BWI Trail and the B-A Trail

11/30/12 47

Today I was fortunate to ride the BWI Trail (Baltimore Airport Trail) and the B-A Trail (Baltimore Annapolis Trail).

Started off outside the airport loop, parked at a Holiday Inn Express. Rode the southwest quarter of the BWI trail, which includes an airplane/airport viewing mini-park.



The BWI Trail is very nice, paved and well marked, very clean.

I saw this signpost at the juncture between the BWI Trail and a connector segment that crosses to the B&A Trail, Holy Multi-Modal Batman! Planes, Trains, Bike Routes. You'd almost think we were car-free.

The B-A Trail, which runs on the right-of-way of the former Baltimore Annapolis Short Line, is another excellent trail: paved, well marked, and well integrated with the roads and in the community's mind. I could see people using this to commute to work.

The B-A Trail has a park ranger patrolling the trail, it's run by local government, they seem to invest a lot of value in it. There's a scale model of the solar system along the B-A Trail, showing the planets in their relative positions, the same concept as I've seen in the Wheeling WV trail but the execution on the B-A Trail was very sophisticated with sculptures.

In Severna Park, in one small spot, a convergence of All Things Necessary: Big Bean Coffee (with trailside seating at the rear entrance), a bakery, and at the far end of the building Pedal Pushers Bike Shop.



At the same location, a mural:



At a few points along the B-A Trail, they use Burma-Shave type signs to reinforce the desired behaviors, I thought this was very effective, showed they understand the riding experience (nobody reads detailed signs), and a bit retro with the Burma-Shave format. (A+)


This was a very pleasant ride on two trails I've wanted to experience for a few years. (47M)

Sewickley Bridge and Ambridge Bridge

11/28/12 239# 33M

A sunny, slightly windy, 37F kind of day, perfect for bicycling.

Departed the Res and joined Route 51 to the Sewickley Bridge, enroute to StarBucks (which is one of my favorites, because they leave the honey packets out for the taking, a policy which I interpret as the tender of an implicit contract to be completed at the tip box).

Departed Sewickley via Beaver Street, and the run from the Sewickley Bridge to the Ambridge Bridge via Beaver Street and Merchant Street is one of my favorite small-town routes in the area - there's variation, continual curves, and it's a very safe route.

Back to the future, the Ambridge Bridge is open again, although with a reduced-width roadway and no sidewalk (gosh!) but it is nice to have that option to cross the river and I made good use of it.

I was glad to have the Design Shine tail light turning back north on 51 as darkness fell, and then I rode through Monaca and rode 18 South for a while. A very pretty sunset, and 33 miles in the bag. (6478+33= 6,511 miles ytd)

Handlebar Hannukah and Soupaneuring

11/27/12 0M

Big things in Pittsburgh bicycling today, which is my subtle and effective way of calling attention away from: I didn't ride today.

I didn't know this, but there's a Menorah Parade and Lighting Ceremony on Sunday December 9th, which is preceded by a Car Menorah Parade from 4.30 to 5.30 pm on a route from Squirrel Hill to Schenley Plaza.

Fred that I am, nothing is as bike-solemn as the The Festival of Lights, aka Hanukkah. I didn't know they had a parade! This year, the folks at Chabad Lubavitch Center have made a place in the parade of cars adorned with Menorahs for bicycles, some of which will be similarly illuminated.

In the age of the internet, where do you go to learn about Car Menorahs? Look no further than CarMenorah.com!

I think this is going to be a lot of fun. I need to fashion a Menorah kludge for my bicycle.

So there's a Menorah + Bikes Ride Sunday 12/09 at 4.30 in Squirrel Hill, bring your bike, bring your portable Menorah, it's going to be a little different this year!

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Also in New Bicycling Themes, a DC blogger recently administered the Second Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge, and Pittsburgh was the city with the most cyclists completing the Challenge (which involved riding your bike to a coffee shop seven times in six weeks). Pittsburgh won over second-place Portland, Oregon, in a bit of an upset for that well-established bike-coffee city.

On the heels of that recent victory, some Bike-Pgh riders have announced a new effort, the First Annual Soupaneuring Challenge, in which bicyclists ride out for Soup between Dec.1 and Jan 31st (inclusive). Details here.

I didn't ride today. Probably will tomorrow.

High Viz Isn't Bulletproof

11/26/12 239# 33M

I had originally planned to ride the Freeport-Butler-Freeport trail, but S. pointed out that might not have been the smartest use of my limited time on this earth what with today being the first day of deer season.

Blaze orange isn't bulletproof, and I completely believe that superior judgement helps one avoid situations that permit demonstration of superior skills, like first aid for bullet wounds. So today was an urban ride, from the Bastille to Duquesne round-trip.

Rode to downtown, and as we rode down Blvd of the Allies I saw a queue of people along the rectory at St. Mary of Mercy Parish. Staff was distributing bag lunches to anybody in need. This "Red Door Program" is Saint Mary's oldest continuous program, having started in the Great Depression. It was a sobering thing to see.

Hot Metal Bridge, Southside Trail to Keystone Metals. Clear progress being made on the trail segment through Keystone Metals, even since last week. Where Haysglen Street runs between Keystone Metals and Sandcastle, metal bridge supports on the Keystone property have been positioned to provide a new boundary for the trail space.



No evident progress or work done on the Sandcastle side since the ceremony, but the man/person-gate has been continuously closed-yet-unlocked which pleases me greatly, it's so eminently practical and I really do appreciate their making the accommodation.

Reversed and it eventually seemed quite warm, it got up to 45F. 33 miles. (6445+33= 6478 ytd)

What the Robot Saw in Doughboy Square um Triangle

11/25/12 28M

A surprisingly nice day, a bit better than the forecast or it's possible that I just get a lot more positive once I've been riding for a while.

Started at the Bastille at 1100 so that the planet would have some time to warm up. Often on Sundays S. and I will ride to places that present too much automobile traffic on other days to take mural photos, but today was not a day for stopping, lollygagging and skylarking; rather, today was a day for pedaling and keeping warm, harumphh harumphh.

We rode out to Millvale, crossed the Allegheny River using the 40th Street Bridge, then stopped to take another look at the new Doughboy Square mural under said bridge, adjacent to the National Robotics Engineering Center. (That juxtaposition is kind of essential to grokking this mural.)

This is how Doughboy Square (which is shaped like a triangle, nevermind) in Lawrenceville looked to me, this morning when I took this photo:


When I look at the soldier I see the gas mask, the leggings, and the bayonet, and I think about mustard gas, trench warfare, and mass-produced slaughter and now it's 100 years later and what have we learned? Ah well.

The mural was designed by Ben Grocholsky and Elise Gatti of the National Robotics Engineering Center, and was painted by Richard Washek. The next photo (below) is the designer's concept of the mural, projected onto a photo of the bridge. It's what a robot would see when it enters Lawrenceville's Doughboy Square and scans the environment. In other words, it's a robot's perception of Doughboy Square.



How cool is that? This was a photo of the work in progress:


And this is the final work:

I'm not sure how perfectly the intent is conveyed, and probably the persistence of the kayak rack is aesthetically suboptimal. But if the role of art is to present routine, known things in a new perspective, and if the essence of Lawrenceville is a historic community shifting into cutting-edge technologies, then this is a completely appropriate piece of art for this place and time (in case you were wondering).

Came across this in the Strip District, I believe it's a formation flight delivering Guinness:

Also in the strip, the mural at Kelly O's Diner is coming closer to completion:

Rode to Point State Park, the Jail Trail, Hot Metal Bridge. Stopped at Big Dog Coffee and it seemed like the sun came out; rode down to Keystone Metals, the Station Square Trail, and back to the cars which were still there. 28 miles on a pleasantly surprising day. (6417+28=6445 ytd)

11/24/12 0M

Nov 24, 2012 this week: 198 miles

240#

4th Qtr 1106 miles 20.1 mi/day4QTD

2012: 6417 miles

Cold, Windy, and Short

11/23/12 241# 15M

Not a very big day. The skies turned a bit blue in the afternoon and I got out there for a short ride. I rode Kane Road to Hopewell, which about a third of the time manages to kick my butt and today it had me.

Brighton Up and the Koppel Golden Triangle

11/22/12 33M

Rode north along Route 18. This used to be a frequent route for me but I haven't been up here in quite a while.

In New Brighton, I was surprised to see a vacant lot at 915 Third Avenue being developed into a plaza of sorts, decorative brick still being laid and some sculpture being installed. Riding by on the street I thought they were two boxers, but standing in the plaza they might be dancers or lovers. Click here for more on the BrightonUp project.



Continued north through Beaver Falls. I noticed they've torn down the old Granada movie theater, the last of the old-school movie houses in Beaver County. My last few trips into Beaver Falls were in the dark, making 0500 Orams Doughnuts runs.

Made my turn-around at Route 351 (fave walk of The Green Man) in Koppel. The area once had a significant manufacturing base, but now the Route 18 - I76 - PA351 "Golden Triangle" has focused on a more seminal economy.

Reversed and made it home in time to shower and have about ten minutes before Thanksgiving Dinner. 33 miles in 60F. Many things to be thankful for.

Trickle Down Economic Benefits of Pavlovian-Trained Farmers

11/21/12 6M

Took a brief ride on the Montour Trail. The days before Thanksgiving generally remind me of Karl Popper's turkey and his response to the problem of induction. (I also think of Karl Popper when I see financial advertisements and the weasel tagline, Past performance may not indicate future results).

In our experience, events happen and we believe we discern causes, and we convince each other that the causes are creating the result, and we think we have this little bit of Creation figured out — until something shows us we were wrong.

Karl Popper told the story of the farmer's Turkey. Through August, September, into October the noon churchbell rings in the distant town, the farmer arrives and feeds the turkey grain and corn and man, it is good to be the turkey.

The turkey considers his experience and concludes, DistantNoise causes man to feed me. The turkey does a bit of reasearch and writes up an academic paper, Trickle Down Economic Benefits of Pavlovian-Trained Farmers. He submits his paper to the prestigious TurkeyJournal, his peers approve, and he becomes Dr. Thomas Turkey PhD for having expanded his species' body of knowledge.

Late October, early November, every day the churchbell rings, everyday the farmer arrives, and every day Dr. Thomas Turkey PhD is living the dream.

Nov.20 the bell rings, the farmer arrives and decapitates the turkey for his family's upcoming feast.

Karl Popper used that story to illustrate falsifiability: you really can't prove any theory, you can only disprove a theory. Secondarily, when you think you've got it figured out, complacency and hubris may leave one less likely to escape the Revelation of broader truth^2.0.

Anyway. I met S. on the Montour Trail intended to go out to Burgettstown and eat sweet potato fries at Walden's, and a few miles into the ride I was just fat and happy and living the dream, just like Dr. Tom Turkey PhD and my phone rang.

One of my websites had the backend exposed on Black Wednesday because some Goober (initials V.B.) left a wrong file in place, stoopid thing to do. I had to abandon the ride, leave S. to enjoy sweet potato fries on her own, and reverse and hammer to the car while reflecting on the very miniscule differences between me and Karl Popper's turkey. The difference is, the turkey got his PhD. Fortunately, no damage or loss to the client.

It can be very hard to tell the difference between the life of the fatted calf and living the dream, because up until the last moment they are eerily similar.

Ducks in a Row, Seeing Septuagenarian Cyclists

11/20/12 28M

Started at the Bastille, rode around the North Side where everybody is so behaved even the ducks use the crosswalks.



Rode the Jail Trail and Junction Hollow Trails, out to Whole Foods in East Liberty. This mural, across the street, has gone through a few updates and adjustments since it's original depiction. I think this is probably the final view:



I also got to take another photo of this glass mosaic on the side of Whole Foods. With three murals on the W-F building itself, the one across the street, and the nearby busway station murals, there's a pretty good cluster of public art right there.

Whole Foods is pretty fun to watch two days before Thanksgiving. S and I met with G and B, two bicyclists who rode from Pittsburgh to Harpers Ferry this fall. It was great to see them and hear about their trip.

They had rented bikes for their party of four from Golden Triangle Bike Rentals and they couldn't say enough good things about Tom and the way they'd been taken care of.

In Rockwood they came upon a group of bicyclists from Erie on the same itinerary with a support van who agreed to carry their panniers and offer a bit of sag-wagon support, which really made their trip go easier.

They came off the trail in Harper's Ferry, and the bike shop in Williamsport provided a shuttle van to bring them back to Pittsburgh.

These ladies (retired Pitt PhD's) are athletes but hadn't really done any preparation in terms of riding for even a few days, but they managed 40 to 45-mile days and had a really good time. It was neat to see somebody in their age group that just went for an adventure and had a good time.

Took a few photos of some murals, one across the street from Whole Foods. Back to the Hot Metal Bridge, Keystone Metals, Ft. Pitt Bridge, back to the Bastille. A very nice day.

Steelers Tandem, Keystone Metals Progress, Costco Samples

11/19/12 241# 38M

Started riding at the Bastille at 0920 with S, temp about 32F. Rode around the football stadium where the local entertainers were beaten by the Baltimore entertainers.

Outside of a restaurant owned by Jerome Bettis, we saw this most excellent Pittsburgh Steelers tandem bicycle:


Ft. Duquesne Bridge, Ft. Pitt Bridge, Southside Trail to Keystone Metals. There's some progress evident at Keystone Metals, some of the interior junk has been moved out of the trail's path, and the walls around the cross-street have been removed to make way for the trail:


Continued through Sandcastle. The single most reasonable bit of incremental progress I've seen in Pittsburgh trails this year has been the unlocked mini-gate at Sandcastle. I really appreciate their doing that, it's very good of them.

Stopped at Costco, which I am not familiar with. Wow, the free samples. I had turkey with gravy, stuffing, sweet potato, masked potato with bacon bits, some sort of flavored rice, three kinds of cheesecake - all one-ounce samples, mind you, but a smorgasbord of delights for a cyclist passing through.

Got to see the new improved sidewalks through the Costco-Hampton Inn section of the Waterfront development. Nice wide trail, well marked, I wish they hadn't put those steel-pipe killer bollards in the center of the trail. Generally, the purpose of those is to keep RNQD's (RedNeckedQuadDrivers) off the trail, and I just can't imagine that RNQD's have been a persistent problem in Homestead. Anecdotal rebuttals, anybody?

Back on the trail, continued south to the Riverton Bridge and the McKeesport shore of the Mon. Reversed, noted the new bench and the scenic view cut into the jungle at the Braddock lock and dam.

Stopped at Costco again, this time to pick up a cheesecake that S. had admired on the southbound passage. Tied it to my front rack's platform hoping to get it back to the cars in decent shape.

Sandcastle, the Keystone Metals walkway (it will be wonderful to not have to WalkWithTrains™), Hot Metal Bridge, Jail Trail. I seemed to be losing air in the rear tire, stopped to pump it up.

Got back to the Northside uneventfully, and remarkably without changing the shape of the cheesecake. Saw RedDan at the trailhead. 55F at the end of the ride. 38 miles on a very nice day.

Update: Just received a photo from Friday's Flock night ride showing the Design Shine rear light compared to several other top-of-the-line tail lights. There's at least a dozen other cyclists with rear lights in this photo:

The Rocks, Windgap, Fairywood, Industrial Highway, Crafton, Carnegie, West End

11/18/12 241# 50M

A tremendous day's ride. Started off at around 32F, met S. at the Bastille at 0820, then we rode up to Brighton Road to meet RedDan from the BikePgh forums for a tour of some places new to us.




We rode across the McKees Rocks Bridge and stopped in McKees Rocks Bottoms (first time I've been there!), to take this mural:


Rode into McKeesport, and around into WindGap. Continued into Fairywood and though some current and some abandoned housing projects. Made it to the (incomplete) Industrial Highway, which now serves as the nicest four-lane service road you might imagine.

It was exciting to ride to route 60 in Crafton from the North Side, because once you're in Crafton you can reach Robinson (the new Jerusalem if you're from Beaver County), or the Panhandle Trail to Weirton, or the Montour Trail.

Rode through Crafton Blvd. to take a picture of a mural at XXX XXX.

Departed and rode along Chartiers Creek into Carnegie, and took a picture of the Honus Wagner mural at the American Legion.


Banksville Road to the West End Circle and Station Square, where we parted ways with RedDan. It was really great to meet him and ride with him, a very nice gentleman and an accomplished rider.

We rode on the South Side Trail, Keystone Metals, reversed to Hot Metal Bridge. climbed Junction Hollow to Oakland and began our search for the Doors of Oakland.

Doors of Oakland Project

The "Doors of Oakland" was a 2006 project from the Oakland Business Improvement District (OBID) that was part of
an overall "Stores and Doors" effort to standardize and upgrade storefronts in the Oakland Fifth and Forbes corridors. Only 7 of the 9 original artistic doorfronts remain.

August Wilson by Anire Mosley, Starbucks on Forbes at Atwood		Doorway by James Maszle at 253 Atwood
Alix Paul, 228 Semple Street
By Sarah Zeffiro at 3707 Forbes Ave		by Terri Shutko, news stand, Oakland Ave at Forbes
This is a LOST Door of Oakland. Previously painted by Kate Bechack at 3604 Fifth Avenue.

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Departed Oakland via Junction Hollow, Jail Trail, Convention Center Trail, and stopped to take a few more photos of the Book-of-Revelation inspired mural by Mark Runco on Blackberry Way in Lawrenceville. The left side of the mural, close to Blackberry Way, depicts the gates of hell flung open and skull-faced Grim Reapers guiding a variety of illicit activity, including crack-smoking, teen alcoholism and prostitution. The right side of the mural depicts the saving power of Christ.

Crossed the 40th Street Bridge, NorthSide Trail to the football stadium, crowds beginning to build for this evening's Steelers game, a lot of tailgating going on. Back to the Bastille uneventfully.

Rule Nine on the Montour Trail

11/17/12 240 21M

Started on the Montour Trail at McDonald, riding south. Surprised to find my rear tire flat, spent time fooling around with that - couldn't find a hole, filled the tire and it held air, tried troubleshooting but couldn't locate the trouble. I hate starting a ride on a suspect tire.

I was surprised to find that from MP17 to around MP22 the trail was surprisingly soft and moist. The weather has been dry and clear lately. In my ongoing lifestyle of making up things that satisfy apparent puzzles, I wonder if there was a bit of surface freeze that subsequently melted in the bright sun and high afternoon temps (50F). I don't know if that makes any sense, it's just all I've got.

I met D and Ringo on the trail, got to say hello. Sorry to see that the PortaJohns have been removed for the winter, I don't completely get that - I get that they're a bit noxious in August, but I'd think they're less nasty in the winter.

Rode as far as Morganza Road. When it's November and cold, everybody you meet on the trail is a Rule Nine Badass, even the grandparents, it's like - no noobs here, they'll be back in the spring, everybody is a badass. That's cool.

Got off the trail right at sunset. The tire held all the air I put in it, leaving me to wonder if my ride last night was on an uninflated tire. Mysteries abound. 21 miles.

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Recent events, and the cancellation of a planned bike trip, have put me off my bike mileage goal. On a linear progression to 7000 miles I should be at 6300 today and 6500 on 12/01, but instead I am at 6219 today, so today I'm 81 miles behind where I should be in perfect world.

Nov 17, 2012 this week: 182 miles

240#

4th Qtr 908 miles 18.9 mi/day4QTD

2012: 6219 miles

Faith, Going Bald, Flocking

11/16/12 34M

Friday was Light Up Night in Pittsburgh, a faith-based holiday grounded in the belief that if the Chamber of Commerce announces that the Shopping Season starts on Nov16th instead of Dec1st, then people will begin shopping much earlier;furthermore, those silly people will spend at the same rate over time, resulting in a higher total sales revenooo.

One of the things I really like about this new type of faith-based holiday is it seems to be much more inclusive. Back in the day, there was a major display in the public space called the Hornes Christmas Tree, which was displayed outside of Hornes Department Store - a place very similar to Higbee's. The progression of our enlightenment is such that the very same artifact is now known as the Highmark Unity Tree which is a step forward on two fronts: (1) eventually, everything in Pittsburgh will start with the words [UPMC, Highmark, BlueCross, Pitt, Steelers, Pirates] and (2) I think that Unitarians are a much more inclusive, welcoming, and non-judgmental belief community. (seriously, actually)

I think that selling economic concepts like Light Up Night is what Mr. Laffer did for a living after Mr. Reagan forgot about him; but enough about me.

Met S. at the Bastille at 1300. I was very surprised when taking my bike off the bikerack to find a stripe of blue running along the centreline of my rear tire. On inspection, turns out my rear tire was bald and worn down to the point that the inner blue anti-puncture layer was exposed to the surface.

The front tire, same make/model, went on the bike at the same time, and it looked much better. I was quite surprised at how the rear tire had worn out much faster, and I was a bit disappointed since the Schwalbe Marathons are reputed to be puncture-proof and long-lasting. My lesson-learned was that I have not been doing a very thorough pre-ride inspection all along.

I've checked my log, I put the tires on March 20, 2012. Since then, I've had one flat on both tires, major nail puncture, and I've ridden 5,330 miles. When your rear tire completely wears out and your front tire still looks great, it can only mean one thing: I've got a big ass well-established center of gravity (CG).

Deviated from the planned ride and went straight to REI to replace the tire. Mentioned the assymetrical wear to the REI-dude, who said "Wow, you must be producing a lot of power" with a smile. I just love that guy.

This is the rationalization syllogism, aka Since³, works:

• Since it was cold outside and I was at REI, I asked them to mount the new tire.
  
• Since I don't like to look over a worker's shoulder I went upstairs.
  
• Since the winter sale was on, I purchased a SmartWool baselayer, top and bottom.

Met world-famous local bicylist, 'bent rider, and code writer RedDan outside REI and that was a real treat, he's a very nice gentleman. Rode down to Keystone Metals and back. Stopped at Mongolian Grill for something to eat, glommed a helium balloon and tied it to the back of my bike for the Flock Ride.

Rode to Oakland via Hot Metal Bridge and Bates Street which was fun, and not as much work as it used to be.

Took a picture of this mural, beach balls falling down a spiral staircase, at Halkert Street and Fifth Avenue. This was done by Will Schlough, who also did the Escher-esque mural "Connected". This doorway was part of the "Doors of Oakland" art project, run by the Oakland Business Improvement District (OBID). This image using the mural as an opportunistic backdrop is kind of interesting. I'm thinking that the August Wilson doorway at the Forbes Ave. Starbucks is probably from the same project.

Rode through Oakland to the Carnegie Museum to Dippy the Dinosaur to muster up for the Flock of Cycles November ride, which occurs in the dark this time of year - kind of perfect for Light Up Night, and there were all sorts of lights on bikes.

S. had blinking fiber-optic cable wrapped around her bike frame and (red and green) mini-lights attached to her spokes. I think the coolest in-the-wheel lighting was the MonkeyElectric M210's that Sara and George had mounted, extremely visible and way cool.

Nov.19th edit to add:Just got this picture from Sarah, it shows a bunch of bicycles with higher-than-usual quality rear lights (these are bike geeks on a night right), and my recently delivered Design Shine tail light. There's at least a dozen other bicyclists with rear lights in this photo:

The Flock ride was cool. For me, it's a session of socially-enforced good behavior - stopping at lights and stop signs, etc. It's a good influence on me. I do think the ride tends to take the street when we should probably only take a lane, and I wonder if - although the Flock is so much less-confrontational and better-behaved that a Critical Mass - there isn't room to be more effective by not tying cars up behind us. I need to think that through.

By 8pm it was pretty cold, the Flock rides are quite slow in accordance with the no-drop policy and the major stereo-blaster trailer the lead pulls around, they make about 6mph and it's hard to stay warm at that effort level. We departed the group at 8.30 at the Hot Metal Bridge and proceeded north on the Jail Trail, expecting to get across downtown before the Light Up Night crowd became to LUN-y. Bad assumption.

We tried crossing the 6th Street bridge which turned into a human gridlock. If it had been warm, better music, a younger crowd, and a lot more drugs it would have made a great rave but as it was it was a bunch of people shuffling like OompaLoopas trying to move forward to the sound of a coverband with two people pushing very well-lit bikes through the gridlock. Never. Do. That. Again.

Got across the bridge, and got to the Casino as the fireworks went off behind us. Back to the vehicles that were still there and glad for heaters in cars. 34 miles and a very nice ride.