DUBlooB : Down Under Bloomfield Bridge

1/5/14 23m #216 35F

This was a great day to ride and very motivational, because the FreezeOfTheCentury arrives for Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday and today's weather was dry and mild. Hashtag-No-Brainer.

Started at the Bastille with S. Rode around the North Side a bit, came out on Federal Street. At Federal Street and East North Avenue, around the corner from the abandoned Garden Theater, I was surprised to see all the doorways that opened into very open space.

Took East Ohio Street and the 16th Street Bridge. Went to the Pittsburgh Public Market to have soup at Soup Nancys but - they're not staffed for hot soup on Sunday, it seems, only frozen. Bummer, not a tragedy.

Back on the road to DUBloob, which stands for Down Under Bloomfield Bridge. I figure, if NYC can have Dumbo, Pittsburgh can have DUBlooB.

This shows the routes under both sides of the Bloomfield Bridge (the Bloomfield side, and the Polish Hill side):

Sassafras Street, Neville Street, and then Lorigan Street is probably a transition most Pittsburghers never have occasion to traverse. First, it's cool just to be under the Bloomfield Bridge, which most people only go over. What's most interesting (for me) about being under the Bloomfield side of the bridge is the iron shop for Iron Eden, at 4001 Lorigan Street. On the flat roof of one of their shops there's a patio with a dozen or so ornate astrolabes that are just incredible. It's a favorite place of mine.

This is a view of the seamy underbelly of the Bloomfield Bridge, from the Lorigan Street/Bloomfield perspective:

Climbed out on Lorigan Street, worked our way over/around the valley using Millvale Ave and Baum Blvd, and turned back toward the Bloomfield Bridge (for the Polish Hill side) using Gold Way and Pittsburgh's newest bike boulevard.

I've been through here a few times recently, but only in the evening hours and I never noticed the Ink Spots graffiti on the Bloomfield Bridge support structure. (Note Children's Hospital in the background)

From a different perspective, the Iron Man scuplture is keeping watch on the Ink Spots.

After we departed Polish Hill, we rode into Downtown, then Grant Street to the Jail Trail. Out to the Hot Metal Bridge and back, then over to the North Side. The trail north of the Casino really wasn't rideable, so we used Preble Avenue to get back to the Bastille. 23 miles.