September 23: Steubensville OH through West Virginia to Pittsburgh PA; 33 miles

-

View from our hotel in Steubensville

Today we started on our 4 trail to finish stretch. And we crossed 2 state borders!  We started on the Panhandle Trail in West Virginia which hooked into the Montour trail that circles around Pittsburgh and eventually connects with the Great Allegheny Passage and lastly the C&O into Washington.  Both the Panhandle and Montour are lovely.   The Panhandle was flat and paved making for excellent riding at top cruising speeds (20 mph)!  The Montour was crushed limestone but smooth.  We traveled across a long trestle bridge and through a 600 ft long tunnel.  Great fun!  Tomorrow we will connect with the GAP for 3 days.  This phase seems like a huge turning point, no more road riding, and.......Pete gave up his noodle!



Pete sadly removes his noodle, it seems to be too old to be of use!



It was a COLD 🥶morning, temperatures did not get above mid 60s until lunchtime.  The frigid temperature necessitated a stop at the Walden Restaurant in Burgettstown PA.  The diner seems to be the gathering spot for all the locals.  It was quite obvious that we weren't local because they had ceramic coffee mugs and real silverware.  We had plastic....but the food was good and warm!  We sat at Alice and Clara's table.  Two women who met there for years to share a meal. 



Downtown Burgettsville


The relatively short ride allowed us plenty of time to drive into Pittsburgh to enjoy some great food and sightseeing.  A ride up the Duquesne Incline (funicular) gave us a terrific view over the city and its many bridges.


The antique Duquesne Incline ascending


Through a bit of research, Lisa discovered that the 'up and coming" neighborhood is the Strip district.  The funky shops and eclectic restaurants made for a hip vibe.  We dined in an outdoor restaurant serving Caribbean cuisine.  Yum!  And a bit of gelato down the block afterwards.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 11 Halfway, Oregon (population 303) to Cambridge, Idaho (population 328)

-
Image
Well that was an interesting night for sure! I slept in the shack "out back." On my way to the shack to go to bed,  I saw a large feral cat. That sprang my imagination into high speed. Hmm I wonder why it ran under the shack? Will birds and snakes crawl into my shack? Oh bother! When I finally went to sleep, I slept well. No creatures visited in the night.  Monday morning. Up bright and early! Lauran gave me a gentle reminder to wake up. As she had already perked a pot of coffee, I was eager to get up and get going. We all bustled about the place packing and preparing for today's climb; almost identical to yesterday's trajectory. Today we hoped to get started an hour earlier to avoid the predicted high heat. We might make all 58 miles if we planned it right. Donning some very strange looking duck billed visors, we set off into the rising sun. What a fantastic morning. Flying up over hills and down the other side on Hells Canyon Rd. I got a great view of an Elk standin
Read more

Day 66: Old Town to Williamsport, 43 miles. An Epic Day all Around!

-
Image
Pete's Epic Malfunction: he survived to tell the tale! One more day!   Stephanie agreed to SAG today.  Lance, Lisa, Pete and I set off on a crisp sunny morning after a leisurely morning at the school house.  We had heard from cyclist Mitch that there was a paved trail paralleling the C&O that we could pick up in Little Orleans.  Since we needed to SAG around the Paw Paw Tunnel anyways, Stephanie drove us over the mountain on a gravel road to the trailhead.  We were thrilled to see a black bear cross the road in front of us while enroute.  Lisa remarked that she was glad that we were in the car as opposed to on bikes. The Western Maryland rail trail was smooth and easy to navigate.  We enjoyed the fall air and ease of travel.  At Hancock we left the trail to look for lunch.  ONE restaurant was open and they had a 30 minute wait due to not having enough waitstaff and cooks.  We're retired, we have time!  And how could you not want to eat at a restaurant named "Buddylou&#
Read more