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

Friday, August 3, 2012

Grand Funk Railtrail

08/03/12 236# 42m
It has been a stupid dangerous week for Pittsburgh bicycling; a few fatalities, a few hit-and-runs, a few other driver-hits-cyclists, much more than the usual. No charges filed.

My frustration at the apparent open season on cyclists led me to a certain malaise about riding in the city, which led me to stay off the bike for a few days, and the languid ennui wasn't at all helpful to my attitude. Today I resolved to shrug it off and get back on the bike.

I went out to the Boggs trailhead and was very pleased to find my friend K just about to depart on his own ride, so we rode together; a serendipitous treat. It was a very warm afternoon and we found ourselves riding quite fast, and after a while we toned it down to a more reasonable rate. We had hoped to find M. on the trail but the intercept didn't work.

K. was called to other (parental) duties so he turned around a bit before I did, and I continued in search of ice water and refills for my bottles. I rode to MP32 and Subway and FarmHouse Coffee, sat in air conditioned spaces, drank cold drinks and ate some ice cream.

I made the mistake of checking the web and found two fresh new stories, "Bicyclist Chris Carnevali survives being hit twice this week on Penn Avenue", and also "Driver flees scene after striking 6 year-old child on bicycle". That didn't help to expunge the funk.

I did have another pleasant ride back to the car. I certainly went through several water bottles. Trail conditions were excellent, and with the heat there weren't that many people out today.

It was good to be back on the bike.

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