Well, it clearly took me MONTHS to wrap up the blog posts on this trip! It was indeed a blast and I got so much footage that was great. I had to extensively cut it back on focus on a few key rides here and there and record recon stops of course! With that, the final blog post of the Pittsburgh trip.
Alright, I’m almost done through all the VLOG posts on my Pittsburgh trip. It was, needless to say, a really eventful trip! Last post I wrote up the 3 part VLOG of day 5, and in this post it’s another 3 part for day 6! Included is the second record recon run and wrapping up all three parts with the arrival of a CSX COKE TRAIN!
A little route map for an idea of the route.
Heading along the north side waterfront.
Hey look at that, a Norfolk Southern train heading across the Ohio River.
Trip Wrap Up
Thursday’s ride…
The finale, riding from Traveler’s Rest to the train station in the rain! First bit of inclement weather of the entire trip!
After the grand trip across a vast expanse of the United States, I was finally approaching Pittsburgh! I’d been looking forward to visiting Pittsburgh for years now, so I was STOKED!
The day started at around 5am, as I pondered my arrival and the logistics of the situation on the train. I had some commentary, which I added in the VLOG. So be sure to check that out.
Then arrival in Pittsburgh. This image is from the train as we crossed the river.
In the VLOG you get to see this some, but lets talk about the station in Pittsburgh. For the first thing to experience coming into the city, it is a major let down. It reflects horribly on the United States as a whole – as does our passenger rail in general – but this was an embarrassment of riches right here. The station is in what I’d consider the basement of what used to be the train station. The train station itself however is a bunch of apartments or condos, and the grand entrance is now just the entrance to those apartments. So the grand station that used to exist is now a basement with apartments – which you can’t really walk around – there are signs warning you not to, on top of that basement.
Overall, it’s kind of an insult to Americans to have taken a grand station of this nature, dumped the station into the basement, and stuck a few arbitrarily built – and likely very inefficient apartments in the once grand station.
It’s now kind of just a dump. It made me sad. But I digress, the adventure in Pittsburgh was just beginning and I wasn’t going to let the embarrassment of a station ruin my trip!
Pittsburgh Arrival Day 4 Part 1 – Arriving into Union Station & Initial Explorations.
Once arrived and finally detrained and out of the station, the mess that it was, I made my way out into the streets of Pittsburgh for an exploratory bike ride around the city. This became an absolutely stellar first experience in the city and more than made up for the dumpy station.
In this video I’ve got relive maps guiding the way so you can see exactly where I went, along with some stellar photos I took of the city. I rode up onto a bridge, through a kind of messed up, stinky, car-dependent part of the city so I could get these pictures and ALMOST DIED TWICE! I point that out in the video too, so if you are ever there, dear readers, be wary of the western bridge over the Ohio River! It’s got a sketchy approach on both side! Watch these next two episodes for that part of the adventure.
Pittsburgh Arrival Day 4 Part 2 – Arrived & Exploring the Ohio River “West Wend Bridge”!
Pittsburgh Arrival Day 4 Part 3 – Heading to south Pittsburgh to get some coffee & try to check in!
Finally, after all that exploration – from 5:30am to about 7:45am – I finally make my way form the north side of Pittsburgh over the the Travelers Rest, where I’d be staying for the week. I wrap up the day one VLOGs with the final check in, checking out Travelers Rest, and I show you the accommodations I’ve picked up for the stay!
Pittsburgh Arrival Day 4 Part 4 – Delanie’s & Travelers Rest. You GOTTA check these places out!
As I departed Pasco on the Amtrak Empire Builder, the sun rising in the east came in through my roomette window, and let me tell you it was stunning! Check the VLOG for footage of that site, but always know, VLOGs and photos and all that are fun but they compare in no way to being there in person! The tranquility of a roomette, as we roll along on steel rail, with the rising sun is absolutely stunning every single time I get to experience it!
When we arrived into Portland I detrained and went to baggage pickup. Within just a minute or two the bike arrived in the ole’ bike box. I slid it out and with the two tools I brought, I had the bike up and going in just another 90 seconds or so. Slung my backpack back on and out the doors of the station I went.
With a ride, almost parallel to my original departure from Portland the day before yesterday I alternated to the Williams St corridors for the majority of the trip back. In doing so I got to race the Trimet #44 bus! What fun, what excitement, what a slow and relaxing race! The real question though, who will win!
After the race I arrive back to Office PDX and make a cup of coffee with the MiiR pour over and it is excellent! I also use some techniques that you might not always use, but it’s worth a watch just so you can give it a try if you ever need to give it a try! It kicks off at 9:42 in the video.
0:21 – Leaving Richland via Pasco on the Empire Builder. Catching a stunning sun rise!
2:38 – Reclaiming PDX Orange from baggage, getting her back in riding condition. Tips + tricks on boxing your bike and unboxing it.
3:30 – Departing the station and a tip for egress from Union Station via the Broadway Bridge.
4:19 – Watching the Empire Builder cross the Steel Bridge, buy why, learn about it here!
4:48 – Bus🚌 Leap Frog🐸 with the #44! Some thoughts on the buses, their speed, and the fact that I basically pace the bus for the whole… well, listen to the segment and you’ll see. Along with the oddities and other things along the way.
6:50 – Riding through Peninsula Park. With odd unexpected elements! 😬
9:00 – The final stretch, do I defeat the #44 or do I get beaten by the bus!!! It’s soooo close!
9:42 – Caffeine Induction System from Miir, the Pourigami, via Bicycle Coffee from Oakland (link below). In this segment I show you a wicked cool pour over travel setup, using minimal kitchen tools.
Monday was a whirlwind of an adventure. Tuesday then needed to be a recovery day. I’d planned to start out and pick up the other bike (Pop Rocket I rode to Kent, this was Blue that needs picked up). But I didn’t even get around to that. It really did turn into a mostly chill day of relaxation.
A little bit of logistical fun playing the game Transport Fever. But then later in the day I did get down to some of the tracks where the Sound Transit Sounder route comes through Ballard. Here’s a few shots of the 5:35pm departure from Seattle heading to Edmonds on its way to Everett.
Here’s some of the video. There are three segments, so hold on when the screen goes black for a few seconds in between.
That’s it for the moment. Off to more explorations today.
Transit Sleuth 