| 7/23/11 35m |
 |
Rode with S. today, we started quite early at 0615 at the Bastille on the Banks (Western Penitentiary). It's quite an imposing place, especially in first light.
We rode to the Casino, then to the Point, and east on the Strip Trail. We returned to the Point and used the unofficial service road to connect to the Mon-Whorf Trail - in previous posts I've wondered if that service road might not be somebody's bedroom, and at this early hour we did encounter three sleeping souls beginning to stir.
We continued along the Mon-Whorf Trail, with one resident still sleeping, and portaged up to street level and rode to Grant Street. We joined the Jail Trail and rode south through the detour and on to the Swinburne Street trailhead.
We took the turn around Second Avenue and then climbed the Panther Hollow Trail via Boundary Street up to Fifth Avenue, and then we enjoyed the descent. We crossed the Hot Metal Bridge and S. took this photo:
We checked out the HofBrauHaus Trail, I don't know when that's going to open but it looks all-but-complete. I'm still hoping for guard rails where the trail rides over the river access points. We road SouthSide Trail to Station Square, the Fort Pitt and Fort Duquesne bridges.
By the stadia S. took this photo of Mr. Rogers, adorned with a sweater that somebody crocheted for him. Apparently there is a genre of street art called "yarn bombing - in the U.K. they're called graffiti knitters or guerrila knitters. Check out YarnBombing.com. Who knew?
We rode the Casino Trail back to the trailhead and the cars. I wanted to get a few more miles because it's been a light week for me, so I continued back to the stadia. I encountered a group of a half-dozen riders puzzling over a flat tire, so I was able to help them put their Slime in the tube and reinflate it. With some good karma in the panniers I continued east along the Allegheny.
I happened to notice a memorial service on a low platform along the river. The attendees stood in a semicircle, each holding a single flower, and taking turns speaking about the deceased. An older gentleman was talking as I stopped for a moment, I heard him say "_____ would say to us, Remember me, but let go of me", and that was poignant and wise. There's really quite a lot going on down by the rivers.
I continued east to Millvale, I'm sorry to have startled a jogger who didn't hear my bike-bell. Reversed at Millvale and returned to the Penitentiary, glad to be at liberty and not locked up in there.
35 miles and a nice ride before the world heated up.
 | 7/23/11 Week 29 | this week: 118 miles | [3rd quarter: 517 miles] 2011: 2252 miles |
No comments:
Post a Comment