PittsburghLand and Serenity on a Bike

I set out early and was on my way for a day without any agenda. I was just riding aimlessly.

A domestic goose has taken up with the Canada geese.

Bathrooms still closed at the Millvale trailhead. Booo.

Stopped for air at BikePGH!

In Lawrenceville, I stopped at LaGourmandine. I love that place. I got a raspberry tart and an apricot croissant to snack on throughout the day.

Rode up through Allegheny Cemetery and admired the shark headstone again.

 I thought it would be a good idea to find out where the WheelMill is because I want to take the Fundamentals of City Cycling class with Karen Brooks sometime soon.

Dodged potholes and other interesting things in the road.

I stumbled on the Cheryls at Friendship and Negley!

I found Serenity on my bike.

In addition to Serenity, I also eventually found The WheelMill after getting lost in East Liberty a few times. Not really a big deal, this is how I learn routes, getting slightly off track and re-orienting myself.

Am I going the right way?

Had lunch at Amazing Cafe: miso soup and a clean-green juice

I headed out to the Waterfront, used the facilities and got some cold Mitchell's water. On the way back, I ran into Marko who was meeting Yale to ride around aimlessly too! Wow, 3 people aimlessly wandering meet up and wander aimlessly together!

Marko clued me into a Tag-O-Rama tag and we all claimed a group tag!

Yale threw out some ideas of places to ride to and when he mentioned RandyLand, I got excited, I'd heard about it, but hadn't yet trekked over there. Yale took us on a tour of the North Side Millionaire's Row and the place of the Immaculate Reception.

Then, we hit RandyLand. Wow.

I need to return and deposit one of my negative thoughts

He also took us by a new Little Free Library and the owner just happened to pull up as we were admiring it. Excellent guy.

I was promised to Hubby for dinner and they were kind enough to keep me company on my way there, I offered to treat them both to dinner, Marko had to depart (but not before trying to entice my spouse into a life of cycling), but Yale took me up on the offer and the three of us had an Indian buffet dinner in Oakland. Yale noted how many bikes were locked up outside the restaurant.  We had no room to lock up and were forced to hitch our steeds across the street. It's a cyclist hotspot.
Hubby departed in the car and then the skies opened up on the way back to base, which Yale escorted me back to. I had to don the raincape.

A great day, 55.3 miles.

Murals in a new light and re-learning a route.

The Pirates have introduced a new set of animated introductions for each player and they incorporate Pittsburgh's murals!




Here's the one they use for Andrew McCutchen:

It's the "The Two Andys" mural on Smithfield Street. Awesome stuff.

I spent Sunday breaking free from the house. Hubby was due to be extra cranky as he had to do a 36 hour fast before an invasive procedure on Monday that I would have to drive him home from. I'll leave that up to the reader's imagination.

Before I rode, I cleaned and re-lubed Ruby's chain, cassette and rear derailleurs with the ParkTool cleaner. I was kicking myself for letting it go so long as I noticed rust and a squeaking noise when I rode last. The rust is gone now and there are no squeaks to be heard.

As I started out, I noticed the Buffleheads were back! I had the good camera too! Only a few of the original 20 remained, but they bobbed about a bit before taking flight for me.

First, I wanted to learn the route from Oakland down to the Eliza Furnace trail on the South Side. Vannevar and S had shown me once before, but I needed to go at it alone to truly learn it. It's a complicated route, some of it is marked and the rest, you're left to fend for yourself. I didn't do too badly. I missed my Neville St turn but eventually got there backtracking via side streets. I wound up heading up Juno St before I realized I'd gone the wrong way and turned around.

I made it!

On the way there I got some shots along Gold Way of the Troll under the Bridge.

Someone gifted him a 40

Then I went to a new favorite restaurant. Amazing Cafe.

Black rice and veggie curry with a Clean Green to wash it down. Nom.

After lunch I headed past the Eagles nest and a plethora of cyclists out on the trail. Wow, it was crowded! I got to the Waterfront and stayed on the roads as suggested.

I needed something to read while waiting for Hubby's procedure tomorrow. I parked at Barnes and Noble's bike rack and headed in for the bathrooms and book heaven.

What should I get? Re-read a classic? Stimulate some brain cells?

Nah. I like the movies better.

Mindless fluff! Yes!

Then I headed back to the South Side and REI for the bathrooms, a rest and a drink. I was sucked in by a pannier I'm hoping will work for baseball game trips. I also got a new bell. The cowbell fell off on my ride today and the bell I was using was barely audible.

It doubles as a tote bag.

I saw all manner of bike on my travels today: a tandem recumbent, a tandem (that I was impressed to see take a tight turn on one of our switchbacks), lots of regular recumbents and even a disabled persons' bike:

On my way back there were more birders checking out the Buffleheads and I stopped to chat with them, we remarked at how gorgeous they were.


No beeps other than a thank you beep when I let someone pass on Gold Way which is a very narrow street. My ongoing saddle and numb fingers issues are grating on my nerves (pun intended). The new gloves helped lessen but not eliminate the numb fingers.
33 miles on a lovely day.

Another Errandonnee-ful day

Errandonnee #5

Breakfast
... after an early ride before class.

Errandonnee #6

Health

I had a CPR/Heimlich and defibrillator class. I've always wanted to take this class, I had put it off too long. I'd missed the past few for various reasons, and I was glad to make it to this one.... finally.

I'm now officially certified to perform CPR and use a defibrillator.
I hope these are skills that I never have to use.

Errandonnee #7

Bike shop
I stopped in at Thick to see if they could remedy my recently acquired sticky shifter disease. I also wanted them to re-adjust my saddle, I think the nose position was the cause of my discomfort and I wasn't able to undo the bolt attaching the saddle. Someone had tightened it with man-strength. When I brought the bike into the shop and started telling Christy about what I was hoping to have looked at, I heard a hissing and looked down to see my rear tire deflating. Good thing I was at a bike shop!

Errandonnee #8

Lunch (2)

Amazing cafe'

Errandonnee #9

Shop (2)
I made a quick stop at the Port Authority. I needed to get my own ConnectCard. I was constantly borrowing a card that belonged to my husband for the times I needed to use the T.
(Translation: a ConnectCard is a debit card for our public transit system. The 'T" is our Trolley/Light Rail Vehicle system that runs elevated, underground and even in a tunnel under the Allegheny river.)

Errandonnee #10

Library

Again, I was sharing a card with by beloved. He endured picking up my copies of Daft Punk  and Dead Kennedys CDs for me for far too long. I needed to get my own library card. He told me of the strange looks he'd get from the hipster librarians who would look at the CDs he was picking up, comment about how cool that particular band was and then look at my husband in his suit and tie and get a very confused look on their faces.

Errandonnee #11

Bike shop (2)

I had to stop here to return tubes. I was given the wrong size. Twice.
Not only that, but this bike shop also appeared prominently in a Fracking Company's TV commercial. This bike shop is dead to me.

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I was riding behind a couple who looked like they were on new Wal-Mart bikes. The rear tire of the girl's bike was almost flat. She needed air. I called out to her and asked if she wanted to use my pump. They were so happy and grateful to have some air.

I discovered Vannevar has a doppleganger. I encountered a man who was cycling in Chateau who looked just like him, but at about 5 yards, I realized it wasn't him. Uncanny. Of course, I had a big old "Nice to see you!" grin on my face as he approached. I ran into him again in the Strip later.... again, grinning like a twit.
I confused the heck out of the guy, I bet.


I also saw a young woman on a huge unicycle

 and here's the Bastille bike police patrol

40 miles, a new record.

I ran into Yale yet again. I think he recognized me this time. I missed Vannevar and Terry because I left the South Side probably just as they were getting there. I rode until after dark and by that time I was hungry and my hands were numb, but a great day of errands and adventures.



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W00t! I got my 20K steps badge and might even get a 25K badge all in one day!

Also in the good news department: I'm tied for first place in the FatCyclist contest!