Type 2 Clydesdale Cyclist

Arlington Memories, Stevo in Olympia Park, Point of View Descent

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Fri, 24 May 2013 01:11:00 +0000

5/23 20M

Started at 0620, moving toward the summertime "new normal" of a 0600 start, from the Bastille.

Crossed the Ft.Pitt bridge and rode toward Southside and started climbing at 18th Street. At the top, we turned left and rode east into Arlington searching for a series of murals on Arlington Street at a former bus turnaround that we've heard about but have had trouble finding.

We rode out quite a ways on Arlington Ave, through Arlington Heights (never want to ride through a neighborhood with Heights in the name, you just know it has hills) past Loretto Cemetery out to Devlin St and Devlin Park, which is such a wide, level elevated area I thought it might have been a former Nike site. (Turns out it's not.) No luck, no murals. Turned around and rode back.

Inevitably, we found the murals which had been on the back side of a building as we rode out and they were just as described: on Port Authority property where busses used to turn around at 2405 Arlington Avenue.

There was a good bit of climbing involved in getting to this location and it was nice to find a reward up there. I haven't been able to find any other info on the murals.

Reversed and rode back to Arlington and South 18th Street. Turned left and rode Brownsville Road into Knoxville looking for a restroom, ended up at McDonald's. Rode over to Allentown, which can be a complicated ride with the trolley tracks still in the roadway and continued to Grandview Park which has a tremendous view of the city and a great, cold water faucet.

Rode over to J&J's Family Restaurant at 300 Shiloh Street (very good) for something to eat. Got directions from the waitress to find Olympia Park in Chatham Village which was close at hand. In the park we found a mural by Steevo Sadvary (map) who does such excellent work:

Rode toward the edge of Mt. Washington and found ourselves at Point of View Park, which I'd never been to before. It's got the scuplture of Washington with an Indian, and a neat perspective of downtown:

From there, S. plotted a new route off Mount Washington. We took Grandview Ave and Greenleaf Street down to the West End Circle and crossed the West End Bridge. The descent was tremendous fun and crossing the West End Circle was much better than I'd imagined, it's really well provided for in this direction. It's now my fave way off Mt. Washington, much more fun than McCardle.

20 miles, new neighborhoods explored and new murals, a great ride.

Priory Bakery, Zeke's Coffee and Linda the Trail Goddess

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:30:00 +0000

5/21/2013 37M

Great day for a ride. Started at the Bastille, rode to Deutschtown and visited the Priory Bakery, which was prompted by learning that the Priory businesses are a business sponsor of BikePgh.

The Priory Bakery is awesome. Coffee, lattes, pastries pastries pastries.

Departed the Priory Bakery, took a look at the works-in-progress along the North Shore trail. The surface is much improved and I think people are going to like it. Crossed the 40th Street Bridge, and rode uphill in the Allegheny Cemetary which is very pleasant. Rode mostly east through Friendship to East Liberty.

This sculpture, Joy of Life by Pittsburgh's Virgil Cantini, by has been a favorite of mine, and this was the first time I saw it with the fountain operating, it looked great on a sunny morning.

Stopped at Zeke's Coffee to see the increasingly famous Coffee Bike, which they use to bring coffee out to various construction sites and office centers. It's an awesome bike and I covet the kickstand a little bit.

Rode to Oakland hoping to score a snack at Waffallonia but they weren't open yet, so we descended the Junction Hollow trail down to the Swinburne Street trailhead and crossed the Hot Metal Bridge, and rode through the new trails at Keystone Metals and Sandcastle (love love love it).

Stopped at the Pump House and we were very fortunate to meet Trail Goddess Linda Box and trail Project Manager Jack Paulich, who were about to take their own first bike rides on the new trail section and check for gaps in the signage. It was a real treat to get to thank them in person for their efforts, it's kind of like passing through Rome and bumping into the Pope.

Bike to Work Day, New Trails

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:41:00 +0000

5/17/2013 31m

BTWD-2013. Bike to work day. What does a retired guy do on Bike to Work Day?

Why, you staff a BTW Support Station for Bike Pittsburgh, along with some folks from The Priory Hotel, the NorthSide bike friendly lodging place and a business sponsor of BikePgh, a rep from ProBikes, and folks from the Cycle for Life Cystic Fibrosis event, Sept, 15th. We were handing out Schwag Bags and bananas and water and mentioning the I-Bike-I-Vote campaign and the National Bike Challenge n'at. It was a fun time, I met some cool people and got to associate meat-space faces with a few avatar-names.

After that I rode with S. around to the new trails at Keystone Metals and Sandcastle. Wow wow wow wow wow. Wow. wow. They're really very nicely done. The Keystone Metals section has a ninety-degree turn with a big mirror to help see around the bend.

The street crossing between Keystone Metals and Sandcastle has a set of traffic-calming barriers designed to encourage you to dismount and walk your bicycle across the street.

This is how the trail looks on the Sandcastle side, looking north. They've really done a first-class job of this.

Coming back I saw an old colleague BN out riding his bike. All sorts of people were out riding, I think the trail opening and nice weather might have encouraged a lot of people to call off sick today or something. Beautiful day for a ride. 31 miles.

Katy Trail, West to East, 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Wed, 15 May 2013 03:02:00 +0000

5/9-13/2013 250m

Enjoyed a chance to ride the Katy Trail, west to east, with friends. An excellent ride that I highly recommend.

work in progress

The logistics of a one-way ride are always a question. For this trip, we drove to the east end of the trail and parked at Lococo Bed and Breakfast in St. Charles, MO. Lococo provides a shuttle service for people who'll be staying there, so they put us and our gear into a mega-van and drove us out to the western end of the trail in Clinton, MO. (cost $270). Another option would have been riding Amtrak with our bikes as roll-on baggage west to Sedalia, which is almost the western end of the trail, and pedaling to the end. The shuttle service was very cool, Leo and Ronna Lococo are very nice people and very informative, and they set a postive tone for our first Missouri interaction.

We overnighted at the Hampton Inn, which was about 1.5 miles from the trailhead, and ate dinner at the adjacent Applebee's. They were both as expected.

Day1: Clinton Mo to Sedalia MO; 41 miles. We saw morning rain in the forecast and had to decide: sleep in and wait out the rain, or try to "outrace and/or embrace" the rain. At 0815 we departed the hotel. The trailhead had a restored caboose, one of many that we'd see. The trail surface was excellent, a sort of packed limestone that the locals call "chat". Shortly after we started we were riding in a gentle, warm rain.

We passed through Calhoun in the rain, and continued to Windsor where we stopped at Raymond's for lunch. We walked in soaking wet, and as we ate the rain stopped and the skies turned blue. Lunch was excellent, we all had variations of Rueben sandwiches and soup. Excellent lunch stop. We couldn't get a 3G signal so we asked where we might find some WiFi, and we ended up in the Henry County Library. It seems like they have a difficult process to get to use one of their public-access computers, but anybody can use their wifi signal so it was nice to update the weather forecast.

The skies had turned blue and dry but the trail was quite mushy so we lounged for +45 at the trailhead waiting for things to dry out a bit.

East of Bryson MO we crossed the highest point on the trail, and saw a formation of two A-10s in some sort of a manuevering area. Even though this was the high point on the trail, it felt like we were still climbing a bit for the next two days.

At Sedalia, we passed through the fairgrounds and then went across the town proper, and doglegged into downtown for the Hotel Bothwell. The downtown area was reminiscent of the town square in Back to the Future, and the Hotel Bothwell is a grand old hotel with a reputation of a haunted third floor. They're bike-friendly, you can keep your bike in your room or in a special basement bike-space. The rooms were about $85.

We ate dinner in the hotel's restaurant, and it's the kind of meal I dream of on bike trips - comfy quasi-formal dining room, classical music, salads, filet mignon, deserts, coffee, just the way dinner should be after a day on the bike.

Day 2: Sedalia MO to Boonville, 35 miles
Departed Sedalia without any hotel ghost experiences, which was OK with me. Saw two other groups of cyclists departing at about the same time, a couple celebrating their 25th anniversary and a three nurses on a buddy trip, just like we were. The hotel breakfast was OK. We encountered a major trailhead in Sedalia complete with a gift shop, mandatory shopping ensued.

After the Sedalia trailhead the trail takes to the street for a while, we got a bit cadywampus out of position and took a few minutes getting back on the right path. This day's itinerary has a long stretch between support opportunities, so we brewed our own Via coffee at the Clifton City trailhead. While we were drinking our coffee, we saw the 25th-anniversary couple blitzing along the trail eastbound and it surprised us because they'd departed before us; they explained that they'd made the wrong initial turn on the trail out of the hotel, and had gone 20 miles out of their way before getting turned eastbound. Ouch.

At Pilot Grove we stopped at Becky's Burgers and Cones for lunch, it has an excellent reputation and it was well deserved. A lot of these places that open for breakfast close at 1400, so there's a bit of ciphering to get to them while they're still open.

It seemed colder and more overcast when we came out from lunch, and we continued east to Boonville. Our Holiday Inn Express was just short of Boonville so we stopped just short of town.

After cleaning up we took a cab into town to have dinner at the Hotel Frederick, the restaurant is called Glenn's Cafe. It was excellent, very much an old-school dining room and seriously excellent food. I had a dish called "pastalaya", a variation on jumbalaya. They had a robust selection of beers and wine. Highly recommended.

After dinner we walked over to the casino, there's a tremendous discontinuity between the new money, ticky-tack faux-glitz of the casino and the old buildings along the rivers. The folks in the casino aren't quite the people of WalMart, but they don't seem like folks that have much money to lose. We got a ride from the casino back to the hotel and called it a night.

Day 3, Boonville Mo to Jefferson City, 58 miles.
Today we exited Boonville and started riding along the Missouri River, and the nature of the geography completely changed. The first two days were prairies and farmland, and now we were riding along a waterway, or along the bottom land between the old railroad (now trail) and the Missouri River. After a while, the side of the trail away from the river was all cliffs rising up a hundred feet of so; it was a dramatic shift in landscapes.

It was very much like riding a GAP-type trail, in C&O type conditions down along the Potomac River. Trail conditions remained excellent.

Approaching Rocheport (on a Saturday) we encountered the only significant trail traffic we'd see until St. Charles, a lot of bicyclists out on the trail. In Rocheport we saw several bed and breakfasts, a trailside bike shop, and a great sandwich shop. This was a very effective stop and a great lunch shop.

We saw a lot of Boy Scouts on the trail. In Hartsburg we approached Dotty's Cafe for our second lunch and two cyclists coming out engaged us in conversation; when we got clear it was 2.15pm, and inevitably Dotty's closes at 2pm. Dotty saw what happened, came out, and made us welcome. We had blackberry cobbler and ice cream and they sure took good care of us, after hours and at the end of their day. +10 to Dotty's in Hartsburg, even if there's no H at the end of the town's name.

In North Jefferson we needed to cross the Missouri River to get to our hotel, and the bridge across the river has been problematic in the various trip reports. We were pleased to see they've recently opened a new switchback ramp for bikes that leads to a new bike ramp on the bridge, it's a great piece of bike infrastructure.

We stayed at the Baymont Suites in Jefferson City, they were excellent and once again very bike friendly. They said they're seeing a lot more bike business since the new switchback ramp was opened up. For dinner we walked to the nearby Arris Bistro, which was completely excellent. Wonderful service, great food. There's a TV in one of the rooms that they switched to the Penguins-Islanders playoff game at our request, we really appreciated that.

Day 4, Jefferson City to Peers, MO (69 miles)

This was to be our longest day of the week, and at our request the Baymont Suites opened up their breakfast room an hour earlier so that our group and another bike party could make an early start. (That's bike friendly!) It was an easy departure out of town. Being out so early, we saw two deer, and the nomination for SongOfTheDay was Morning Has Broken.

Later we saw a big rock that has withstood erosion and is used to mark the various floods. Apparently the M-KT railroad abandoned this line because of the continual flooding.

At 1130 (on Mother's Day) we rolled into the only place open in Portland, the Riverfront Bar and Grill. There's a great variation in these places, and I think you have to remember them for what they are. You can't walk into a bar at 1130 on Mother's Day and expect quiche loraine. But we got something to eat and moved along.

In Rhineland there was a fair amount of civilization and a few places to get something to eat but we pressed on. We had planned to stop and cross the river to see Hermann, but we adapted and skipped that town to save the five or six miles involved. Saw a "killdeer" protecting it's nest, that was pretty cool. A few miles short of Marthasville, we turned into Peers MO and the Concord Hill Bed and Breakfast, which was on the top of a fairly decent hill.

Since there's not any restaurant around, we'd asked the proprietors of Concord Hill to make a dinner for us and they really did well, a fancy salad and a pasta dish and some local wine. About half of their business comes from being in a Missouri Rhine Valley wine country bed-and-breakfast, and the other half of their business comes from Katy Trail bike trips looking for a B&B near Marthasville, Missouri.

Day 5, Peers MO to St. Charles 48 miles
This being our last day, and a shorter day, we took an unhurried start. Breakfast at 0830 and we departed at 10:00.

We stopped at the Defiance Roadhouse for lunch, very nice. Most restaurants are closed on Mondays, and the ones that were open were busier than usual.

We got into St. Charles on schedule, climbed up from the river to our B&B at Lococo House. The hosts couldn't have been more hospitable. They recommended Tony's for dinner (closed Monday!), so we ended up eating at Little Hills Restaurant. The next morning we departed and rejoined the rest of the world.

Not much to report on this leg; around St. Charles the trail became well-used and the surroundings were well-developed; they've done a really nice job of integrating the trail into the local parks.

A Relatively Minimalist 25

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Tue, 07 May 2013 02:29:00 +0000

5/6/13 25m

Had an occasion to run an errand and drop something off at a friend's house, so I rode the bike and accomplished 25 miles.

I've been carrying a lot of stuff in a trunk bag (which gave up the ghost last week), so I replaced the spacious trunk bag with a more moderate under-the-seat bag and I'm carrying a lot less stuff (by my standards). The bike is lighter and I liked that today. True, I'm not carrying the compass, flashlight or the emergency blanket, but I think that's OK. This is more of a flat-tire and 98% of problems response bag, and when I go on Epic Adventures I'll just carry the incremental stuff.

MS150 Team Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Mon, 06 May 2013 03:33:00 +0000

5/5/13 13m

Got to meet the team I'll be riding with for the MS150 in June, Team Western Pennsylvania Anesthesia Associates.

This was a short ride around New Castle, 13 miles or so. It was nice to meet about ten of the other riders; they mostly work together at WPAA, I'm sort of the outlier and very happy to be invited to ride with them.

It was a very nice intro ride along some country roads on a beautiful day.

Southside Roof Dachsunds

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Fri, 03 May 2013 23:02:00 +0000

5/3/13 21m

Started at the Bastille, tarried a bit at Market Square to see some Marathon kickoff glitziness, crossed the Smithfield Street bridge and rode the SouthSide Trail down to the Tenth Street Bridge.

Exiting the trail I was surprised to see this bit of roof art on an abandoned building at 901 Bingham Street in Southside, adjacent to the historic Oliver Bath House at Bingham St. and South 10th Street.

It looks very much like an abandoned factory or warehouse. I'm kind of surprised there's such a large, unused space in the middle of so much development and economic vitality but I think that's still going on in Pittsburgh.

Continued down Bingham to Thick Bikes, they had ordered an Ortlieb bag for me. They have an shop of interesting and engaging mechanics that seem to be quite busy.

Rode down to the riverfront plaza by HofBrauHaus, then down to Keystone Metals. Reversed course, enjoyed the tailwind and stayed on the Station Square side of the river since it was Friday afternoon, crossed the Ft. Pitt bridge and the Ft. Duquesne bridge back to the Bastille.

A very nice day for a ride.

Meanwhile on the Montour: Big Things

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Fri, 03 May 2013 03:50:00 +0000

5/2/13 36m

So much local bike news is focused on Sandcastle developments that I went out to the Montour Trail at Morganza Road where the new Tandem Connection has opened shop. I pedaled over to Farmhouse Coffee to meet local trailmeister CF, and then he showed me around that part of the Montour Trail where there are also some big things being developed.

This is what the at-grade crossing at Valleybrook Road is beginning to look like.

This is what the South Park Connector looks like, I had not even heard of this.

This is a new trail segment (not yet open) replacing the Triphammer Road detour. This looks like a beautiful trail segment, with a pond and a stream, it's probably very scenic if one was to go beyond the barriers.

We rode out to the Large Hotel, then returned back to FarmHouse. This is how nice the people at FarmHouse are: we went in for cold drinks at 5:55, unaware they close at 6pm. We sat down and started talking trails. At 6.20 they said to us, Hey you're good there but if you don't mind we're going to vacuum over here. Slowly it dawned on us to ask, what time do you close? Oh, six o'clock, but you're good don't worry. Extraordinary. Very nice people.

A very nice ride, and I really enjoyed a chance to ride with CF.

Homestead to Dead Man's Hollow

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Wed, 01 May 2013 03:26:00 +0000

4/30/13 23M

Escorted some transient Rivendell riders, Ed and Ann, from their Waterfront hotel out to the GAP at Dead Man's Hollow.

They were a little apprehensive about threading the needle through McKeesport and it was a nice morning for an early start and a chance to show off Pittsburgh. I think they were impressed at the local trails (if not at the signage).

Very nice people, they're planning on taking five days to get to DC.

North Star Junction to Santiago and Imperial

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 02:13:00 +0000

4/27 24M 244#

24 miles on the Montour Trail's north-east end, which I haven't been on in at least six months.

Started off inauspiciously, as my trunk bag on my rear rack lost the connection between the straps and the bag, causing the bag to depart the formation and calling for a return to the car. That bag has gained some weight, and when I went rummaging through it to extract anything essential for the ride the answer was: not much, really. Seems like a self-teachable moment.

Back on the bike, rode MP0 in Groveton to MP11.5 in Boggs round trip. Took a nap in the sun at Boggs. Curious that a man in disheveled dirty clothes with his possessions in bags taking a nap at the Point is a problem, but a man in high-viz with his possessions in panniers taking a nap at the Trailhead is a sign of successful advocacy.

Also pleased to see a new historical marker at MP9.1, the North Star Junction at which the Montour Railroadtrain line once split to go to either Santiago or Imperial (the latter being the course followed by the Montour Trail). What I really liked about the marker was it includes a historic photo. The track switch in the photo is at the same position as the historic marker is today, so you can compare the photo with the layout of the land and see where the other train line used to go. It's pretty cool.

Talked with a couple at Boggs, the gentleman is prepping for a Canada-to-Mexico ride along the Pacific coast on his Surly LHT after his upcoming retirement. He seemed to have it well through out, it was nice to talk with them.

Sad to see the Enlow Station ice cream shop closed and for sale. They had the best pistachio soft serve I've ever had. Nice folks and I wish them well. It's a good location but a seasonal, weekend business.

Saw a new-to-me switchback ramp connecting to the Montour Trail at MP2.9, seems to connect to a housing development. Pretty steep, not bike friendly, but it was probably all they could do given the terrain.

A very nice day for a bike ride.

Firehouse Mural and Sandcastle Bike Lane

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 03:24:00 +0000

4/23/13 35m #245

Beautiful day. Started at the Bastille, rode south, very pleasantly surprised to see the Fountain at the Point in operation. (details here).

Ft. Duquesne bridge, Ft. Pitt bridge, southside, rode up 18th Street to the top of South Side. This was complicated by my bicycle's inability to stay in the small chainring, so this ascent kicked by butt.

Searched for a mural near Arlington Street, never found it. Found some great views of Pittsburgh.

Rode toward Mt. Washington, stopped for a snack at GrandView Park. I think that's the best view of Pittsburgh. Found a mural on the side of the historic Company 27 firehouse, which has been at that location since 1908. The mural sits over a mini-park dedicated to Charlie Lewis (originator of the national fill the boot campaign), who has a unique resume of being both a union leader and the Pittsburgh fire chief (1980-85)and was highly respected.

One of Pittsburgh's Bravest came out and said Hello, a very nice gentleman who offered to refill the water bottles. He said, What does a policeman and a fireman have in common? They both want to be a fireman.

Descended McCardle Roadway, which was much faster and much cooler than the climb. Rode south toward Homestead for a meeting. I saw trail guru Yale C. on his bike but I couldn't stop, I only had a few minutes extra before the meeting.

After the meeting, took a look at Sandcastle after work was done for the day. Very impressive work and clear progress being made. This is what the separation between the tracks, the trail, the road, and the waterpark looks like:

I think that's excellent. Until now, I thought that the Marcegaglia bike lane was the best segregated bike lane in the Pittsburgh area, but this is going to be much better. I think it's going to be a very safe way to put bikes and cars in close proximity. They're really doing this right.

Further down the trail, closer to Keystone Metals and after the roadway veers away from the trail, the trail-in-progress looks like this:

Legends of Pittsburgh v3, Keystone Metals Progress, Earth Day Dino

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 03:45:00 +0000

4/21/2013 22m

Glorious day for a bike ride. Got out in the late afternoon, met S at the Bastille, rode south to downtown and saw the Art Institute Dino, all ready for Earth Day:

We checked to see if they've replaced the Legends of Pittsburgh mural (Second Ave. under Grant Street) yet and were pleasantly surprised to see a new one in place. This is the third incarnation of this artwork:

Met Pittsburgh cyclist and bon vivant Marko on the Jail Trail, went to see what the Keystone Metals project looks like and it. looks. good.

photoshop artist representation of what future trail might look like

A lot of people on the trail this afternoon, especially birdwatchers with some impressive equipment looking at the eagle's nest by MM5 at Keystone Metals. There was actually a crowd on the trail, an ice cream cart would have done real well.

Reversed and rode north to REI for some shopping and Marko kept riding. Came out of REI, rode Station Square, Point State Park, North Side and then around past the Heinz Complex to seek a mural we'd seen recently on Twitter from PittsburghIsBeautiful via PghGraffiti:

This 1984 installation was commissioned by the Heinz family to commemorate the role of the nature and the role of labor in the modern world. A tableau closer to the river depicts more of the nature themes, and this upper presentation suggesting a temple depicts the labor theme. I must admit I don't get it; why have they chosen to depict the face of labor as tragic and suffering?

It was a pretty day, lots of people on bicycles.

Bicycling the Natchez Trace Parkway: Afterthoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:54:00 +0000

A few after-thoughts or lessons learned after bicycling the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Boy, that was great! Excellent road conditions, the cars played nice, not a single significant negative.
The National Park Service map is the best map, but it really only shows NPS campgrounds and omits several others (probably the way it should be).
First time I've camped for several consecutive days with others. You can see the need to consistent good will and good humor.
There's really very little privacy in camping, and zero privacy in hammock camping.
Sunscreen; how did I only discover it in my mid-50's?
Planning: it's not effective to plan epic days without resources-in-depth and next-day contingency options. Absent that, I'm beginning to think: 45 mile days (loaded) with a rest day every fifth day.

I would so ride this again in a heart-beat. South-to-north, unsupported, 45 miles a day.

Future Bike Camp Designers: I love what you've been doing with the traditional primitive campground: grass, trees, picnic bench, secure trash can, fire circle, water source, restroom or porta-john. Moving forward, would you please consider:

plumbing the rest-room waterpipes (if any) to an exterior showerhead
exterior electric outlets to charge phones, tablets, cameras, MiFis, etc.

Natchez Trace Bike Trip: Kosciusko to Choctaw Agency

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:52:00 +0000

60 miles

The campground in Kosciusko is adjacent to the National Park Service vehicle compound. I mention this because when we asked locals for direction it seemed very difficult to describe for them, but if you stay on the trail and take the service road exit for the Kosciusko District Facility you'll see a small camping icon-sign by a path into the woods, and there you'll find the campground.

It was a very nice, primitive site with a water supply. The floor of the outhouse (which looked very much like a Cool Hand Luke sweat-box) had rusted away, so if you needed that facility I think you'd be pedaling off into town which is quite close.

This is what my sleeping rig looked like:

It was a cool night but not cold, and this was a good campground. We broke camp a bit early, which was something that has eluded us all week, and departed southbound. There isn't a lot of variety in the countryside, but at MP120 we stopped at the River Bend trailhead to see a huge body of water which is actually a reservoir.

It's a beautiful, tranquil scene and we enjoyed a few quiet, holistic minutes until a few local fisher-folk caught a poisonous snake on their hook. From an outsider's perspective, remarkable stupidity followed until the snake got tired of scaring them and returned to the water. At least, they think it did.

Camped at the Rocky Springs campground which was very nice. This was a warm evening that didn't call for sleeping bags. Some local residents found a small bag of our oatmeal and grapefruit and seemed to enjoy them mightily.

Bicycle Tour via Natchez Trace Parkway: Pharr Mounds to Witch Dance

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 14:51:00 +0000

25 miles

still a work in progress

Our evening's sleep from Friday night to Saturday morning was accompanied by a chorus of owls. I don't know what type of owls except that they were verbal owls with something to say, and they were persistent. It was a cold night for my experience (probably 40F) but the sleeping bag with a thermal pad and a wool layer made for a very comfortable night's sleep.

In the morning our neighbors from the next campground came over to say hello and we were pleased to offer them a cup of coffee, they were three Australian cyclists on Day45 of their adventure having started at the LAX airport. They had ridden across the Southern Tier Route to New Orleans and were now joining the Natchez Trace Parkway to the Underground Railroad Bike Route.

They were fascinating people and experienced travelers, Jose and Linda were married and their friend Geoff. All were very efficiently outfitted; they'd been doing this for a while. I was pleased to introduce them to the American healthfood known as Pop Tarts. Very nice folks.

Joined the trail at the Pharr Mounds, which were very impressive and the placards explained our best contemporary understanding of them.

There is a general guidance to avoid the area around Tupelo Monday to Friday, 0700 to 0830 and again from 1530 to 1800 during the local rush hours but we were riding on a Saturday and it wasn't bad at all. There's a nice visitor's center in Tupelo, wifi and rest rooms and trail info and I believe there's a primitive bicyclist campsite there as well.

We made camp at the Witch Dance campground, another very nice NPS campground. ("oh, if they only had a shower in the restrooms!") We met another bicyclist who was already in the camp (Fons) and then later another cyclist arrived to set up camp (Roxy). This campground was entertained by a pair of vocal roosters on the adjacent property, who may (or may not) have been commissioned by a landowner who wasn't wild about having a campground next door.

This was the first night I got to use my solar shower (in conjunction with the JetBoil to heat water) and it wasn't bad. It wasn't a hotel shower, but it wasn't bad.

Natchez Trace Bike Trip: Dogwood Mudhole to Colbert Ferry

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:40:00 +0000

45 miles

still a work in progress

which we approached in total darkness so we really didn't have an appreciation of the setting, but when we arrived the two little cottages we saw were very nice so we set ourselves up for the night and turned in. It's a remarkable Bed-and-breakfast, very bicycle friendly, veteran-operated, great all around. Highly recommended.

As we adapted our plan to a line of severe weather, we drove from Pittsburgh beyond Nashville and overnighted at the

Our BnB for the night was Natchez Hills Vineyard which also hosts a small Bed and Breakfast operation. They're very bicycle-friendly and have the best bike trail-to-B&B shuttle car setup I've ever heard of. Although we were uncertain of our surroundings when we arrived in the dark, sunrise presented gardens and fields and some very pretty buildings. The proprietor was excellent, they're a retired military couple, the breakfast was awesome and we probably overstayed our timeframe in conversation but it was very interesting. I would stay there again in a heartbeat.

This is what the Natchez Trace Parkway looked like when we first got on it, and as far as road surface, width, shoulders etc it never really varied much:

We stopped in Collingwood TN at MP355 for a snack at Miss Hazelbea's Sweets and Treats, very biker friendly, right next to the visitor center, and lest you think Miss Hazelbea was a pushover they'll have you know she was a WAC in WW2.

We continued south into the prevailing winds, which would turn out to be a theme. Perhaps there was a reason that all the other cyclists were riding northboung? Hmmm.

Approached the Tennessee River crossing to Colbert Ferry, the map really didn't provide much advice in terms of what to expect, but it was really very nice:

We camped that night at Tishomingo State Park at MP305 and paid $13 for the priviledge. There's a curious overlay of all sorts of government; the feds and the NPS run the Trace Parkway, the rest stops and shelters and several of the free campgrounds; the state parks run other facilities; counties provide yet another layer.

S. stayed at the Belmont Hotel which was very nice, an old school hotel but still kept up, staff was extremely hospitable. We took advantage of S's lodging to glomm some hot showers before heading to the campground.

Bicycling the Natchez Trace: Plans and Notions

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:02:00 +0000

still a work in progress

The Natchez Trace is a historical footpath of 440 miles (710 km) from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, linking the Cumberland, Tennessee and Mississippi rivers. It was created and used for centuries by Native Americans, and later by early European and American explorers.

The Natchez Trace Parkway is a two-lane road from Natchez to Nashville that closely parallels the route of the Natchez Trace, serving to commemorate the route while preserving the path. The Parkway is operated by the National Park Service and is advertised as dual-use for bicycles and cars.

Our initial plan to ride the Natchez Trace Parkway by bicycle was to proceed as two bicyclists (with a support van) to the northern end, and to bike-camp our way to the southern end, whereupon we'd drive back to the center of the universe (Pittsburgh).

Our original itinerary, for those who like such things, went something like this:

Thurs 11 Apr: Day 1 of 6 riding North Terminus MP445 to MP388 MerriwetherLewis (57 miles)
last coffee: 8400 Tennessee Hwy 100 Nashville, TN 37221 http://www.lovelesscafe.com/
trailhead bike shop: http://tracebikes.com/ 615.646.2485
445 START
444.0 TN Hwy 100 - market (gas) .1 mile east of parkway
429.0 STOP (15 miles) TN Hwy 46? (prob 96) – market/gas .8 miles east of parkway,
town of Leiper's Fork 1.3 miles east of parkway
Leiper's Fork Joe Natural's Restaurant http://joenaturals.com/joes-menu/
Puckett's Grocery & Restaurant http://www.puckettsofleipersfork.com/
427.5 Garrison Creek trailhead (restrooms)
415.7 STOP LUNCH (15 miles) TN Hwy 7 – market 1.7 miles east of parkway
408.0 TN Hwy 50 – market (gas) 1.1 miles west of parkway
407.7 Gordon House trailhead (restrooms)
404.7 Jackson Falls (restrooms)
392 STOP (23 miles) US 412 - Fall Hollow Market at exit
385.9 TN Hwy 20 - market (gas) 1.3 miles east of parkway
385.9 END (8 miles) Meriwether Lewis National Monument, 191 Meriwether Lewis Parkway, Hohenwald, TN 38462
Camp: Meriwether Lewis campsite (restrooms)
Bnb: Natchez Hills B&B, 906 Ridgetop Road, Hampshire, TN 38461 http://www.natchezhills.com
dinner in Hohenwald, 2 miles from trailhead
Junkyard Dog Steakhouse 18 N Maple St Hohenwald, TN 38462 (931) 796-0041
River Rat Grill 35 N Maple St Hohenwald, TN 38462 (931) 796-4330

Fri 12 Apr: Day2 of 6 riding, MP388 to MP305 Tishomingo State Park, camping (83 miles)
388 START
385.9 TN Hwy 20 - market (gas) 1.3 miles east of parkway

380.8 Napier Road - market .5 miles east of parkway: Naco Natchez Trace Wilderness Store
377.8 Jacks Branch (restrooms)
372.6 Laurel Hill Lake & Wildlife Mgt Area with market 2 miles east of parkway
370 STOP (18 MILES) US 64 Lawrenceburg Hwy - market (gas) .9 miles west of parkway
364.5 Glenrock Branch trailhead (restrooms)
354.9 STOP (15 miles) TN Hwy 14 – town of Collinwood .5 miles west of parkway with market (gas)
G G's Market 1271 Railroad Bed Rd Collinwood, TN 38450
350.7 TN Hwy 13 – market (gas) .1 miles east of parkway
4 Mile Market, 1609 Chisholm Road Cypress Inn, TN 38452 (931) 724-5320
Tennessee / Alabama border
337 AL Hwy 20 market 3 miles east of pkwy
331.9 AL Hwy 14 – market (gas) 6 miles west of parkway
327.3 Colbert Ferry (restroom)
320.3 STOP (25 miles) US 72 – market (gas) .5 miles east of parkway
Alabama / Mississippi border
305 END (15 miles)
Camp: Tishomingo State Park
BnB: Belmont Hotel, 121 Main St. Belmont, MS 38827
Dinner: Four small restaurants in Tishomingo, MI 4mi NW

Sat 13 Apr: Day3 of 6 riding, MP305 to MP232 WitchDance, (73 miles)
305 START
303.2 Market MS Hwy 25 – market (gas) .5 miles west of parkway
286.7 Stop (19 miles Self Support) Pharr Mounds trailhead (restrooms)
270.7 MS Hwy 363 – market (gas) .8 miles west of parkway
266.0 LUNCH (20 miles) Tupelo Visitor Center (restrooms, visitor center) Numerous restaurants
262.3 McCullough Blvd. – markets (gas) 2 miles east of parkway
260.0 MS Hwy 6/Main Street – markets (gas) .4 miles east of parkway
255.7 Palmetto Road (Verona exit) – market (gas) .7 miles east of parkway
251.6 STOP (25 miles) Pontocola Road/CR 506 – market (gas) .3 miles west of parkway
233.2 END (18 miles) Witch Dance
BnB: Bridges-Hall Manor B&B 435 N. Jackson St, Houston, MS 38851 (15 miles from campsite)

Sun 14 Apr: Day4 of 6 riding MP232 to MP160 Kosciusko(72 miles)
232 START
219.6 MS Hwy 46 – market (gas) .1 miles west of parkway.
204.2 STOP (28 miles) US 82 – market (gas) .5 miles east of parkway.
Trace-Way Restaurant .7 miles east open b,l&d 7x/wk. Subway, BBQ.
195.3 MS Hwy 9 – market (gas) at the exit
193.1 Jeff Busby (note: restroom and water only - market/gas station is closed)
180.7 STOP (23 MILES) French Camp (Council House Cafe Mon-Sa 10:30 a.m.-7:00 p.m.) Market on MS Hwy 413 .2m W of Pkwy
159.8 END Kosciusko Information Center - market (gas) .2 miles north of parkway and .2 miles south of the parkway
Camp: Kosciusko Depot Campground
BnB: Days Inn Kosciusko/1000 Veterans Memorial Drive Kosciusko (.3 mi off Trace)

MONDAY 15 Apr: Day5 of 6 riding MP160 to MP55, Rocky Springs camping (105 miles)
159.8 START Kosciusko Information Center - market (gas) .2 miles north of parkway and .2 miles south of the parkway
154.3 Holly Hill trailhead(restrooms)
146.2 MS Hwy 429 – market (gas) .5 miles west of parkway.
135.5 STOP (25miles) MS Hwy 16 – market (gas) 1.5 miles west of parkway
123.8 Ratliff Ferry Rd - market/gas .5 m east pkwy (clsd Dec-Jan, clsd MONDAY b4 MemDay and after Labor Day)
122.6 River Bend trailhead(restrooms)
114.9 MS Hwy 43 – market (gas) 1.5 miles west of parkway
103.4 Old Canton Road - markets .3 miles east of parkway
102.4 STOP LUNCH (30) US Hwy 51 - markets (gas) .6 miles south of parkway. The Trace Grill restaurant .6 miles north of parkway.
89 STOP (11) Pinehaven Drive - Clinton Visitor's Center (west) and market (gas) .4 miles east of parkway
79.0 MS Hwy 467 – town of Raymond is 2.5 miles east of parkway with market (gas)
59 Fisher Ferry Road (Utica/Vicksburg exit) - market .8 miles west of parkway (CLOSED ON MONDAYS)
54.8 END (35miles) Rocky Springs campground
BnB: Isabella B&B at Port Gibson (1.7 from the Trace, about 15 mi south of campsite)

Tues 16 Apr: Day6 of 6 riding. MP55 to MP0 (55 miles),
then drive nine hours to Nashville hotel
54.8 START Rocky Springs
41.3 STOP (13miles) MS Hwy 18 - Port Gibson (south on US 61) with markets (gas) are 1.1 miles west of parkway
37.5 US Hwy 61 – market .4 miles north of parkway
30 MS Hwy 552 to US Hwy 61 South – Old Country Store Restaurant 2 miles east of parkway
17.5 Coles Creek (trailhead, restroom)
15.5 STOP (26 miles, No logistics) Mount Locust (trailhead, visitor center, restroom)
00 FINIS (15 miles) 31.544875,-91.367587 377 Liberty Rd Natchez, MS 39120

And that's what the plan was, FWIW. No plan survives contact with the real world, as Clausewitz suggested, and Thursday was a day of thunderstorms and Tornadoes so instead of driving south on Wednesday and riding Thursday, we drive south on Thursday through the rain and stayed on schedule, beginning our ride on Friday morning.

We did discover two gems on the way to the trail. We found the River Terrace in Columbia, TN for our last meal before joining the Trace and it was very impressive. I had some andouille sausage and then New Orleans style crabcakes, which was excellent; all three of us were very impressed with the food and service.

Our BnB for the night was Natchez Hills Vineyard which we approached in total darkness so we really didn't have an appreciation of the setting, but when we arrived the two little cottages we saw were very nice so we set ourselves up for the night and turned in. It's a remarkable Bed-and-breakfast, very bicycle friendly, veteran-operated, great all around. Highly recommended.

81F and Icy

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:53:00 +0000

4/10/2013 249# 33M

Rode the Montour Trail from McDonald Trestle at MP17 to Farmhouse Coffee at MP32, round trip, with R. It was great to be out on the Montour Trail, especially in 81 degrees on April 10th. Remarkably, there was still quite a bit of ice on the floor of the National Tunnel:

Jill Masterson's Dinosaur in Oakmont

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 19:31:00 +0000

3/30/13 23M

Beautiful day for a ride. Started at 28F, ended at 40F.

Started in Millvale at 0800 with S., crossed the Allegheny River at the 40th Street Bridge and rode north-east out of town along Allegheny River Blvd. Stopped in Verona to photograph this veteran's mural:

Continued to Oakmont, where we expected to find a Dino-Mite Days dinosaur at Pennsylvania Street. We started riding inland on Pennsylvania Street and (inevitably) it was uphill and I was inclined to bag it, but we stopped a local police officer who knew about the dinosaur and told us, It's all the way up the hill on the 1400 block, once or twice the neighborhood kids have dragged it out and put it in the middle of the street. He was very helpful and nice to strangers.

We worked our well up the hill, passed the library and the schools where we would have ordinarily expected to find a dinosaur, and eventually came upon this:

Wow. That wins the pink flamingo contest, hands down. This is actually #97 of the original 100 DinoMites (plus one later additional Dino), and it was given the name Dino-Gold. That's not gold paint, but rather gold leaf installed by Parisian master gilder Joseph Youss-Kadri, whose other works include the restoration of the Statue of Liberty's torch flame, the prestigious monument Les Invalides, and the Alexandre III Bridge.

Back down the hill and we rode over to the world-famous Oakmont Bakery, which was quite an active place on the day before Easter. The joint was hopping, but they sure kept everything moving and it wasn't a long wait.

People were ordering multiple pies, cakes, pastries - big orders of exotic stuff - and when my number was called, I asked for a french cruller, boston cream, and a large coffee and the counter lady couldn't help but chuckle that I had such a routine order on a day for the heavy hitters.

I really like riding out to Oakmont Bakery, I think I've been out there four or five times now. It's always excellent food and coffee, first of all, but it's always pleasant, there's a sitting area with a fireplace, just a really nice bike ride destination. It's a "destination bakery".

Reversed along Allegheny River Blvd. Drivers were very courteous on both legs. Crossed the 40th Street Bridge, rode into Millvale looking for James Simon's sculpture of a Schnauzer dog. Found the dog, Pages with books balanced on its head outside the Millvale Community Library which is scheduled to open in June.

We fell into conversation with a few of the folks working there and they took us in to see some amazing ironwork from Red Star Ironworks that's bracing the overhead support beams - really beautiful structural art, with images bringing in the history of Millvale and the importance of books and libraries. It was cool to see people excited about their town and about their library.

Back to the trailhead at about noon, and by this time of day there were a lot of people on the trail - families with bikes, solo cyclists, runners; it could make you think it was springtime.

** Jill Masterson was the character in the movie GoldFinger who was killed through epidermal suffocation when the villain painted her skin completely gold, which as we all know causes certain death.

Holy Angels Fish Ride

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 00:02:00 +0000

3.29.13 26M

Nice day for a Good Friday ride.

Started at the Bastille at 1230 with S. and R. Rode through uptown to check on Sir Samelot, but no Easter decorations. Crossed the Birmingham Bridge and rode through Keystone Metals; I was surprised that there wasn't more progressed on the trail through there.

Turned inland at Keystone Metals and went to Holy Angels in Hays for Friday Fish Lunch, boy what an operation. A packed auditorium and they run it like a chow hall, very efficient and very friendly. Very very good food. Saw several other bicyclists there from the Bike-Pgh crew, it was nice to see fellow cyclists out.

I realized we had missed our opportunity for Fish'aneuring, an activity that calls for cycling to eat church fish on Lenten Fridays, but we'll be emotionally prepared for next year.

Rode through Sandcastle southbound, noticed a lot of work that had been done for the trail. One of the wooden perimeter walls by the waterslide had been moved a few feet back to make room for the trail.

Continued to Eat N'Park Corporate Headquarters in the Waterfront, where Diner-Saurus graces the lobby:

Reversed course, stopped by MP5 north of Keystone Metals and got to see an eagle circling and eventually landing in the trees near their nearby nest. Magnificent bird.

Continuing north on the Baldwin Borough Trail, had a somewhat disconcerting mechanical in which I was unable to disengage my left foot from my left pedal, it was stuck quite permanently in there. Rode over to REI, took my foot out of the shoe-pedal-bike assembly, they were very helpful. One of the two retaining bolts had disappeared into the ether, so the pivot-and-exit maneuver was not possible. A bit of wrenching and I was back on course, they were very helpful.

We went over to Big Dog Coffee to plan Great Strategies for an upcoming ride. R. was surprised to see another Rivendell parked out front, a very nice Hunqapillar (three bars in the front triangle, as opposed to the rear triangle like a mixte) with a Pitt sticker on it. The odds of seeing two Rivendells in front of one coffee shop in Pittsburgh are rather slight.

Back on the trail, saw a few of the BikePgh lunch cohort returning from McKeesport, continued across the Ft. Pitt and Ft Duquesne Bridges to the Bastille. A very pleasant ride, 26 miles.

Viking Biking

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 04:08:00 +0000

3/23/2013 28M

Off the bike for an extended period with pneumonia. Feeling better, thank you; today's forecast called for 40F and blue skies, and today was the Annual Viking Biking Ride and I couldn't pass it up, especially with tomorrow's forecast calling for four to six inches of snow.

Today's ride started at the Bastille at 1000 with S. We rode through Lawrenceville out to 57th Street catching some murals, then reversed and rode across the Smithfield Street Bridge to Riverfront Park and met the group forming up for the Viking Biking.

The Vikings rode to Downtown and then through the Strip District inbound, and the people shopping in the Strip seemed amused at the Viking invasion.

It was so good to be out on the bike again, although it was a lot more work than it usually is.

Step Through's: Geezer Bikes not Girly Bikes

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 03:41:00 +0000

I walked into a bike shop today and was smitten, bowled over. Didn't mean to be, wasn't looking for it, but wow.

I mean, it had me at the chain guard, just look at that. The skirt guard over the rear wheel was overkill. The 7-speed internal gearing told me this was an aspirational bike, something for better-me to hope for rather than for now-me to covet.

I saw it at Mike's Bikes in Palo Alto, California, which is an excellent shop and I really like they way they have their service area laid out. I've never seen anything like it, their bike service area is a lot like a car dealership's service area; it's in an outlying building with a waiting area, couches, a fitting room, you can see into the shop space. It was a very thoughtful execution, something unique.

But I must say, the industry at large is dropping the ball by playing distaff in the marketing copy on step-through frames. For instance, the write-up on this bike begins, Classic lady bike. Pure elegance for the sophisticated lady. Classic style with perfection in every detail. Classic skirt guard built into the frame. Front logo made from raw copper, which will age nicely with time.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. It's not "ladies" buying step-through frames, you sillies. It's aging baby boomers, that's why they've stopped calling them girl-bikes and started calling them step-throughs and yet you can't help but call them lady-bikes.

When you pitch it as a "ladies" bike, you alienate the women who might otherwise have bought it, and you alienate the men who would have liked to have bought it. Here's the thing: all those baby boomers, that huge, self-focused, wealthy demographic wave of discretionary income, are getting old and stiff and they're not hiking that leg over the old diamond-frame as easily as they used to. Want to sell 1955 Biff a bike? Then it's a step-through.

P-shaw, you say? Ask Rivendell. Rivendell made a bike called the Betty Foy, but they made the mistake of positioning as a women's bike. It's an excellent bike, and men wanted to buy it but very few closed the deal.

So Rivendell painted the frame differently, made a few adjustments to the equipment, and sells the same bike as the Yves Gomez, and they're selling a lot of them (for $225 more) to high-net-worth Boomers who can't get their legs up over the rear seat. Hip replacement? Bad disc? Just plain old? No problem! (whisper) Did you know that Yves Gomez was the man who taught Don Juan how to make love to a woman? He also told Juan Valdez to go into the coffee business! And this is the type of bike he had made for himself, no shit!

Marketing. But I'd bet that the next bike I purchase, if I ever buy one again, would be a step-through - because that leg swing is getting a bit more ridiculous for me, too. It's all about my generation.

(Once, there was something called the Smothers Brothers' Comedy Hour on something called TV, and though it's hard to believe it was considered very controversial in its day) This video captures an odd bit of TV history, worth reading and then watching again.

Unplattbar is the New Black

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 14:31:00 +0000

Took my Precious (my Long Haul Trucker) in to the shop for a new drive train and a semi-annual overhaul. New tires, too. IMO his is the sticker you want to see on your bike tires:

The LBS noticed that the right-side eyelet that takes the mounting bolt for the rear rack had separated from the frame. Fortunately, the other pair of rear eyelets were suitable for mounting the rack and fenders both.

left side, with two eyelets

right side, with one eyelet

I had broken a flange underneath my Brooks 73 saddle, and the LBS contacted Brooks and a replacement is on its way. I love my LBS (Ambridge Bike Shop). That wouldn't have happened if I had bought the seat online.

Granny Gear Death March: It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 22:41:00 +0000

3/10/13 19M

An excellent 19 miles that started before sunrise to avoid traffic on busy roads.

The last time I started a ride early on a Sunday to avoid traffic on normally congested roads I got hit by a PAT bus, but today went much better. Met S. at the Walker's Mill trailhead at the eastern terminus of the Panhandle Trail at 0645 nu-time and took Noblestown Road into Carnegie.

As we hit the first mini-rolling-hills I just didn't have any power this morning, S was waiting for me at the top of the hills as I GGDM'd (granny gear death-marched) through it. We got to our first destination in Carnegie, the Pinball Mural, but it was too dark for photography so we pressed on to our second objective.

In Crafton we were able to take pictures of the mural Introversion Excursion by Andy Mattia, on the outside wall of the library at 136 Braddock Avenue:

Then we reversed into Carnegie to take a picture of the pinball mural at 400 Gregg Street (Intersection of Gregg, Bluff and Superior Sts ), which is the world headquarters of PAPA, the Professional and Amateur Pinball Association. They hold their world championships in that building, which holds an array of vintage pinball equipment. Up Carnegie! (click the image below for full-size in a new window)

With that accomplished, we departed Carnegie via Campbell's Run Road (which I didn't know how to do) to Robinson Township, to take a picture of a mural at 201 Parkway West Business Park that edmonds59 from BikePgh identified for us. The transition on Campbell's Run Road was fine; (full disclosure) light traffic, ideal conditions, no shoulders.

This mural was done by Dwigh Kirkland and Michael Colley.

We descended to Campbell's Run Road, and crossed under the Parkway West via Boyce Road then climbed up on the other side of the Parkway. McMicheal Road brought us around to Noblestown Road and back to Walker's Mill. Several of these segments were roads I'd never been on before and had wanted to experience, so these connections made it an extra enjoyable ride.

At the Panhandle trailhead we saw quite a lot of runners getting their miles in to prepare for springtime marathons and half-marathons, but the trail seems way too soft for bicycling.

Kittens and Puppies Populaire 100K

noreply@blogger.com (Vannevar) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 04:30:00 +0000

3/09/2013 245# 64M

Rode my first brevet populaire, a beginner's randonee event of 100 kilometers.

The ride is called the Kittens and Puppies Populaire, acknowledging that this if a newb-friendly event with relatively few hills and straightforward navigation.

The event was sponsored by Pittsburgh Randonneurs, a subset of Western Pennsylvania Wheelmen. I've always been impressed at WPW events; they're safe, well-organized, and very cordial.

This ride was no different. I knew a few of the riders (Mikhail, Jon, and Stef). People formed up at the start on Neville Island (under I79) on schedule, there was a group briefing, we were all issued a brevet card to have stamped at the turnaround point (the 7-11 in Ellwood City), and we started without any drama exactly on time.

I would say there were about twenty men and five women. Road bikes, all diamond frames, no 'bents. Stef rode fixed-gear, I didn't notice any others. Some really excellent equipment.

Boy these folks are strong. I stayed with the back of the group until Stoops Ferry Hill, and then I was off the back. The nature of the event is that it's not a group ride, you're responsible for your own navigation and passage.

The route is excellent, it's basically PA Bike Route A. Gastronomically, the route includes The Fountainhead Cafe, Waffles Incaffeinated, and Oram's Doughnuts so there were vittles to be scrounged enroute. The briefing was that there was an initial hill at Stoop's Ferry, then a series of rollers on the east side of the Beaver River.

Hah, rollers, a funny phrase that. It's very pretty country right there, and I had the time to enjoy it as I pedalled up the rollers at 4mph remembering a 1965 movie The Hill, about a man-made hill in a British military prison used to break men's sprits. My favorite part of the film is about a half-hour from the end, when a noncom played by Ossie Davis decides he will no longer be part of the Army, and in an instant changes from a dutiful sergeant in the ranks to a polished, comfortable man who refers to his officers by first name; the officers are so confounded by his suave manners that they are forced to interact with him as a peer and are unable to engage his dereliction. It's one of the finest moments of acting film that I've seen.

Anyway, while emracing the rollers I managed to stay true to the path while the other riders deviated and added a few more miles to their ground track, which had the effect of moving my arrival at the 7-11 to within 30 minutes of the main group.

Departed after a snack and drinks with the last of the other riders and fell off the back again in the hills. Beautiful day for a ride. I made it back to the final control with :20 minutes to spare before the time cutoff, and I received a Populaire pin for my bike bag for completing within the time range.

I really enjoyed the populaire format and my goal is to complete a 200K within the time parameters this year.