A chain of unlikely but happy family events saw me starting my ride at Settler's Ridge near the center of the known universe (REI), so I rode across the mall-sprawl and intercepted the Montour Trail. West of I-376 and out to the edge of the construction zone the trail surface is quite rough, I imagine that's because of the heavy rains and some flooding over the summer.
At Enlow Station I departed the mainstream Montour Trail and rode north on the Airport Connector, which I haven't been on too often this year. It's a great ride on joint-use airport service roads. I was pleased to encounter a few other cyclists.
Took these pictures of the sculpture ARCH by Glenn Kaino on the upper concourse of the landside / midfield terminal building (or, the USAirways departure ticket counter area).
"Literally and metaphorically, ARCH is a bridge between Pittsburgh's past, present and future: from the immigrants constructing bridges to navigate the terrain, to the steel industry and the rise of industrialism, to the robotic industry and advanced technology that exist today fueling hope for the future. Arch is an iconic figure that embodies that narrative, a materialization of a concept and a starting point for new memories to be created from the fragments of old memories. (Glenn Kaino)"
ARCH was originally commissioned as part of the celebration of Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary, and was displayed downtown for six months. The piece was restored and put back on display in the terminal, which is really a tremendous space for it; high ceilings, great light, a big open space (that unfortunately isn't doing much else).
Departed the terminal and back to Enlow. Stopped in Enlow Station for a cold drink. I was very happy to see that they're open. Earlier in the year they had "for sale" signs up, and that led me to conclude they were closed - but Enlow Station is still open, hours as posted.
Rode to Groveton/ MP0, joined Route 51 North to home. Really a nice ride, drivers on the road were very courteous. 45 miles.
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