The Great Allegheny Passage: Episode 1: In and Out of Pittsburgh
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- Опубликовано: 17 авг 2023
- The time for the Great Allegheny Passage ride has finally arrived. Pittsburgh is a glorious start to this amazing adventure!!!
Traveler's Rest Hotel: www.sstrpgh.com/
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Great stuff, Steve. I'm 54 and just picked up my first bike since I was a kid. I'm just getting started on rail trails and looking to venture out. Your adventures are inspiring.
I'm from the Pittsburgh area but have lived in Lancaster County for the last 27 years. I still get back that way fairly often to visit family, and it's great to see that Pittsburgh treated you well. Ride on!
@MonkeyDolphin Thanks so much for such a great comment. I’m glad you are back to cycling. What trails are you riding in Lancaster County? Pittsburgh is a really fun city, I plan to go back there to see more of it. Thanks for watching.
@@stevetakesabikehike So far, only the Northwest River Trail, which is very close to my home. It's a 14 mile paved stretch that runs from Falmouth to Columbia, along the Susquehanna River. Channels like yours are opening my eyes to all the incredible options I have nearby, and it's awesome.
Take care, man!
53 got an E bike to break myself in again after 15yrs! Then just bought a mountain bike won't mountain bike but it's a better feel for me . 😊
Hot metal bridge to the water front is good times. You pass barges you can walk/camp on, the bald eagles nest...n then on to mckeesport. cant wait for spring!🍻
It was such an amazing ride. I will definitely be back to do it again! Thanks so much for watching.
I always say passing on your left. Most people at least where I ride really appreciate it. Just don’t wait until you are right behind them.
Agreed. Thanks for watching.
The Smithfield Bridge is the oldest bridge across the main rivers of Pittsburgh. It blocks the Delta Queen from going upstream from Pittsburgh, the bridge is to low for the Delta Queen to fit under it. The main reason it has NOT been replaced is "Modern" river regulations (post WWI regulations) requires bridges to be taller so barges using the river can fit underneath it.
As originally built it was only a two lane bridge. In the 1890s they added the downstream section as a streetcar only bridge. When they shifted the streetcars from the Smithfield Bridge in the 1980s, the state converted that section into a one lane into town road. The reason for that the original section had proper eight foot lanes (16 foot wide), but the streetcar section was only 11 foot wide, for the old streetcars were only 5 foot 6 inches wide and being on rail could pass each other with less then an inch clearance between any two streetcars passing each other. Given lanes must be eight foot wide for roads, the state could only make one lane out of that part of the Bridge.
That would be such a cool place to bike
It’s amazing! Thanks for watching!
Thanks much for this. I’ve wanted to do this ride for ten years. All my family started our American journey in Pittsburgh. I’ve been wondering how to navigate through this area. Driven through many times, but this is much better. Maybe do it this summer if I can find someone to ride along. Happy Trails!
Well the good news is that all the construction along the Mongahela Wharf area is now completed and the trail reopened in that area out of Point State Park. Let me know when you plan to ride. If I can get the time off from work I’d love to tag along. Thanks so much for watching. Feel free message me with any questions you have regarding the GAP or any other trails. Enjoy the ride!
It is the SOUTH 10th Street Bridge, NOT the 10th Street Bridge. The reason is 10th street is beside the Allegheny River in the Strip District. When the City of Pittsburgh annexed the old Borough of Birmingham (Now Southside), rather then renamed all of the numbered streets in that former Borough of Birmingham, the City just put the word "South" in front of the number.
The numbered streets and the south numbered streets in Pittsburgh do not ever meet. The Hill District and Oakland separate the two sets of numbered streets.
Can't wait to see the continuation. It may get steep and very difficult. Hope you enjoy!
It was an experience I’ll cherish forever. Thanks for watching. There are 5 episodes of my GAP ride. I hope you enjoy them all.
Pittsburgh gal here and I've been wanting to do the GAP for a while now. Came across your vid and enjoying so far! You're a natural! Was nice to see you in my home city!
Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Pittsburgh was such a cool city. I plan to go back to see more of it. I’m glad to hear you are enjoying the videos. Let me know if you have any questions about the trail. It’s such an amazing ride!!!
@stevetakesabikehike Will do! I'm sure I'll have questions lol. Stay tuned...
Sorry if I over reacted. I'm really enjoying the video. Hope to do it some day.
It’s all good. Thanks for sticking with it and watching. I hope you do ride the GAP. It was truly an amazing experience.
Oh. And spoiler alert. I do swear when I hit a giant rut in the beginning of Episode 2. Again, unintentional and not my usual use of language.
I have watched each of your episodes. Good job. I was particularly interested in your "In and out of Pittsburgh" as this is my plan for doing the GAP next Spring (2024). I intend to arrive by AMTRAK, yes about midnight. You did a super job of explaining what I can expect in taking my bike off the train and finding my way to lodging for the night. I could only hope to come across some buddies as you did to guide me over to the trail the next morning. I'm sure I will watch this episode again before I begin my journey. I wish they would let me give you another thumbs up.
Hi Charles. The good news is that the detour won’t be necessary, as the Mon Wharf project will be completed. So leaving Point State Park will be a lot easier. I’m so happy to hear that you watched all the episodes! If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d be glad to help you plan your journey in any way that I can. You are in for one heck of an adventure. Thanks again and I hope to see you out on a trail one day.
Nice, Steve!
Thanks so much for watching. It really means a lot to me coming from you. Looking forward to future adventures.
The graffiti is right across the river from the new Allegheny County Jail. The graffiti started as messages from the path to people in the jail over 20 years ago. It is more then that today.
You mention Southside, while passing the new Condominiums in Homestead, a old River suburb of Pittsburgh, then at 36.34 you enter a parking lot at the site of the "Battle of Homestead" . That conflict occurred during the Homestead strike of 1892. Pinkerton agents tried to force away from two river barges to drive away the strikers from the gates of the Homestead steel plant (The strikers had refused to enter the plant, but also stopped anyone else from entering the plant, please note through peaceful means till the Pinkertons showed up).
In the subsequent "Battle" the Pinkertons either swim the river to get away from the strikers, or were taken prisoners by the strikers and then released). It was a very heated battle, but only a handful of deaths (which is surprising given the Strikers brought down a 20 pounder Bronze Civil War Cannon, kept as a Civil War Memorial, and the strikers tried to use it to sink the barges the Pinkertons had arrived in).
Paul, thanks so much for all the insight and historical information. I plan to come back out and spend more time learning about the amazing history that Pittsburgh has. I appreciate you sharing your wealth of knowledge with not only me, but other viewers who may come across your comments. Thanks so much for watching.
@@stevetakesabikehike You need to take the Inclines, Bicycles are permitted on the Monongahela incline.
The other incline, the Duquesne Incline is NOT wheelchair compatible and thus you can visit it and go down the incline, you can NOT exit the bottom station by a wheelchair or bicycle. You can exit both the top and bottom stations of the Monongahela Incline using a wheelchair or a bicycle.
The difference is the local transit provider owns both inclines, but only operates the Monongahela Incline. A private group non-profit group maintains the Duquesne Incline.
I NEVER say "on your left" because 99.9% of the time they turn around and... you guessed it swerve left LOL great video, do DC to PGH and back a couple times a year, its so nice its hard to get motivated to road ride anymore. Really want to do the D&L but I just cant figure out the trail closures and if they have detours, attempted it last year but turned into a road ride 30 miles in. Jim Thorpe area looks amazing from what I see online!
Hi there. Trail etiquette is more a common sense thing than anything else. I hate when it’s the last minute warning and I get startled. Lol. I love the D&L. It’s what I’d call my “home trail”. But I’ve avoided the closures like the plague. If you start north of Whitehaven at the Black Diamond trailhead, you can put in quite a few miles. Honestly that northern section to I’d say, Glen Onoko is my favorite stretch. I have a few D& L vids. Check them out. Are you from PA? Thanks so much for watching. Hope to see you on the trail one day.
I used a small metal bell to "tell" people I would be passing them. Yes, some people will turn if you say "on your left" but it is much more common for the person you are passing being startled by the passing cyclist. I have seen this happen when a cyclist pass a senior citizen walking slowly (often with a walker) and with people walking their dog.
Now that I am wheelchair bound, I see me being startled by cyclists passing me without giving me some sort of warning. Please signal that you are passing and a light bell is better then yelling.
Do you think you would have found your way all right without the trail angels?
Some considering going from weirton West Virginia to Pittsburgh and over towards Cumberland then vearing south into West Virginia for a couple more days.
That’s a fabulous question. I would have eventually found my way. I had actually stopped to check my phone and look at the maps I had saved. I was so excited to be starting my adventure and caught up in the moment that I needed a moment to calm down and get my bearings. I’m glad I stopped, because it allowed that karma-like experience of meeting Jason and John to happen. They took the time to help a total stranger, something that doesn’t happen very often in this day and age. To have their help and an inside view of the city and trail was something I’ll never forget. It added to my adventure and started an incredible journey.
When you got off for the art work did you have to travel back to the GAP trail?
It’s was a slight detour to see the artwork. It really wasn’t that much out of the way at all. Once across the Hot Metal Bridge stay to the right and you are on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, pass the marina. Just backtrack and you are back on the GAP. Thank you for watching.
Hi, great video. We are going to do this soon. We rode the Ohio to Erie Trail. Have you done that? We have some videos on our channel of that ride.
New subscribers to your channel
Hi there. I have the OTET on my list for next year. Thanks so much for watching. I’ll take a look at your vids today.
Just beginning to watch what I'm sure will be a great adventure. But the f word? And other language? Can I watch this with my grandchildren? Is this a reflection of your character? Are you gonna be throwing around the f word throughout?
My dialogue during my videos is emotional and unedited. If it offends you (or your grandchildren), that was never my intention. I’m not offended by your question about my character. After all, it’s what immediately came to your mind when you wrote it. Please also keep in mind that during that first video, I was working off of 4 hours sleep and in a strange and unfamiliar place. Don’t take that as an excuse, it’s just the fact of the circumstances. I honestly can’t tell you at this moment if I’ve cursed or used any other offensive language in other videos. For the most part I say what I’m thinking. I hope my explanation makes sense.