Guest Post: Chris’s Ride from Mt. Lebanon to Downtown
This post comes to us from our good friend and BikePGH Member Chris Mayhew. Chris is a Pittsburgh Cycling Coach with JBV Coaching and is active in the local regional bike racing community with 25 years of riding experience. Thanks, Chris!
Riding from the South Hills to Downtown can seem quite intimidating at first glance. But armed with some foreknowledge it’s a ride that many people can and do make happen every day.
Let’s start from Coffee Tree Roasters in Mt Lebanon.
Head North on Beverly Rd. And make a right at the light on Dell Ave then immediate left to stay on Dell Ave. Make a right on Hillsdale Ave. Then a make left on West Liberty Ave. West Liberty can seem intimidating but you have several things going in your favor. The biggest is that it’s downhill. That gives you parity with cars in terms of speed. The second is that it’s two lanes the whole way so you can just take the right lane and not worry so much about getting squeezed. And almost no one is heading the other way so left turns across your path are very rare. (Protip: about half way down West Liberty Ave, on the right, is W Liberty Cycles, for all your commuting needs.)
Head down W Liberty. As you approach the tunnels get into the left turn lane. Turn left. It’s essentially the on ramp for 51/ Saw Mill Run Blvd but we aren’t getting on that! Make a right at the light onto W Warrington. Make an immediate left on Boggs Ave. Continue up Boggs.
Left on Wyoming. (You are almost there!) Left on Virginia Ave. Right on Maple Terrace. Left on Grandview Ave. Make a right on PJ Mcardle Roadway and enjoy the view and the descent! Stay straight across the Liberty Bridge. Left on Arlington. Left on E Carson. Then head across the Smithfield bridge and you’re done! On Bike to Work Day, head straight to the BikePGH Commuter Café at Market Square for a free cup of coffee and a some breakfast treats – you’ve earned it.
If you are wondering how much climbing are you going to need to do to get up and over Mt. Washington, the numbers work out to 528 feet up in 6.7 miles covered. The good news is that you will actually descend 933ft over the same distance.
To return, I’d ride T back with my bike on board for some or all of the trip. If biking, I’d go up Sycamore, one of Pittsburgh’s infamous Dirty Dozen Hills, (Watch out for Arlington as it has T tracks) and then cut over to Broadway ASAP rather than ride up W Liberty.
Click here for more Bike to Work Day info.
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