Life on Two Wheels and Two Feet

  The Rose City, Portland, Oregon, has consistently achieved high ratings as a bicycle friendly city.  Recently, Adventure Cycling rated Massachusetts higher than Oregon.  Having ridden in both states, all I can say is "them ol' boys" over at AC need to spend more quality time with Boston drivers before reaching such a conclusion.  Before getting there, Portland (for me) was enlightened residents cruising blissfully around in a utopian bubble of bike lanes and coffee shops. The truth is that Portland is a lot like most cities... a busy place filled with people trying to make a living. However, it can be said that a significant number of them do bicycle and are a bit more considerate than are drivers in most other cities.  If you talk to a Republican, riots are daily occurrences and the city of fruits, nuts, and flakes is still on fire. I saw no evidence to support either of those characterizations. Pedestrian and bicycle only street in downtown Portland. Outward...

 You may remember a post - https://fultonco.blogspot.com/2021/01/stranded-in-tennessee.html - from last Winter (January 26, 2021), when my wife and I were unexpectedly "stranded" in Middle Tennessee.  Our truck decided to have engine problems, on a Friday evening.  We suddenly found ourselves with time on our hands, over a weekend, while waiting around to have the rough running motor evaluated by a professional.  We soon realized we had landed in a very pretty and historic area that also happened to be within striking distance of Nashville.  We ended up having a great time exploring and bumming around the area.  Since I had my bike along, a few rides on some tremendous backroads in Dickson and Hickman Counties added to the allure of the area.  Nice backroads for cycling near Burns, Tennessee (Dickson County), in January 2021. Fast forward to 2022, as the snow, ice, and gloom of a Pittsburgh Winter wore on, we decided to make a return visit to Middle Te...

 Typically, January lived up to its character as a cold and snowy Winter month here in Pittsburgh, PA.  I was able to ride, early in the month, before the snow and road salt came around.  To prevent damage and protect the moving parts of my bicycle drive train, I switched over to walking after a big snowfall on the 16th that carried over into the 17th.  Although riding the bike is my preferred activity, getting out for a walk, hike, or on cross country skis keeps cabin fever at bay.  To re-cap... No riding, for me, on the 1st because it rained all day.  I like to start the year off with a ride but the rain and gloom suggested that staying inside was wise.  The all day rain made that decision a good one for me.  On the 2nd, a ride that included a big downhill at Bednar's Wall (Cook School Road, Upper Saint Clair), began my riding in 2022.  I've ascended that hill many times but always enjoy the fast descent it affords when headed in the opposi...

 After the first significant snowfall in our region, on Martin Luther King Day (1/17/22), I put my bike away for a while.  In years past, I rode through these Pittsburgh Winters (see below).  This year, I decided not to let the salt ruin another drivetrain and braking system on my bike.  So, I started walking instead. I decided not to live the Salt Life with my bicycle this Winter.  Sodium Chloride on the roads wreaks havoc on the bicycle drivetrain and braking system.  The photo above was taken on 1/31/21. Coaxing myself out the door was tough at first because it was dark and the temperatures dipped into the single digits (Fahrenheit), which often happens after a snowfall.  It also took me a couple of walks to find the right boots.  However, after a few forays on foot, like the Marines say, one improvises, adapts, and overcomes.       What I already knew (from cycling), but hadn't had much first hand experience of, was the fact tha...

 Bethel Park is a suburban community located in an area known as the South Hills of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A portion of an old coal hauling railroad, known as the Montour, used to run through the community.  The railroad was abandoned in 1977.  In 1989, a group of citizens organized and formed the Montour Trail Council for the purpose of using the old railroad right-of-way to build a recreational trail.  The Trail Council has had a great deal of success, establishing a regional rail trial that forms a roughly 47 mile arc to the South of Pittsburgh.  The trail is very popular and a portion of it runs into Bethel Park. In the 12 years that elapsed before the formation of the Trail Council, some properties in Bethel Park were sold off to private individuals and groups, so the focus was turned to the larger portions of the rail line that were still owned by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, from whom the railroad line was eventually purchased.  A decisi...