A pleasant December bike ride
Jack Hughes
Pictured is the construction of the new bike ramp that will connect the Smithfield Street Bridge with the bike trail below that runs along the Monongahela River to Point State Park in Pittsburgh.
Jack Hughes
This past Monday and Tuesday, I had occasion to be in Pittsburgh to close up our small townhouse for the winter. Many city people have cabins in the mountains and reside full time in the city. We do the exact opposite; living full time in the mountains and maintaining a small historic town house in the city.
Our 鈥渃ity cabin鈥� is located in Chatham Village, a historic community on Mount Washington that features town houses built in the 1930s on a wooded hilltop with over 20 acres of woods, trails and a waterfall 鈥� all located just a mile or two from downtown Pittsburgh. The area is full of wildlife, including plenty of deer, turkey and a fox or two.
While walking the trails this fall, I encountered both an eight-point and a nine-point buck, along with several doe browsing on some hillside plants. Monday about a dozen turkeys were seen just beyond our front porch and a black squirrel scampered along as I walked past. Like our mountain home the deer in the city take their toll on flowers and shrubs that people try to grow.
This past Monday was a damp dreary cool day with a bit of drizzle. The forecast for Tuesday was for more of the same, however the day turned out quite different from what was expected. The day started off cloudy, windy and cool, but just after sunrise the winds died down the clouds dissipated and were replaced with sunshine and pleasantly mild temperatures reaching into the 50s. After the cold and snow of last week, it was a pleasant surprise. I quickly decided to take advantage of the nice weather and got out my bike for a ride through Pittsburgh.
City trails are paved and it is possible to ride all year if the weather co-operates. Unfortunately, our trail in Ohiopyle is not of much use once the thaw freeze cycle begins in November and lasts until late March. It would be great if someday we could pave the 11-mile section from Ohiopyle to Confluence. This would allow for a lot more use of the trail when the snow melts and the weather is half decent.
What amazed me on my Tuesday ride was how many city people use their bikes as a means to travel to work. Judging by the few cars in the bike parking lot, only a few of us were out for a pleasure ride. Another surprise was to see the construction of the new bike ramp being built that will connect the Smithfield Street Bridge with the bike trail below that runs along the Monongahela River to Point State Park. Since many people either start or end their Great Allegheny Passage Bike trip at Point State Park this will end the confusion and improve the safety of not having to ride on city streets to begin or end their trip. The Great Allegheny Passage Trail is perhaps the premiere bike trail in America and it is about to get a little better.
I was able to accomplish a 14-mile ride on a beautiful December day. That may be it for awhile though as cold weather and snow are expected to return for the last week of December.