Started with S at 0800 at the Bastille. Rode around the Casino and was surprised to see the American Queen steamboat moored up against the big bumpers on the North Side. Passengers were coming off onto golf carts with their baggage.
After the ride, I looked up the cost of travel on the A-Q. I figured, ride the boat to Cincinatti, bicycle back, ultimate multi-modal trip. The fares look like they run about $800/day double occupancy, and the quickest run from Pittsburgh to Cincinatti is 6 or 7 days, so that's not really cost-effective.
Crossed the 9th Street Bridge to take a look at the yarn-bombing in progress on the 7th Street (Warhol) Bridge). Was happy to run into Helen S. on a ride with some friends.
Continued to Point State Park, took a picture of two Long Haul carriers:
Also saw a rainbow in the fountain:
Rode along the Mon Whorf, portaged to the Smithfield Street bridge and the Jail Trail, and the Hot Metal Bridge. Stopped at REI where they had winter overshoes at half-price and found that irresistable, so I bought "rubbers" on a warm August day. I have needed some of these, and they were half-price.
Rode down along the Baldwin Borough Trail. We came upon a young cyclist, probably 5 or 6 years old, cute kid still using training wheels, just speeding along the trail all by his lonesome. Where's your parents? Daddy's back there somewhere walking, Mommy's up ahead somewhere on rollerblades, and I need help finding her.
That's the second time this year S and I have encountered a little kid, alone, racing forward on their bike with training wheels and the parent ostensibly watching them is "back there". I don't get why parents assume that trails are safe places; that kid could have been taken into the trees and all their lives would have been changed. Of course, you do see a variety of safety perspectives on display on a trail, but this is a bit outré. A modern Grimm's Fairy tale would take place on a Multi-Use Path.
After we waited long enough for the Daddy to catch up, we continued riding. We later saw the Mommy rollerblading, tried to tell her we met her son but she had the headphones in and was clueless. (Surprised? #Not).
Rode down to the Pump House, ran into Terry and his sweet new orange All-City bike; saw SWalford and a few other BikePgh/Flock folks who were participating the the BikeFest Church Ride. Looked like a good turnout. Reversed and rode west, stopped at SouthSideRiverFrontPlaza for snacks just as outdoor yoga class was breaking up.
Rode west through Station Square, took one more photo of the Big Boat (sorry, we just don't see too many large vessels in Pittsburgh):
Rode north to see the progress on the civil rights mural which is still receiving it's final touches. Was pleased that MLK director Kyle Holbrook drove up as we were taking photos. He identified the face on the bottom-right as Pittsburgh's own Bill Strickland and suggested that we might see Jordan Miles in the mural before it's finished. (Which I think would be awesome)
Back to the Bastille and the cars that were still there. 31 miles on a great day.
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