We started at the Bastille (Western Pen.) and rode around the stadia. Came across two makeshift memorials on chain link fence on the trail below Fred Rogers' statue, nice memorials with "we miss you ____" signs, flowers, lit candles. Saw an apparent mourner setting another candle into place and interrupted his grieving to ask what it was about, and he said "we're filming a movie, these are props" and was pleased that it wasn't funereal.
Took the 31st Street Bridge and then Butler Street to increasingly-a-Favorite Espresso A Mano. Today I tried a Gibraltar coffee (as recommended by Mo) and a danish, both were excellent. Saw another cyclist that had garnished his normal bike helmet with three additional red rings, resulting in a Devo Helmet, very cool. Wanted to take a picture but I think that would have interrupted the willing-suspension-of-hipster-vibe thing and would have completely outed me as somebody from Beaver County.
Hung around for a while and then departed to downtown, rode the Strip District Trail to the Point. A nearby hoagie shop, Jimmy John's Subs was holding Customer Appreciation Day and selling $1 subs, there was a very long line snaking around the corner.
Went over to Market Square Starbucks. Hung out there for a while, originally the Starbucks side was in the shade (kind of like a bullring) but eventually it warmed up. There was some sort of farmer's market going on.
Rode the Jail Trail, the Hot Metal Bridge, noticed that the new trail segment is open behind AEO headquarters but closed at the boundary with HofBrauHaus, took Carson Street through SouthSide and made our next stop at the Beehive for more caffeine.
We sat in the Beehive's window, watching the world walk by, drank coffee and then got on our way. As we went past Station Square we met an older couple - 65ish - and the woman had fallen and cut herself up pretty good, she was quite tough about it, worried about her chain more than anything. That was impressive.
Back across Ft. Pitt and Ft. Duquesne bridges, and past the Casino to the Bastille. A nice ride. With all the caffeine I was quite wired at the end.
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