Life on Two Wheels and Two Feet

 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...