Penetrating Pittsburgh

4.18.2015 #247 66m

Woke up, went into town for breakfast at Village Dairy. Very good, reasonably priced.

Departing the Connellsville Adirondack-shelter site, I saw two snakes ahead crossing the trail. I turned to pass behind the first but the second one reared up, opened it's mouth, and hissed at me in a very non-copacetic manner.

Took some daytime video of the trail hazards (to prevent cars/quads from using the trail) on the east side of Connellsville. This is crazy. It doesn't meet any normal standards for bollards, and puts cyclists at risk.

Stopped at River's Edge (which is also the name of a restaurant/BnB in Confluence) KOA campground to use their showers. Riding in I was thinking: I never paid for a showewr ala-carte before - what should I be willing to pay for a shower? $20 would be too much; $10 seemed too high. But I was stanky. Their price - $5 - was a Goldilocks number.

Rode into West Newton, took the lane across the bridge (the sidewalk is way problematic) and went into Gary's Chuck Wagon for lunch. Really an excellent place.

When people approach Pittsburgh for the first time, coming inbound on the GAP, their first indication that they're in a city rather than another small town is the first skyscraper they see - which is the Cathedral Of Learning, the tallest educational building in the western hemisphere.

I think it's awesome that the Cathedral of Learning is the city's first impression to GAP-arrivals, and there should probably be a small sign explaining what that tall building is.

Coming into town was like a reunion. Saw Jon, Dean, Chrissy, talked with a cyclist named Marcus who wanted to chat GAP, then coming through SouthSide I had the great treat of seeing Kordite in full regalia coming back from a downtown Con.

This is a terrible branding exercise for people who sound out words (wiki)

I am not among those who fetishize sports entertainment, but I try not to judge too harshly and I was impressed at this party bus used for transport to Pirates games:

When I got home I weighed my bags at 77 pounds. I intend to go through my stuff, and anything I didn't use on this 5-day trip is going to face a hard review.