The Pamela Mazeroski Infrastructure Ride

6/13/11 #226 29miles

0730 McD burrito 1000 Pamela's Western Omelette, potatoes, english muffin 1400 honey 1800 steak, spinach, green beans

Fabulous Ride today with K. We used the Casino trail, the Heinz trail, the Strip trail, the Mon-Whorf trail, the Jail trail, the Junction Hollow trail, the Southside trail, and the Station Square trail, along with the 31st Street bridge, the Hot Metal Bridge, the Ft. Pitt bridge, and the Ft. Duquesne bridge. Major infrastructure review.


Segment One: Penitentiary to Pamela's Rode from Western Penitentiary via the Casino Trail to Millvale, stopped for breakfast at Pamela's, excellent as always.

Segment Two: Millvale to CMU We rode the trail from Millvale to the 31st Street Bridge, crossed the river, and rode in traffic via Railroad Street and 24th Street to the Strip Trail.

Stopped at the Convention Center to experience the excellent arrangement of waterfalls at the underground walkway. I don't know if the water-walk predates the Strip Trail, but either way it's remarkable. Very well done. K's video below:


At the Point we found a service sidewalk that seemed to be somebody's bedroom, but also led to the Mon-Whorf Trail. We rode the Mon-Whorf Trail to the end, then backtracked to a staircase, portaged to the surface, and joined the trail system again at the Smithfield Street Bridge.

The Jail Trail has a detour due to construction at Bates Street, and it's a well-planned and well-marked detour. I think somebody was having mischief with the signs, because we ran into this situation and it seemed photo-worthy:



We rode the Jail Trail to the southern terminus, then circled around and rode the Junction Hollow Trail up to CMU. We looped around Oakland on some side streets, and K. posed for a photo at the Forbes Field wall where Mazeroski's homer crossed the fence.

Segment Three: Forbes Field, Station Square, Western Penitentiary We left Oakland via the Junction Hollow Trail, rejoined the Jail Trail, and crossed the river using the Hot Metal Bridge. We ogled the new trail behind the American Eagle building, then ogled it again from the HofBrauHaus. Rode to Station Square, crossed the Ft. Pitt and Ft. Duquesne bridges, and posed at the stadium so K could get a picture along with the Mazeroski statue.

We returned uneventfully to the Penitentiary, to the car that was still there which, happily, was willing to start.

It was a wonderful ride on a gorgeous day. 29 miles on paved trails. It really amazes me that Pittsburgh has done so very well at this.