Wednesday September 6, 2023
We arrived in Pittsburgh yesterday evening and stopped at Point State Park which is the terminus of the GAP trail.
We had decided not to begin our ride here as there is construction and detours which would involve some city street riding. At the tip of the park, the Monongahela and the Allegheny join to form the Ohio River.
Following are more images taken Point State Park.
We spent last night at Traveler’s Rest a historic South Side building. It has been refurbished and is now a very welcoming and homey hotel, at mile marker 148 on the GAP trail. Mary Beth was a wonderful hostess and her dog Peabody was a pleasure to meet.
We were on the trail at about 10:30 AM. The weather was already really warm and we rode most of the day in 90+ temperatures. Our destination was West Newton, where we had reservations at Bright Morning B&B, 34 miles down the trail.
The Waterfront area is about 9 miles out of Pittsburgh. This is where we passed former sites of 3 steel mills.
We passed through Homestead site of the 1892 Homestead Lockout and Strike, among the first deadly management- labor disputes in American history.
Until we left McKeesport, known as “Tube City” for it’s production of iron pipes at the National Tube Works, we were on an asphalt trail in a mostly urban setting. It was a relief to get on the very tightly packed gravel which is in excellent shape. Getting into the more rural areas made for some much appreciated SHADE!
The Tu Tu, Tu Tu girls are also headed for Cumberland, MD. One of the girls has ridden the GAP 9 times. They had some good advice and were very entertaining.
We are at mile marker 114 on the trail. Cumberland is 115 miles down the trail. Tomorrow we head for Ohiopyle which will be a 42 mile pedal. It should be a bit cooler with a 50% chance of showers. That’s a 50% chance of NO showers 🙂