Type 2 Diabetic. Cyclist Flâneur.   Coffeeneur.    Errandoneur
A bike / map geek with a gadget obsession and a high-viz fetish.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Soupaneur 5, Glenwood Bridge

12/28/12 23M
Soupaneur Five at Graham Central in Cranberry, S had "loaded potato soup" and I had tomato basil soup.


The tomato basil soup was surprisingly good, generously supplied with sweet tomato chunks and contrasting little spicy tastes and some green leafy things and it was very good, although perhaps a bit lukewarm rather than hot. We rode 4 miles around Cranberry and that sort of exhausted the nearby housing development.

On the way home I stopped at the Bastille to see what conditions were like in the city. The Chateau Trail, from the Bastille to the Casino, was snow covered and not easily ridden so I used Beaver Street to ride down to the Ft. Duquesne Bridge.

The Ft. Duquesne walkway was cleared and dry, so I rode over to Point State Park and took Blvd of the Allies where I saw the cyclist who was photographed in yesterday's newspaper, shown riding with a cigarette casually dangling from his mouth.

Continued to Grant Street and joined the Jail Trail. The northern half-mile of the Jail Trail was quite snowy but south of the Jail itself it was clear and dry and really a pleasure to ride on.

I took the Swinburne St. Trailhead and Second Avenue south to the Glenwood Bridge, and it seemed like the sun had come out and there was a bit of blue-sky time. It made for a very nice ride.

The reverse was much the same. Very few people out on bicycles, those that were out mostly had a goofy grin on their faces. The route from the Ft. Duquesne Bridge back to the Bastille was inelegant and consisted mostly of riding the wrong way on one-way streets, I'll have to plot that out.

It was a nice day to get out and ride a bike.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Jail Trail Webcam

12/27/12


Jail Trail webcam at Birmingham Bridge:


hat tip: Kordite.

From today's Post-Gazette, a Wednesday Hard-Man photograph by Larry Roberts:



I think the cigarette makes the picture.


Monday, December 24, 2012

Goal Met, Soupaneur 4, Moss and Ice at the Koi Pond

12/24/12 22M 238#

Met S. at the Bastille at 1000 and rode south along the Ohio River. After one mile I'd achieved my mileage goal for the year, which is great and I'd like to thank all my riding buddies for helping me get there.

Continued around the stadia and out to the 40th Street Bridge, then turned to the STrip District and went to Kelly O's for Soupaneuring Stop Number Four. S had wedding soup and I had turkey pot pie soup. Mine was excellent- thick, hearty, hot, you actually could stand a spoon up in it for a little while. Excellent hot soup on a cold day, it was about 28F outside at this point.



Back on the bikes, Ft. Pitt Bridge to the Southside Trail, stopped at REI to use their floor pump, Hot Metal Bridge, Jail Trail, Ft. Duquesne Bridge, and a happy surprise as we met Marko riding on the Northside. Rode the Chateau Trail, stopped at the Dockmaster's House for this photo of the koi pond:



Back to the Bastille. 22 miles and my mileage goal made, hot soup on a cold day, it was a very good ride. Ten minutes after I drove away it started raining, timing was sweet today.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

7 Seconds, 1 Mile, LOTD

12/23/12 11M 238#
First of all, lest I seem unappreciative, today brought +07 seconds more daylight than yesterday (Saturday) and I am very glad for that.


Today's 11-mile ride in 37F brings my annual mileage to 6999, 1 mile short of my this year's goal mileage, and I don't believe any of that Zeno's Paradox stuff about being unable to move to a concrete number.




Link of the day: Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Turtle Creek from today's New York Times, for a few reasons.

  • it's provides the basis for a review of group dynamics and decision making
  • it applies to group bike rides just as much as ski trips
  • it's a very well-told story, without judgement or over-analysis or blame
  • it really represents what a web presentation is supposed to be, it's extremely well done
  • it's an example of what a big newspaper can do on the internet that nobody else can
  • less seriously, because it provides an excellent demo of the new backpack airbags skiers carry for avalanches, and as I pedal around Point State Park to the Convention Center I've been thinking about getting a pair.
But for me, the reason I've found it most interesting is I've needed to focus on my own bike-decision-making lately, and this is an article that provides an example of good, experienced people who got swept up in event-inertia and seemed to (mostly) suspend judgement.


Saturday, December 22, 2012

Cold Weather Rivet Dancing

12/12/22





(explanation: "on the rivet" Covering the Tour de France, Paul Sherwin used the phrase "on the rivet" to describe one of the guys struggling mightily in the Pyrennees today...
'If you're going as hard as you can, you're "on the rivet," an ancient phrase meaning sitting on the rivet at the front of your Brooks saddle.'


   Dec 22, 2012
this week: 94 miles
  238#  
4th Qtr 1677 miles
20.4 mi/day4QTD
  
2012: 6988 miles

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Stoops Ferry to Keystone Metals

12/20/12 238# 38M
A great ride, 38 miles in 50F, mostly in rain, from Stoops Ferry at the north end of Moon Township to Keystone Metals by Sandcastle.




Started riding at the Neville Island ice skating rink, because that's where I needed to be at the end of my liberty to pick my daughter up. Rode toward the city on Neville Island, and a southeast ride almost always has a tailwind around here but today the wind was quite strong out of the southeast, so I did the work going out and had the benefit coming home.


Much the same route as yesterday, Neville Island to the mainland, McKees Rocks, Route 51 to Station Square and the trails complex, to South Side. At South Side I stopped at REI because I have a REI cash card for $20 that expires in two weeks. I purchased a pack of hand- and feet-warmers, and some chocolate-sesame snack bars.


I was very pleased to encounter Sara outside REI, "just" bicycling over from Oakland to do some shopping. That's very proto-nu-Pittsburgh, she's a very nice lady and sort of a live demo of what could be in a Pittsburgh 3.0 that embraces 2.0 wheels.


Continued down to Keystone Metals. Saw lots of activities and some very big men at the Steelers training facility. There was a satellite downlink truck and a reporter doing what reporters do while trying to stay mostly out of the rain.


No sign of much progress on the Keystone Metals portion of the trail. Got all blinkied up for the return leg and turned north. I was only a little wet over most of the body, but my socks and shoes were soaked.


With the tailwind behind me I got back to the car much earlier than I expected, so I continued further to Stoops Ferry and then rode back to the ice hockey rink. 38 miles, a very nice ride. I could have used a few towels to dry off after the ride.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Moe.Ville, Fall Guy, Looking Back

12/19/12 237# 27M
A pretty nice day after a few days of rain.


Started at the north end of Neville Island at Robert Morris University's ice skating facility. Rode south along Neville Island, intercepted Route 51 South onto the mainland. Almost immediately I came upon this van in McKees Rocks, and the Moe.Ville sticker caught my eye.




I have a friend that people call Mo, and I think that the sticker refers to a Buffalo-based band called Moe.. According the their website, they have a Moe.Down, a Moe.Cruise, they call their FAQ's a Moe.Ment, so the formulation Moe.Ville is pretty close.


Anyway, when you start taking pictures of a van with Jersey plates in McKees Rocks, people come out and ask questions, and the second question they asked was "do you have an extra cigarette" which I thought was a funny question to ask a guy on a bicycle. I should have spent a few minutes patting down my spandex and then said, Damn no I left them in my other panniers. It was a funny question from a 20-year old, back in the day it would have made sense.






Continued down to Station Square, and on to the Hot Metal Bridge. Turned left/east at the HMB and then left again onto the Jail Trail. Rode the Jail Trail to the Smithfield Street Bridge, north onto Route 51.


Where I fell. Arrgghhh. Right where 51 crosses the West End Bridge, and the through traffic passes on a lower level, there's one lane and I'm riding near the curb because I didn't need to take the lane. There were a few small puddles on the right from the rain that stopped last night.


One of those puddles apparently connected to the Marianas Trench, because my front wheel went down into it and a moray eel grabbed it and I went OTB (over the bars) and the rear wheel mostly came up and over with me. I think it startled the drivers in the vicinity.


The bike was OK, all the stuff was good, and the mostly-water rolled off the winter kit I was wearing pretty fast. After I got me and my stuff out of the lane (I ended up taking the lane after I fell) I wondered, how did I get that wrong?


I was not riding defensively, I was being complacent, I had a milk-run attitude, I was thinking inside-head instead of outside-world. I was definitely not being mindful and being in-the-moment.


One good thing about winter falls is that you scrape your clothes rather than your legs. Back on the bike, 51 North to McKees Rocks, Neville Island to the ice hockey facility. Very nice ride, trying to learn from the fall. 27 miles.


Found an email from a friend alerting me to this item from Hammacher Schlemmer:


The Bicycle Rearview Camera This is the camera system that mounts to a bicycle for providing a clear view of the road behind. The 2 1/4" W x 1 1/2" H camera mounts to a bicycle's seat post, provides a rear-facing 75º field of view ideal for seeing approaching vehicles or other cyclists. A 78 3/4" zip-tied cable that accommodates any frame geometry connects the camera to the handlebar-mounted 3 1/2" TFT color monitor (fits bars up to 1 1/4" diameter); quick-release mechanism removes the monitor easily from handlebars for charging. A circular pattern of red LEDs flash when the camera's built-in sensor detects low-light conditions for visibility to traffic. Fully weather- and vibration-resistant. The camera system's rechargeable battery provides up to 10 hours of operation from a two-hour charge using the included AC adapter. (1 lb.)






Monday, December 17, 2012

Cars and Guns and Common Sense

12/17/12 0m

Via BrooklynSpoke, a brilliant take on America’s gun problem from comic book artist Jeff Yang and his son Hudson. Click to embiggen in a separate window

Because if cars killed 32,000 Americans in 2011, shouldn't we at least consider treating guns - which killed 31,000 Americans in 2011 - just as carefully?

 


Sunday, December 16, 2012

Wrap It Up

12/16/12 238# 29M
A simple and pleasant ride, from the Res to Sewickley Starbucks and back via the Ambridge Bridge and a slightly different route, 29 miles in 55F. Shorts, jersey, windbreaker with the pit zips wide open, luxurious for 12/16. In just five more days, the days start getting longer. (Or the world ends, check back for final determination.)

Congrats to several people for wrapping up end-of-year accomplishments:

  • Stu for 24E+02 miles
  • Janie for 3000 miles, and delaying foot surgery until she got there - hard core!
  • SR for 6,500 miles
  • Yale Cohen for 10,000 miles
  • and this below, from a Pittsburgh cyclist I haven't met. Absolutely astounding.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

BurghMan, Randyland, No Tanks

12/15/12 237# 23M

Sometimes you know a ride is going to be great within the first moment. Today I met a superhero in Minute :01.

Getting started on the trail, saw an opposite-direction rollerblader whose outfit identified him as BurghMan. "Hey, I've met you before, haven't I? Silver suit, motorcycle?"

Oh no, he explained in a courteous and confident voice. That's SteelMan. I'm BurghMan. Burghman is all about the kids. He handed me his card, tipped his helmet, and skated off.



How do you know you live in a great city? A great city has Steel Man and BurghMan, and they're both cool with that.


Rode around the stadia, came upon this unexpected mural at 1212 Arch Street, painted by Benjamin Schneider:



We rode over to Randyland hoping to find Randy Gilson but the gates were closed and nobody was around. Took this photo showing the Arch Street perspective of RandyLand:





In that photo above, bottom-center, you'll see a red sign, it's a panel of exhortations which I think is new.


Along the south side of Randyland, there's a Junk Deposit Box where you're to deposit the junk in your mind before you come in to visit.



The Junk Deposit Box very much reminds me of a 2006 Burning Man photo by Gabe Kirchheimer:



Subsequently the notion of "Fears Erased Daily" was implemented on college whiteboards across the country, generating this response from one computer science student:

And that's how I roll. Pittsburgh -> RandyLand -> BurningMan -> Javascript. Sorry.


The gates at Randyland were closed, so we rode west and took this picture at the Northside Common Ministries facility at 1601 Brighton Road:



Stopped at Buena Vista Coffee, 1501 Buena Vista Street. Excellent biscotti, great staff, relaxed vibe, I'll go back there. Wanted to try Randyland one more time, so rode along Sampsonia Way to see the Asylum Houses (which are very cool) and got to RandyLand just as Randy was admitting a group of visitors, excellent timing.


We got to spend about an hour inside RandyLand, it was very interesting and entertaining. It's a cross between Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory, a Zen Garden, and PeeWee's Playhouse. This is a photo of an arch over one of the gates:



Ft. Duquesne Bridge, Ft. Pitt Bridge, saw the ice rink at Highmark HoHoHounds Stadium, stopped at Station Square to see a gingerbread display, rode south to Keystone Metals (nothing new to report), Hot Metal Bridge, and then we stopped along the Jail Trail to photograph some NTM (non traditional murals):


"The Chief", a homage to Old Man Rooney:










"Tanks But No Tanks" (CU, this one's for you!)




23 miles, 46F at the end, a very nice ride.

   Dec 15, 2012
this week: 166 miles
  237#  
4th Qtr 1583 miles
21.1 mi/day4QTD
  
2012: 6894 miles


Friday, December 14, 2012

Dragon Tree, Pinkerton Landfill, Almost Chewed Out

12/14/12 48M
Well I woke up much smarter this morning, after learning among other things that when your dinner consists of the stuff in your pannier and all you have is granola bars, well, there are secondary effects.


There was a meteor shower overnight and I went out at about 0200 to check it out, but it was very cold and I abandoned after just a few minutes. Trail maven Betsy found great success in the 0500 timeframe. At about 0800 I went to the Rockwood Opera House for breakfast, had an EggAMuffin thingy and a peice of cake and some coffee for the thermos, made my apologies for missing their closing hour last night and they were very good about it. Local cell coverage would be great.


Departed eastbound. The trail surface was harder, mostly frozen. There was one bike track evident and I think it was mine from the previous night, that was pretty cool.


Dragon Tree

On a previous trip in the spring, my bike-bud CA pointed out a tree that resembled a dragon, and I thought it fitting on the first day of the Hobbit prequel to take a picture of the Dragon Tree:




Pinkerton Landfill

I was very surprised to see what has been done to the Pinkerton Bypass,although I've been told about it. The railroad has converted the entire top of the Pinkerton Bypass into a landfill, not just for the material generated by the daylighting of the new Pinkerton Tunnel but also for debris from other work sights.


Click this image to open a panoramic photo in a new window:



It's remarkable to me that they're able to use the land above the trail as a landfill. In the future, instead of calling this the Pinkerton Bypass, I'll refer to this as the Pinkerton Landfill.


Nearly Chewed Out

In keeping with the Lord of the Rings observances, I stopped for Second Breakfast at Sister's Cafe in Confluence. Very nice. Back on the trail, where I saw evidence of creatures gnawing at trees, beavers I guess:


I skipped the stop at Ohiopyle in favor of the overlook about six miles east of Ohiopyle, and finished the coffee in my thermos there. Although it warmed up to 42F, the ice persisted in the shady areas along the trail:


The car was where I left it, it started, and it was much nicer finishing at 4pm than 7.30. 48 miles today and a very nice ride.





Thursday, December 13, 2012

S24O and Goofus Decision Making: I've got lights!

12/13 49M 239#
Readers of a certain age might remember Goofus and Gallant; Goofus was a bag boy, a recidivist miscreant who provided a "don't be that guy" narrative in stark contrast to exemplary Gallant who was the kid our parents hoped we might become. My decision-making on this ride was more Goofus than anything else.



Goofus pisses the morning away then cheerfully starts in the afternoon.
Gallant starts out earlier than necessary, leaving time for unexpecting issues.

Goofus perseveres with what he wants ignoring the clues the universe provides.
Gallant is alert to changing conditions and adapts with a safety-first attitude.

Goofus bikes in the cold, dark forest alone playing "single-thread".
Gallant reviews lessons learned while watching the sunset.

Goofus puts himself into a shuttered tiny town without planned shelter.
Gallant keeps the Concierge informed of his needs.

Goofus is an lucky asshole with limited life-expectancy.

I planned an overnight bike trip, a Sub-24hour-Overnight (S24O) to have a bit of variation in the ride pattern, to log a few miles, and to nurture my Inner Introvert. I got off to a later start than I had originally intended. Gallant sets out earlier than he needs to, but Goofus procrastinates.


I drove out to the GAP Trail and I wasn't sure where to park in Connellsville. Stopped at the police station and asked where to park overnight, and they said well, at the trailhead, of course. I did see an unexpected mural on that side of the river.



I parked at the northern trailhead, by the stained glass, cabooses and the Adirondack shelters. I believe that in the summer months, there's a wifi transmitter close to the shelters. I started pedalling at about 1pm.



The weather was excellent in that it was clear, bright, cold, and dry. The trail surface was soft and moist due to the rain in the previous days, and there were more active waterfalls than usual along the trail due to the recent rain. The spray from the waterfalls had frozen onto the adjacent plants and it was very pretty, it looked a lot like translucent Chihuly Glass.


By the time I reached Ohiopyle it had gotten colder out, and I stopped for a bowl of chili which was excellent. Back on the trail and it was still quite soft.


In Confluence by 4.30. I put a pair of chemical toe warmers in my shoes, some earmuffs on my head, and got some coffee for my thermos - these were all big helps. I called my destination, the Rockwood Hostel to confirm how late I could get there. The staff was available for checkin until 7pm, and Goofus-me confidently calculated that I'd cover the 18 intervening miles in about 1.5 hours and arrive well before 7pm.


Hah. (For the rest of this saga of bad decision-making, the role of Goofus will be played by Bad-Decision Dinosaur).


At 4.45 as I was leaving Confluence, a man came up to me and asked where I was going; he runs a B&B in Confluence and he had rooms for the night. No thanks, I said, but thank you; it's going to be a fun ride to Rockwood. "Gets dark soon", he suggested. Oh, I know, Bad-Decision-Dinosaur replied; I've got lights!


The 18 miles to Rockwood is really 20 miles, because of the two bonus miles of the Pinkerton Bypass which were not accounted for when the mile markers were set out. The trail was quite soft but starting to freeze in some places where there was a bit of standing water.


It gets real dark out there between Confluence and Rockwood. Between my headlight mounted to my helmet, my 2-watt headlight on the handlebars, and my HID headlight in reserve, I was pretty well equipped. When I ride at night I also keep a small hand-crank light in my pocket, just in case I fall off the bike or get separated from it.


On this segment, I was working real hard to maintain 8mph, and I was not making good time. As I approached the Pinkerton Bypass, at the halfway point, the worklights at the construction scene completely ruined any night-vision I had going - which I can't complain about, because the trail is closed at night. After getting back on the mainland and leaving the Pinkerton bridges behind me, I stopped at a bench with my Thermos and turned off all my lights.


It was a beautiful evening with a tremendous field of stars. It reminded me of being at sea. I drank coffee and ate snacks and enjoyed the moment. Recently DBackLover wrote a blog post about Zen Cycling and a key point was "having an adventure by yourself", and this moment certainly qualified. Although I admit that I had some qualms about being in the middle of the forest by myself in the Deep Darkness, six more miles to the Hostel and I'd be back in the Cradle.


I rode those last few miles and it was OK. A few times I would see the eyeballs of animals in the brush. I got to the trailhead, turned off into Rockwood (which by now had rolled up the sidewalks), and rode to the Hostel. Dark. Locked. Unresponsive. Screwed. Cold. 30F going to 25F. Bad Decision Dinosaur. Gallant ensures he has a place to stay in small towns. Goofus just plunges ahead and assumes. Stupid Goofus.


I took stock of my situation. I had my sleeping bag rated to 25F, I had an emergency space-heat blanket, I had an extra layer of wool, and a few more chemical warmers - I could spend the night outside and not die. I remembered an American Legion Post near the trailhead with cars in the lot and decided to go over there, figuring I could show them my tattoos, explain I was a veteran, and ask if I could sleep in the corner please. I could see having to ingratiate myself with somebody named Dottie and that just wasn't exciting.


As I rode the few blocks over, I came across a sign "Husky Haven Guest House" with a phone number. I called it up, no phone coverage. I moved down the street and got one bar, called it again, somebody answered. Sure, I could spend the night. Sure, they'd be right over to let me in. Better and better.


A lady came out, took me to a B&B, turned the lights on and the heat up, and Damn I was living the dream and rescued from Dottie over at the Legion. Four walls, a shower, hot water, cable TV, hell they even have wifi. I really appreciated that turn of events.


For the first time in my life I got to watch Faux News. That was informative.


Looking back, which is not something I often do, I should have never left Confluence when it was going to get dark in the next half-hour, at 30F, by myself. If I had been flying on a multi-leg flight, I would have recognized GetHomeItis and stopped right there. I made a real bad decision and was lucky to get away with it. I'm going to try to not repeat that.


The bike did real well. 49 miles. Average speed: 9.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Why Did the Worker Cross The Road?

12/12/12 241# 38M
Yesterday in Pittsburgh a 53-year old woman was killed while crossing the street, using the crosswalk from her parking lot to her workplace. Hit by one car, then a truck, then another car like a pinball. It's a known dangerous street with lots of accidents, and a local employer hires off-duty police to stand in the intersection during peak hours because they've lost so many employees due to accidents that it affects their business. Tragically, this woman crossed outside of peak hours.



Biker, blogger, and transportation guru Stu often asks a seminal question in these situations which I used to dismiss as being pedantic and wonkish (sorry, Stu) but I've come to realize is an essential question. Stu tends to ask, Why was he/she driving there? Often it illuminates fundamental issues or choices in transportation policy that drove the accident.


As I rode around today I wondered, Why did the lady cross the street? Which evolved into, Why did the lady cross that street every day, until it killed her? Which became, Why do they all cross that dangerous street every day, even though it kills some of them?


I think the answer is, because we've designed and tolerated a situation where they have no choice. Jobs are over here, parking is over there, home is way over yonder, no way to get from Home to Work but a Car, and as a City and a culture we're good with that. And furthermore, the people using those parking lots aren't city residents, they're Outlanders who come in and use city services without paying for them, harumph, and city residents should pay police overtime - I don't think so!


Although the investigation will apportion Blame to Individuals, it's really a Design Fail, it's a Systemic Failure, and it's in a lot of people's interest to ignore the systemic and policy issues.






Started at the Bastille. The temps seemed too brisk to start riding right away so I procrastinated by doing some work on the bike. I used to be the guy who bought auto parts and then worked on his car in the Pep Boys parking lot, now I'm the guy who works on his bike at the trailhead.


I needed to replace the wiring harness for my Cateye Astrale bike computer, which I love and I have one of these on each of my three bikes. The existing harness was giving inaccurate rear sensor readings, and - even worse - it was giving low rear sensor readings, and that's just not tolerable. The cadence sensor was just fine. Still, I had the device on the bike for five years, that's pretty good.


Instead of replacing just the wiring harness I bought a whole new computer and harness at Performance Bike, and today I started my time with the bike by removing the old harness which was an ugly rainbow of multi-color zip ties and installing the new harness. Put the old computer into the new harness, spun the pedals, shazam! good cadence numbers and good speed/distance numbers. Tightened up the zip ties, tested it again, still good numbers. Went to trim the excess zip ties and I cut the wire for the cadence sensor, and then it didn't work so good no more.


Argghhhhh. This is why, of course, people buy wireless bike computers. Tried to splice the wire, the magic wasn't happening, no luck. Packed up and went for a ride, my first destination now chosen for me: Performance Bike, to get yet another harness.


Rode along the North Side to the 40th Street Bridge, then Penn Avenue. Saw this mural at 5313 Butler Street which is still a work in progress. On Oct.19 2012 (my first sighting) it struck me as Conway's Game of Life:



But now it's looking a lot like Winter Urban Digital Camo:



Continued along Butler Street to Washington Blvd, the street where people drowned and now we have gates to keep people off the street during floods we consider that progress. Up Washington Blvd, which is a climb I enjoy to Bakery Square, where I was surprised to see the Bakery Square Bike System.


  • Wow! Bike Share! In Pittsburgh, before New York!
  • Ugh. Right now, first wave, only for people affiliated with CMU or Google.
  • Yay! Eventually, it will cover downtown, east end, north side, south side.

Went to Performance Bike, purchased a wiring harness. As I came out, I saw a flash of color off to my right where I didn't expect to see a mural. Rode over to investigate and found an MLK mural where S and I had searched for one a few weeks ago. We were within 50 feet of it, but we'd never looked behind this building; it's a Busway mural, visible only to people taking the bus. Ha!, take that, you first-wave CMU bike riders. No murals for you!

Rode to the Whole Foods Starbucks, which probably sees itself as just Starbucks. Surfed their Wifi and warmed up. Considered the Venti Skinny Vanilla Latte, calculated that it would be about $.01/calorie, decided not to. Back to Penn Avenue, Beechwood Blvd, Forbes, S. Braddock, W. Hutchison, Frick Park.

At one point teh Interweb said that Nine Mile Run was closed for construction and I thought I'd check it out. It was open and in very nice condition, it was a nice ride through there. At the river I took the Duck Hollow Trail to Second Avenue, the Jail Trail to the Hot Metal Bridge, then rode south to Keystone Metals.

Back north along the SouthSide Trail to the Fort Pitt Bridge, Ft Duquesne Bridge, and back to the Bastille. A very nice day, a found mural, 38 miles.