Part 2: Exploring Pittsburgh.
After reaching the hotel Tuesday evening, we got a ton of takeout from DiAnoia’s and walked over to pick up our camping gear. I had my heart set on pierogis for dinner, but screwed up looking at Google Maps and didn’t notice that the near-by pierogi place was a deli that closed at 3 pm. Wednesday morning, we met up with a couple other folks (including one from Richmond who knows a “grumpy Braden”) at the conference and rode over to Pamela’s Diner for breakfast then went to explore Randyland.
I got my pierogis for lunch from S&D Polish Deli and cake from Butterwood and finally caught up with my calorie deficit from the previous day. I highly recommend both.
That afternoon, there was a tour of bike trails around PGH as part of the conference. I tagged along and took photos. The county executive joined the ride - he rides the C&O+GAP every year. One of the ride organizers gave me a route for exploring Pittsburgh the next day.
This brings me to my tarckest ride ever on Thursday. Normally, I’m riding with purpose - exercise or commuting directly to a particular destination or touring. This was exploring, wandering, stumbling across things, cutting through various informal connector trails between things, taking my time, taking photos. I managed to stretch a triple tarck century to take all day. I roughly followed this route backwards. I immediately found myself cutting through a film lot to try to get onto some railroad tracks that must have gotten overgrown between March (when the route author rode it) and June.
I backtracked past some interesting-looking machine shops and a small neighborhood with very European-looking row houses.
Then I headed for La Gourmandine in Lawrenceville to pick up pastry and rode into the county cemetery to eat breakfast. Took an informal trail to cut out the back of the cemetery into the Highland Park neighborhood.
I worked my way over to Frick Park where I stopped and checked out the gallery (mostly minor Flemish artists) and grounds (confirmed I want an American Hornbeam tree in my yard).
Then I dove down the ravine into Frick Park and climbed back up to pop out in Squirrel Hill.
I saw a line of Asian restaurants which, according to An Economist Gets Lunch, was a good sign, so I picked up some fresh rolls and scallion pancake from a Thai street food place. Rode a lap of the neighborhood to go past the Tree of Life synagogue (and two others and the JCC and three Jewish day schools). It turned out the gunman from the synagogue shooting was convicted the next day.
From there, I dropped into Shenley Park, crossed some railroad tracks, and found a park bench to eat lunch.
I crossed the Hot Metal Bridge into south PGH, up to the bluffs through South Side Slopes park, then back down along the Knoxville Incline Greenway, which was a bad idea on a low-trail bike with slick tires (it follows the path of a former funicular - absurdly steep). Crossed back on the Smithfield bridge, rode through Point State Park, crossed to the northside and rode down the Ohio River on the North Shore Trail. Visited Bicycle Heaven (see Badass bikes that aren't yours - #825 by earwig).
I climbed up to the bluffs on the north side, then dropped back down to Allegheny Commons Park and crossed back into downtown, with a slow leak in my back tire getting squishy in the last mile as I rolled back to the hotel.
I boxed up bikes that evening. The next morning I walked to the Warhol museum, which has a great collection and excellent interpretation discussing both Warhol’s techniques and cultural significance.
