Parked under the Birmingham Bridge in Southside Riverside Park, and R, S and I rendezvoused at Big Dog Coffee for coffee, tea, and their world-famous Oatmeal with Fruit Toppings. If there is to be a designated First Meal of the Year, surely this is it.
We loitered over drinks and watched the SouthSiders come and go, then finally amassed our high-viz layers and headed out for the Icycle Bicycle Ride, with the faint jauntiness of astronauts approaching the gantry but not even close.
Rode around to REI and joined the trickles of inbound cyclists approaching from all directions. Joined the mass of cyclists where I blended in and thought, these are my people. Photo by Rusty Red:
Got to wish a bunch of friends Happy New Year. Got to meet SarahQ in real life for the first time, which is awesome. This year's ride just seemed better than last year's; I'm not sure why - I think the temps were lower, but possibly the road surface was better and the route was more clearly understood.
We rode north along Carson Street. It was a very copacetic ride, obeying red lights etc. In the photo below, from a SouthSide Facebook page, you may notice a bike with a very nice tail light on the far left side of the photo.
Continued past Station Square to the West End Bridge and then crossed the Ohio River. Photo by Charlie Forquer:
Rode around the stadiums and out to the 31st Street Bridge, and crossed the Allegheny River. Travelled the Strip District inbound, Grant Street, and the Jail Trail to the Hot Metal Bridge and crossed the Monongahela River. Just a great time.
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