Great Allegheny Passage

We're trying to get back on on bicycles -- as much as we can given that March and April can still be quite cold and windy and (sometimes) wet.

Friday we took a 20 mile ride on the Great Allegheny Passage Bike Trail -- a "Rails To Trails" route that ultimately connects Pittsburgh with Washington, DC after meeting up with the C&O Canal Trail in Cumberland, Maryland. We started on Pittsburgh's South Side and rode to Dusquene and back.

The trail follows an abandoned rail bed along the Monongahela River. This stretch of the "Mon" is known as "Steel Valley" -- at one time it was the U.S.'s major steel manufacturing region. The river is still very industrial in atmosphere. Here a barge carrying coal is heading downriver.

Pittsburgh's industrial past is reflected in these tall smoke stacks -- all that remains of the once immense Homestead steel mill that is now a large shopping mall. A classic example of the consumer-driven economy replacing the manufacturing economy with much economic dislocation.

But not all industry has disappeared. This pipe manufacturer lines the trail for about a half mile.

The trail passes over railroad tracks twice in this section. Long ramps, seen at the right of the photo, allow bicyclists to ride up to the overpasses.

The trail bridge over the railroad tracks.

A panoramic view of the Monongahela River.

Pittsburgh is a city of bridges. This is the Homestead Grays Bridge (aka High-Level Bridge).

The trail gives a behind-the-scenes view of Kennywood -- Pittsburgh's beloved amusement park.

At the end of the ride we had to carry our bikes up the stairs to David & Maria's house. The stairs are much steeper and longer than they look in this photo. Pittsburgh has more streets that are stairs than any other city.