BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I don't know what kind of bike you have, BUT I would look into the service road by the RR tracks. I have heard it is like a nice road down there, but I don't know if the RR folks care or not if you ride on it. I do know someone that rides on it and he loves it. So far so good. You could get off the tracks around Chiswick and ride back roads. You can get on the tracks around the middle of Aspinwall, or you could run old freeport road until you get to the tracks in Blawnox. I hate Freeport Road, but I am getting older and just don't want to deal with the SUV/pickup crowd much.

I biked from South Side to New Ken and back with my friend Hart. Used the railroad access road from Millvale to Sharpsburg then Freeport Rd the whole way up, used Highland Park Bridge sidewalk and Butler St on return. Wasn't the least stressful ride but it really wasn't bad. He got a flat at the south end of the highland Park Bridge but the gas station had an air pump. So it all worked out.

When im not being a lazy pos, like I am now, I bike from Cheswick to east liberty. I take Freeport road all the way to the highland park bridge sidewalk, on the return I ride on the street portion of the bridge. Quite honestly the stretch between blawnox and the Oakmont bridge used to be what made me the most nervous due to the 55mph speed limit. However, there are pretty clear sightlines there and I think people see me well in advance. The biggest place that I have issue with is at the turnpike interchange in harmar, people are in an awful big rush to go around that loop and wait in line to get their tickets.

Used to live in Cheswick, rode both Freeport Road and the tracks quite a bit. The "access road" really isn't a road, it is railroad bed with 2 ruts. The biggest problem I had on Freeport Road was being buzzed by big trucks. Not pickups, but commercial vehicles. They were the worst offenders by far. On the tracks, I encountered numerous railroad personnel, no one ever said anything. Riding the tracks is much slower than the road (by a factor of at least 3x) and I would not even try it unless you are on an MTB.

You may be able to use Denny Estates Road going northbound to go around the turnpike interchange, but it's less helpful going south, and there's a gate which may be closed, mooting the point entrely

There are some pretty big shoulders between the Waterworks Mall and Blawnox but there is almost always a lot of traffic. Agreed that the section between Blawnox and the Hulton Bridge is not good. The section between the Hulton Bridge and Target in Harmarville is a bit sketchy too but after that there is a good shoulder all the way to Cheswick. I used to ride Freeport Road almost everyday from the Highland Park Bridge to East Deer or Tarentum. It's doable but not ideal.