Southeast MA – Pittsburgh PA
Sun June 4, 2023
(~575 miles)

Just a few short days after returning from a great riding getaway in the Hudson Valley, it was time to saddle up and leave New England once again. I had a work-related convention to attend in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this week, for which my employer was kind enough to be picking up the tab. After a generally unenjoyable experience flying to San Antonio last month for work, I elected to ride the ST to Pittsburgh and submit expenses, rather than deal with all the air travel hassles. I’d never visited the Steel City except in the wee hours of the morning during a rally or two, so I was looking forward to seeing a new place.

Coincidentally, I’ll be returning to Pittsburgh just a week after this trip for the start of the 2023 Iron Butt Rally. I was glad to be squeezing in one final short trip for road-testing myself and the ST before the big event later this month. Since the rally hotel is in a suburb just outside the city, this would also give me a chance to explore the character of Pittsburgh itself and get comfortable with the lay of the land.

Departure was promptly at 0500 on a clear Sunday morning. Canadian wildfire smoke had been a big topic in the news headlines recently. The northeast was just starting to see haze in the sky, but it was barely noticeable at this point. I quickly made my way out of New England via I-84 across Connecticut, beating the rush hour in Hartford and Waterbury, with just a bit of slowdown near Danbury.

Usually, I might plan to stop at the Red Line Diner in Fishkill for my breakfast with a trip departure timing like this. I did, in fact, exit there briefly to fuel up. However, recently I’d seen a tip on the NER group (thanks Sharon!) about a little restaurant with great pie a bit further along the I-84 corridor – Stewie’s in Matamoras PA. This town is right across the state line and Delaware River from Port Jervis NY, and was my intended destination for a breakfast stop. I was excited to check out a new pie source so close to a highway I traverse so frequently.

Stewie’s is a small restaurant but not cramped, with a relaxed hometown diner atmosphere. The current clientele seemed to be mostly locals or outdoorsy visitors staying nearby to enjoy the local forests and parks. It was a quiet contrast to the often super-busy off-highway bustle of the Red Line. I liked it immediately.

The waitress did take some time in getting to me, probably due to short-staffing as there is everywhere, but she was friendly and offered suggestions when I asked what was good. I went with the Breakfast Bowl on her recommendation, and was not disappointed. I was trying to choose something on the lighter side so there would be room for pie, but the bowl was quite a big serving, as listed: “homefries topped with bacon, sausage cream gravy, over-medium eggs, and shredded cheddar”. Yum!

I enjoyed a nice leisurely breakfast with coffee as I took in the atmosphere and fiddled with my phone. Although I was quite satisfied with my meal, there was no way I could leave without trying the pie, so I compromised and got a slice sans ice cream. That’s the healthy choice, right?  😊 Dutch apple (they call it ‘apple crumble’) is my favorite and was listed as available per the chalkboard, so I had a warm piece with another cup of coffee. It was a really good piece of pie – a solid effort and better (albeit smaller) than the Red Line’s offering IMO. I think I may just be coming back to Stewie’s real soon!

An hour after arriving, I was back in the saddle and pulling back onto I-84 for the traverse of Pennsylvania’s interstate system. It was smooth sailing and the hours/miles clicked by without delay. I was particularly interested in the segment on US 22 that shortcut the route due west between I-99 and the I-376 “loop” through Pittsburgh. It’s a divided highway with crossroads and traffic lights. The middle section was actually somewhat scenic with wooded hills all around, and uninterrupted without too many cross roads. I stopped to fuel up at an intersection in Cambria. Things slowed down considerably in the final few miles near Murrysville, before hitting interstate once more.

I-376 was busy but moved along for the most part until reaching the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. As I would learn on this trip, for some reason, entering the tunnels around here seems to make drivers forget how to depress the gas pedal. Once you get through the jam and are actually in the tunnel, there is nobody in front of you and it’s right back up to full speed. For a few minutes at least, because then after a short scenic mile above the Monongahela River, I made my exit into the downtown area.

There seemed to be a lot of congestion in town for a Sunday, but there may have been a sporting event going on today (baseball perhaps?). There was also some construction blocking several lanes of the streets I needed to take. After waiting for a few traffic light cycles at two turns, I followed the GPS and then a couple detour signs to get through the crowded blocks. I pulled up in front of the Courtyard on Penn Ave just before 15:00, official check-in time. It was valet parking only, so they told me I could just follow one of the guys to their lot after checking in.

Check-in was a bit of a mess because the reservations for myself and my co-workers were all under the name of our co-worker who had coordinated the trip details. I was able to convince them who I was and change the room to my name. I unpacked the bike and waited for a few minutes to follow one of the valets around the block to their designated ground-level lot just down the street. I locked the saddlebags, pulled out all the keys, and covered the bike up, hoping it would be safe for the next couple days, sitting right next to the sidewalk in the middle of the big city!

After showering and settling in, I headed back out to explore a bit on foot and find some dinner. The city of Pittsburgh is very obviously centered around it’s unique geographical position at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers, forming the mighty Ohio River. It was founded at the location of strategic forts built by both the French and the British. This is something I remember learning about way back in grade school history lessons. Looking at a map of the downtown area, you can see how well-contained it is by the natural water boundaries, similar to Boston. My hunch was that it would be an easy city to find your way around, once situated.

I enjoyed an afternoon stroll along the riverfront, down to the park at the point between the rivers. I had taken an early morning bonus photo of that spot all but enveloped in fog, from an elevated position atop the bluffs across the Monongahela River, during a Mason Dixon 20-20 rally. I wanted to see it up close now. It had developed into a pretty sweltering afternoon, so the walk through a waterfall corridor fountain beneath the neighboring convention center was dim, cool, and refreshing.

I walked an easy pace following the nice footpath alongside the Allegheny River. The number of bridges in this city is staggering and most of them are quite scenic to look upon.

I was surprised to see so many pleasure boats all over the river – some rafted into bunches, while others towed skiers or tube riders along under the bright summer sunshine. With lack of a nearby coastline, I realized that the rivers must play a big part in the citizens’ recreational life around here.

Arriving at the tip of Point State Park, the huge fountain immediately commands the attention, with a surge straight up some 50 feet or so and blowing all over in the gusty river breezes. There were a lot of people and families enjoying the evening in the park, but there was plenty of room for everyone to spread out. I sat down for a bit by the fountain (upwind) to enjoy the cool breezes and occasional droplets that hit me, watching the boats schlooshing up and down the rivers. It was nice and peaceful.

Looking across the river on the slope of Mt. Washington, I spotted the rail tracks for the famous funicular, while at the same time, a big freight train was passing by down low by the river bank. I recalled that at least one rally I was in (2019 IBR?) used that as a bonus whereas you needed to take a photo from halfway up the slope. I didn’t visit that bonus and have yet to ride a funicular at all, since Char and I passed on the opportunity in Niagara Falls last year.

I’d done a bit of research on restaurants and gotten some tips, so I knew that I had to try a Primanti Bros sandwich during my stay. Apparently a local tradition, the sandwiches from this iconic restaurant chain consist of thick pieces of Italian bread enveloped around a choice of grilled meat, along with melted provolone, coleslaw, sliced tomatoes, and french fries! Well, when in Rome…

I set Google Maps to lead the way to Market Square and walked across the large field of the park, where they have outlined the former footprints of the original Fort Duquesne, and its British successor Fort Pitt. Those military posts were constructed to safeguard this key location by three rivers, and their settlement provided the foundation upon with the city of Pittsburgh was built. The forts proved difficult to defend, due to the high bluffs close by, so their existence covered a relatively short span of American history.

By 18:30, I was seated in the airy outer dining area at Primanti Bros, sipping a delicious local IPA called General Braddock and watching the clean-up activity across the big wooded plaza/park called Market Square. 20 minutes later, I had my kielbasa sandwich set before me and I dug in. Simple fare, but delicious!

Feeling like something sweet afterwards, I used Yelp to zero in on a place called Milkshake Factory just down the street. While the shakes didn’t look as crazy as the ones I’d seen on a visit to Nashville last year, they are a damn fine treat! I went with the Salted Caramel Pretzel, which hit the spot with little bits of crushed salty pretzel mixed in. I sipped it as I continued my stroll back to the hotel – it was gone all too quickly for the amount I forked over for it. No pic, sorry. 🙂

Fully sated, I returned to my hotel room to settle in for the evening and prepare for seeing co-workers in person for the next couple days. I’m out of practice dressing in regular work-type clothes these days! 😀

 

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Pittsburgh PA
Mon June 5, 2023
(0 miles)

I met one colleague in the hotel lobby the next morning, and we grabbed a quick bagel sandwich at an Einstein Bros around the block. We met up with another colleague and headed off to our conference for most of the day. I snagged a couple nice skyline shots of the downtown skyscrapers from one of the outdoor balconies of the convention center.

After the day’s work was done, we met again in the hotel lobby to head off on another stroll of the city. Our primary objective was to ride that historic funicular by the river, officially called the Duquesne Incline, and apparently one of the main tourist attractions of the city. To access it, we’d need to cross a river via one of the highway bridges on foot. One of the hotel staff volunteered that all the bridges in the city allow pedestrian traffic by law, which I thought was pretty cool. It makes a lot of makes sense, given how intrinsic the rivers are to the logistics of getting around town.

We walked down to Point State Park and had a bit of trouble determining where the pedestrian access actually was, until we crossed under the highway overpass and spotted the ramp going up by the fort visitor center. The path wasn’t super wide, so we mostly walked single file over Fort Pitt Bridge, dodging the occasional jogger, bicyclists, and even a hooligan on a small two-stroke bike of some sort, spewing oily smoke in his wake.

Speaking of smoke, the wildfire haze was definitely making its presence known in the Pittsburgh skies tonight, with the sun casting a muddy reddish glow all over the horizon.

Once across, we continued down the sidewalk a quarter mile, then ascended the metal-roofed pedestrian bridge to cross the busy street to the lower rail station. We paid our very reasonable $3.50 round trip fares and were directed to hop inside the railcar. At the last second, I hopped out of the car to grab a photo of the tracks and then got a bit stuck as the doors started to close. I saw the attendant in his little booth shaking his head at me as he re-closed the doors and sent us on our way. We all laughed it up.

The railway is operated by a non-profit and is part of the city’s transportation system, so the fares are kept pretty low, likely subsidized by the government. There are two railcars in this balanced system – one arrives at the top while the other is at the bottom, then vice versa, passing each other at the halfway point each trip, like counterweights on a pulley system. The tracks seem impossibly steep when you are standing right next to them, but I guess no more amazing than your standard elevator really. The cars themselves were lovingly restored and creak slowly but steadily along the rails, a bit reminiscent of an old carnival ride.

We emerged into the small upper station of the railway, which now also serves as a museum for this iconic Pittsburgh transport system. The Incline played a huge part in connecting different parts of the city back in the day, when the factory workers from these heights needed to commute down into the city every day. It replaced an old Native American dirt path, which was previously the only way to traverse the steep bluffs.

The views at the top of the city and three rivers confluence are stunning. I remembered standing here on this very viewing deck on that foggy spring morning during the MD-2020 rally, having no clue what type of view I was missing out on at the time.

After getting our fill of the cityscape, we returned to the bottom during the next available cycle. We stopped for tacos across the street from our hotel at an overpriced downtown joint called Bakersfield. The tacos were tasty but muy pequeños!

After that, we split up and I headed back to the hotel to relax in my room until bedtime.

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Pittsburgh PA
Tue June 6, 2023
(0 miles)

Tuesday passed similarly to Monday, with a quick coffee and breakfast sandwich in the hotel restaurant, then a full day of convention sessions next door. Tonight we treated ourselves (or rather, our employer did!) to a nice steak dinner at Gaucho, an Argentine place we’d passed by yesterday. I had a delightfully grilled ribeye, cooked to perfection along with a local IPA from Voodoo Brewing.

Dinner took a while, so by the time we finished, I was ready for some solo time. We enjoyed the stroll back to the hotel in the pleasant evening temperatures, taking in more of the cool older architecture. I wished my colleagues a safe return home tomorrow and we parted ways. I planned on an early departure to clear out of the city before traffic started to build up.

 

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Pittsburgh PA
Wed June 7, 2023
(579 miles)

I was up around 0400 and downed some coffee and a protein shake. I had the bike uncovered and pulled up to the hotel entrance, engine running in the quiet street by 0500. Packed up, signed for the valet tip, and got the hell out of Dodge. It was easy cruising at this early hour and I made good time back across Pennsylvania, retracing my exact outbound route from Sunday. The wildfire haze was really noticeable all now, with the morning sun just a pale yellowish disc ahead of me in the eastern sky.

Thoughts of another great breakfast at Stewie’s kept me pushing, with just one fuel stop in Wilkes-Barre. The sky developed a more reddish tinge as the sun climbed higher and I could definitely feel a strange tickle in my throat as I rode. I arrived in Matamoras around 10:30 and had a great plate of breakfast quesadillas and another slice of that marvelous Dutch apple pie.

The waitress mentioned that there was a unhealthy air alert issued today for the state. I told her I had noticed how dim and nasty-looking the sky had been all the way from Pittsburgh, and no wonder my throat was feeling a little scratchy! I hadn’t really been thinking much about it since I’d started off in the dark. But yeah, you can see the reddish sheen to the heavens in this photo I took of the bike after my meal.

The remainder of my trip home passed without incident or significant delay. I continued on I-84 all the way back to the Mass Pike, and arrived home around 14:30. I later found out that both my work colleagues had experienced flight delays in getting back home (one to MA and one to FL), so I was the first to arrive home, feeling logistically vindicated in my choice of making the trip on two wheels.

Pittsburgh had been a pleasant surprise – I rather liked this city! Having never been and only read the its history as a big steel manufacturing center, I think I envisioned it as full of factories and smokestacks, dirty streets and urban decay. I wasn’t expecting the pretty riverside setting with wooded hills rising up everywhere around. Like any city, I’m sure there are sections that are less than pleasant, but I had enjoyed my short stay downtown on the company dime. It reminded me a lot of Boston, with how walkable it is to get around and how it seems to have its own brand of culture, traditions, and pride.

I felt much more comfortable and aware of the geography of the city and surrounding area, as I prepared to head there for the start and finish of the Iron Butt Rally next week. The lack of loop highways around the city and was a big red flag for riding on the clock. Based on what I’d seen, I knew the area would be prone to bottlenecks at times of heavy traffic, whether it be rush hour or sporting events. All things to factor in during any route-planning through the city.