Received: from OHM.ECE.CMU.EDU by K.CS.CMU.EDU; 4 Sep 86 13:44:09 EDT Received: by ohm.ECE.CMU.EDU (4.12/4.7) id ; Thu, 4 Sep 86 13:35:31 edt; Date: Thursday, 4 September 1986 13:35:28 EDT Sender: Marko.Chew@ohm.ECE.CMU.EDU From: Marko.Chew@ohm.ece.cmu.edu To: bovik@k.cs.cmu.edu Subject: Cycling Routes Message-Id: <1986.9.4.17.34.27.Marko.Chew@ohm> Someone suggested that I mail these responses to you. Messages from /usr/mpc/mail.hg: 4 +11 Aug 86 George Wu ; Mon, 11 Aug 86 15:39:42 edt; Received: by ampere.ECE.CMU.EDU (4.12/4.7) id ; Mon, 11 Aug 86 09:24:40 edt; Date: Mon, 11 Aug 86 09:24:40 edt From: George Wu Message-Id: <8608111324.AA12141@ampere.ECE.CMU.EDU> To: mpc@eeo Subject: bicycling to FC There are three commonly used bridges used to get from Oakland to points North of the Allegheny: 1) Highland Park Bridge, which is narrow, heavily traveled by speeding cars and trucks, full of holes in the sidewalk (I had to walk across once), and due to be closed in October for renovation and widening. Except for short periods of time, so they say, there will be at least one lane in each direction open. But then you may not be biking, when they finally close it. 2) The Hulton Bridge, reached by going North along Allegheny River Blvd, it's several miles away, in the little community of Riverview and/or Oakmont. Once crossed, you are on a major highway, Route 28, with two nearby exits into FC, both ENORMOUS hills. I recommend against this route, because, although the traffic moves slower on the bridge, the highway and the hills are pretty rough. If you do choose this route, make a left after you get off the bridge. Powers run will be your next right, and is much shorter and steeper than the other direction. 3) I think it's called the 62nd Street Bridge or the Bloomfield Street Bridge, probably the former. This route takes you over through Shadyside, East Liberty, and Bloomfield, before you must cross the river onto Route 28, leaving "Suicide Lane" between you and good old FC. You don't want to take this route. Overall, the alternatives are pretty grim. My recommendation would be to stick with the Highland Park Bridge, walking your bike across on the left sidewalk. Hopefully, come spring, the bridge will be wider and have real sidewalks. Where do you ride, once you get to wonderful FC? While I personally like all of FC (having put twenty years into the community), I would like to recommend riding through Trillium Trail, a small preserve where the trees overhead permit only occaisonal rays of sun to fall upon weary riders. George Messages from /usr/mpc/mail.hg: 3 23 Aug 86 Michael.Alex@henr... Cycling routes (3086) ---------- ---- Message 3 (3086 chars) is ---- Received: from henry.ECE.CMU.EDU by ohm.ECE.CMU.EDU (4.12/4.7) id ; Sat, 23 Aug 86 22:50:29 edt; Received: by henry.ECE.CMU.EDU (4.12/4.7) id ; Sat, 23 Aug 86 22:40:23 edt; Date: Saturday, 23 August 1986 22:40:21 EDT Sender: Michael.Alex@henry.ECE.CMU.EDU From: Michael.Alex@henry.ece.cmu.edu To: chew@ohm.ece.cmu.edu Subject: Cycling routes Message-Id: <1986.8.24.2.8.6.Michael.Alex@henry> Marko: I just saw your post about cycling routes on the -sports- bboard; I have never read that bboard before which is why I did not respond sooner. For getting over the Allegheny River I use the Highland Park bridge and also the 62nd Street bridge, which is about 2 miles west of the Highland Park Bridge. While it does not go directly into Fox Chapel, it puts one in a position to select a variety of good cycling routes that I think are even better than Fox Chapel. I usually cross the 62 nd St. bridge, ride about 1/2 mile on Rte. 8 (the worst part of the trip by far) and turn right onto Saxonburg Boulevard. Saxonburg Blvd. is a road that runs in a valley, is rather quiet and leads to dozens of other routes that vary from 20 to over 100 miles. The hills of Fox Chapel wear on me if I ride them alot and really "hammer". By the way, Fox Chapel is accessible via Saxonburg Blvd. If you have a good map of the area, I can show you what routes I ride. All of them are north of the Allegheny and are bounded by Fox Chapel to the south and Moraine State Park to the north (for those long rides). I don't know how intensely you like to ride, but a group of riders leaves the Pittsburgh Pro Bike Shop every Sat. and Sun. morning at 8:00AM. They usually attract riders of varying ability (I personally have not done these rides.). I believe they ride for about two hours (maybe 30 - 35 miles?) on Sat. and maybe for about 3 hrs on Sun. I have heard that they get from 10 to 30 riders. On Thurs. evenings at 6:00 - 6:15pm my friends and I from the ACA (Allegheny Cycling Association) leave from the Highland Park Reservoir on Highland Avenue for a ride that varies from 30 to 45 miles. We usually get 5 to 12 riders and we go "over the river" just as the Pittsburgh Pro Bike Shop group does. However, we run the ride as a more or less disciplined training ride for racers. We typically practice riding in a paceline at a brisk pace and usually average over 20 mph. On the hills or on fast flat sections various riders will "attack" as in a race and the group will chase them down. On fast sections of road the pace will be over 30 mph; it is good training for those who want to race or just get and stay fit. It is also good for those who want to hone their pack riding skills. The pace eases up periodically for those who couldn't keep up on the last hill. After regrouping and taking a breather we go hard again. Its alot of fun and we are interested in having new people join. Its Saturday night and I'm still trying to recover from Thursday's ride.... Mike Messages from /usr/mpc/mail.hg: 6 25 Aug 86 Richard.Cohn@spic... Re: Bicycling Routes (1788) ---------- ---- Message 6 (1788 chars) is ---- Received: from SPICE.CS.CMU.EDU by ohm.ECE.CMU.EDU (4.12/4.7) id ; Mon, 25 Aug 86 11:16:49 edt; Date: 25 Aug 1986 10:59-EDT From: Richard.Cohn@spice.cs.cmu.edu To: Marko.Chew@ohm.ECE.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Bicycling Routes Message-Id: <525365988/rjc@spice.cs.cmu.edu> I just happened to read the sports bboard today and saw your notice. I'd be interested in hearing about the responses you've gotten and can add a little of my own experience. The next bridge up from Highland Park is the Hulton Bridge at Oakmont. It may be too far up the river from where you want to go. It's less traffic but quite narrow. Depending on my mood and the traffic, I ride on the sidewalk across the bridge sometimes. Going in the other direction, there's a bridge in Etna. It's quite nice -- very big, but almost no traffic. I tend to end rides in Etna rather than start from there since it's surrounded by hills. I have just two "nice" rides that don't take me into the North Hills. One is a long one down the Mon that unfortunately involves a lot of traffic over the first (and last) five miles. Let me know if you want to know the details. The other starts at CMU/Squirrel Hill. From CMU, you should somehow get to Forward Ave & Beechwood. If you head away from Squirrel Hill on Forward, you go down a long hill and back up a shorter one. When the road ends, turn left. This road ends on Braddock Ave. Turn right, go under the railroad bridge, and immediately take a sharp left. (This is a dangerous intersection.) From here (Edgewood Ave.) just follow the Blue Belt signs until you get to the Highland Park Bridge. Instead of going over it, you can return home through the park. I've simplified this route to make it a little easier to follow. Richard Messages from /usr/mpc/mail.hg: 3? 3 Sep 86 Richard.Cohn@spic... Re: Bicycling Routes (2446) ---------- ---- Message 3 (2446 chars) is ---- Received: from SPICE.CS.CMU.EDU by ohm.ECE.CMU.EDU (4.12/4.7) id ; Wed, 3 Sep 86 10:10:31 edt; Date: 3 Sep 1986 09:27-EDT From: Richard.Cohn@spice.cs.cmu.edu To: Marko.Chew@ohm.ece.cmu.edu Subject: Re: Bicycling Routes Message-Id: <526138075/rjc@spice.cs.cmu.edu> In-Reply-To: Marko.Chew's mail message of Monday, 25 August 1986 12:02:04 EDT Sorry to take so long to respond. I was going to describe the Mon route: Take Forbes to Braddock and turn right (towards Swissvale). The simplest route is to continue down Braddock, across the Rankin Bridge. Turn left (towards and then past Kennywood). When you get to the next bridge, cross and head towards McKeesport. At this point, you can just follow the road along the river as long as you want. In some towns, the main road (I forget it's route number) branches off, but it's usually not too hard to find it again once you leave the town. You can go down pretty far. I used to cross back at Donora but that bridge is now closed. The best bridge may now be the one between Donora and Monessen. You can follow the road on the other side on the way back (837), but it's a little busier. I like the change in scenery, but some people prefer less traffic. For a shorter route, cross over at Monogahela or drive out to Elizabeth and start from there. To avoid the stretch by Kennywood (a busy road even when Kennywood is not open), you should turn just before the Rankin bridge back onto Braddock Ave. This takes you thru Braddock and by the Edgar Thompson Works. Just when the road becomes a divided highway, take a turn-off on the right into E. Pittsburgh. Follow this road until you hit the Yellow Belt (in Turtle Creek). Take the Yellow Belt up, then down, a long hill until you get into McKeesport. At this point you're along the river. To return a different way from McKeesport, branch off the Yellow Belt at the McKeesport bridge, continuing along the river instead of up the big hill. Eventually (after a short cobblestone stretch) you'll reach McKeesport-E. Pittsburgh Blvd. (It's not a very busy road on Sundays.) Stay on this road and follow the signs for Braddock. You'll have to go a short distance on Route 30, but it's not too bad. You'll end up by the Edgar Thompson Works again. These directions must sound pretty confusing, but it's straight-forward if you're looking at a map. Let me know if you have any problems. Richard