar and Nicole Latimore crossed the PedalPGH finish line holding hands not long after noon. The North Siders began biking together earlier this summer for some “good couple’s bonding,” as Ms. Latimore put it, which led them to sign up for PedalPGH’s 40-mile ride as both a fun joint activity and a “good way to learn the cycling community culture.”

“This was wonderful,” Mr. Ramoutar said. “I can’t believe the turnout. There’s a whole biking subculture that we just recently tapped into.”

In his experience, Pittsburgh is still a driver’s city that needs to find “a middle ground of figuring out who belongs where.” They both appreciated how well-planned PedalPGH was, though, including how easy it was to use the Ride with GPS app to navigate their route. Mr. Ramoutar said the biking group is clearly “doing a really good thing here.”

“We’ll definitely look out for other opportunities to support them and keep things like this going,” Ms. Latimore added.

A different but equally adorable duo participating in the 2023 event was Eddie Monk, 33, of Brookline, and his 6-year-old daughter. Mr. Monk is a 10-year veteran of these rides and he was more than happy to do the 7-miler this year for his daughter’s second-ever PedalPGH.

As she urged her father to let her cool off by the misting fans — “It has water coming out of it!” — Mr. Monk said, “We love doing [PedalPGH] every year,” almost as much as they enjoy family excursions to local bike trails.

“People are respectful,” he said. “There are nice long trails we can do. We enjoy it. … It’s a fun biking city.”