Neville Island to McKeesport

01/31/12 49m

Magnificent day, started at 48F and ended the ride at 60F, winds out of the west. Short pants, UA ColdGear and a YJA jacket, light gloves.

Rode from the RMU hockey complex south along Neville Island then via Route 51 through McKees Rocks, continuing on to the West End and Station Square. Joined the Station Square Trail to Southside Works, then went "roadie" onto Route 837 South to get past the trail closure at Keystone Metals / Sandcastle.

Riding on 837 is a thrilling experience, and the drivers were very nice. I did have one fool yell "get off the road" to me at the 837/885 cloverleaf, which is built like a highway interchange; I attribute it to their riding around with their car windows open on a mild day.

Speaking of which, fascinating piece on Why Some People (drivers) Get Angry at Bicyclists. He argues that bicyclists are the Other, just like gypsies or immigrants, and so they are easily targeted by those who need to disapprove of another group to assuage their own insecurities, and he further suggests that the very act of cycling is perceived by the Angry person as a refutation of their (car-based) lifestyle, which makes them... angry. I'm not sure if these generalizations about angry drivers are any more valid than generalizations about punk bicyclists.

Continued on 837 through Homestead, where I took the photo to the right. There is quite a bit of street art in Homestead but I haven't found any large murals yet. It was interesting that (again) the current painting was layered over a previous painted advertisement. VLNUS.

In Homestead I turned left on Amity Street to enter the Waterfront Complex. What a remarkable difference from one side of the tracks to the other. From Amity Street I went directly behind the Eat N'Park onto the Steel Valley Trail.

The dirt-surface trail that runs through the Waterfront shows clear signs of maintenance since I was last through there in the fall. As I came around the Pump House I saw a few people taking bikes off cars and getting ready to ride.

I rode the bike lanes around Mahumnahumna? Steel and joined the paved trail that runs below Kennywood. There were quite a few bicyclists out on this section of the trail, including one "ambassador" that I see every time I'm out there.

I stopped in the middle of the Riverton Bike Bridge, and took the photo at the top of this post. It's a beautiful spot.

I turned around to ride north at about 2pm. I don't know whether it was the time of day or the balmy temperatures, but there were quite a few people out on the trail. Same route in reverse; north along the Steel Valley Trail, out on Route 837 to the FBI / Homeland Security complex, and back on the trails.

At South Side Works (SSWx?) I noticed that workers were assembled a gazebo on the plaza adjacent to HofBrauHaus. It will be great when that trail segment opens, I have to imagine the American Eagle people are getting tired of dodging bicyclists.

Riding north there continued to be a lot of people on the trail. Station Square, West End Circle, McKees Rocks, and Neville Island.

Neville Island is a barren, industrial place and I love it. It's flat, paved, good shoulders and excellent sight lines; there's a Subway and some big parking lots at the RMU Hockey Complex.

My computer showed 49.8 miles in 3h38m, so I figure it's 49. I had planned to ride 50, but I wasn't going to get back on the bike for another mile; that'll be another day.



Today's mileage put me at 318 miles for January 2012, which puts my average miles/day at 10 which is excellent for Me in January. In 2011 I didn't have 300 miles until March 18th.

Lest I become smug, the blog titled I Love Danny Chew, dedicated to Pittsburgh bicyclist Danny Chew, brings news that his January 2012 mileage is over 1000 miles. Incredible.

Friday Forty and New Trail

Fri 6/17/11 #224 40miles

0630 McD burrito 0700 Starbux doughnut, lemon cake, chai tea latte 1300 two granola bars 1600 two bowls gazpacho 2015 one gyro, one slice pizza

Attended the opening of the new GAP trail segment between Duquesne and the Waterfront. Got there by bike, started at Western Penitentiary, rode the Strip Trail out and back, Jail Trail, Hot Metal Bridge, Route 837, cut through Sandcastle parking lot, Waterfront trail, etc. Nice ride down there.



A Peddling Padre did a Bike Blessing ceremony (which was cool, I need the help) and then a variety of dignitaries made speeches. While that was going on I got to say hello to Linda Boxx, Roy Weil and Mary Shaw, and world-famous trail advocate Betsy M.

There were some cool new maps on hand, along with a 2011 Montour Trail Map, and the 2011-2012 GAP Trail Book for sale.

One thing I always enjoy at these events is checking our the various bikes and the way people have them rigged. The Bike of the Day was a very cool Strida, a belt-driven folding bike that breaks down so easily that it makes a Dahon seem unreasonable; saw a rollerblader with a mirror attached to his glove that he uses as a rear-view every time he raises his hand; saw a cool rig of maps on aero bars that I may experiment with; saw a bike with a golf ball attached to the kickstand to make it reliable on soft surfaces.


News video of the opening:


The new trail sections were very nice. It was a rolling, pleasant ride, well engineered, and PAVED which is wonderful. The spot where you can watch the Phantom's Revenge roller coaster pass below the bluff was pretty cool, they're going to need some benches there. The two new bridges are excellent.

Stopped at the Pump House on the way back. Took a look at the Homestead Labyrinth, which is a tribute to those lost in the Battle of Homestead. Two years ago, it looked like this:


Now it's overgrown and rather hard to locate:


Our route back home took us through Sandcastle, out on Route 837 to Southside Works, then to Station Square, the Ft. Pitt Bridge, the Ft. Duquesne Bridge, and the Casino trail back to the start.

It was 40 miles and a very nice ride. The trail from the Point to DC is moving closer and closer to completion (and the sooner we can get there without riding Route 837 the better).

Steel Valley Trail, McKeesport to Homestead Waterfront, May 2011 ?

2/14/11 #228

From the most recent McKeesport Trail Newsletter:




In case the image doesn't make it:

The Steel Valley Trail portion of the Great Allegheny Passage is expected to be open all the way to the Homestead Waterfront by May 2011. This section of trail features the Riverton Bridge that offers an excellent view of the Monongahela River, two new bridges over the railroad tracks at Port Perry and Whitaker, close passage to Kennywood Park's Phantom's Revenge roller coaster and a trail-side view of the Braddock Locks and Dam on the Monongahela River.