BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I live in Squirrel Hill and commute out through Churchill. My route to home is here. But if you were to follow my route from Churchill to the stadiums you'd end up going over more hills than necessary when you were passing through Pittsburgh. I think if I was going to the stadium area from Churchill I would take Greensburg Pike down to Turtle Creek (on the way back follow Rte 130 as on my route -- you can keep up with traffic easily on the way down, not so on the way up, so a quieter road is better), turn right onto the Tri Borough Expressway and ride through Braddock, then across the Rankin Bridge to connect to the Steel Valley Trail and then follow that down the Mon to the Point and across the Fort Duquesne bridge. Looking at the map, though, that's pretty far out of the way. You might be better off following Penn down and then taking a more northerly route, though the Strip.

Depends where you are in Churchill. Graham Blvd, to Frankstown, left Highland, Rt, Penn, Rt. 31st St. Bridge on sidewalk down to the 3 Rivers Heritage Trail and you are there. Lots of ways to go. I would probably take a less traveled route than this one, but you can tweak it.

Thanks guys. jonawebb, that route from turtle creek to the rankin bridge to the trail is one way I've gone before when riding with a friend. Coming up greensburg from triboro is a good climb, but the rest is very doable. I thought there might be a more direct route, but want to avoid Penn avenue. So it's probably my best choice if Penn ave is the only alternative.

Here's a route from Churchill to Northside that you could try. I haven't been on the McNary part of this, but the elevation profile doesn't look too bad. http://ridewithgps.com/routes/11104175 The route: from Churchill, north on Greensburg Pike across Penn, continue on Graham, left on McNary Blvd, continue on Wesley St, west on Wallace St (parallel to Penn) thru Wilkinsburg, then north on Wood, west on Hamilton, get thru or past East Liberty somehow, then Friendship Ave thru Bloomfield, Liberty Ave down the hill to the Strip, 31 St Bridge to North Shore trail.

Can't help with the Churchill to Wilkinsburg part, but from Wilkinsburg I might do something like: - Hamilton - R Enterprise (about a block before E Lib Blvd) - L Frankstown, becomes Broad - L Centre - R Penn - L Euclid or Negley* - R Friendship - L Penn * alt: L Highland, R Baum, R on one of the alleys between Euclid and Negley, L Friendship.

As to where to cross the river: In short, pick a bridge, all from 40th on down will get the job done. 40th: For simplicity, this is probably your best bet. If you're on Penn, cut down through Allegheny Cemetery, following the white line. You'll come out on Butler around 46th St. My preference is to use Butler itself for a few blocks, fully occupying the lane. Right on 40th. Use the upstream sidewalk, but the last 50 feet before getting to the sidewalk is a bit dodgy, having to wiggle around a tiny concrete island in the center of the Foster St corner, and the not-infrequent traffic coming off it. Then cross the bridge. At the north end, I would use the bike lane, not the sidewalk, but this involves a very brief venture into car traffic to get from sidewalk to road. Just wait for traffic to clear. Then down the hill, right under the bridge, cross the tracks, and follow the trail downstream for a few miles. 31st: Stay on Penn the whole way down to 31st. This bridge was reconstructed in 2007 with bikes in mind. You could cross on the downstream sidewalk, but I've had no trouble getting across on the road itself. Get in left traffic lane at the light before the end of the bridge. Turn left there, River Avenue. Continue to the level section. Signal a left, then safely get across outbound traffic (watching for any idiots who would try to pass you) and get on the trail. 16th: Follow my directions for 40th, only instead of getting on the 40th St Bridge, duck down toward the river and look for the break in the jersey barrier under the bridge. There are several ways to get to Smallman or Railroad St or Spruce Way; I prefer Smallman. Continue to 18th Street. Left there, right on Penn, right on 16th. I use the road itself, but either sidewalk is OK, too. Upstream preferred to avoid crossing 16th twice. Right onto Progress St, then onto Heinz, then continue across River (after stop) to trail. 9th/7th/6th: First, investigate ways to get to the river trail, newly opened. I cannot offer advice here, as I never go that way. I would stay on Penn, using the bike lane from 16th down to whichever 9/7/6th St. If you do take the river trail, 7th gives you a ramp to ride up to get to the bridge, while 6th and 9th require climbing steps (not a problem for me; YMMV). Fort Duquesne: Whether river trail or Penn, somehow get to Point State Park and wiggle around to the sidewalk that crosses the river. This is, of course, past PNC Park, but still in the area. Just be careful at the north end not to go flying down the steps, which if you're new to the area or the bridge, might surprise you. (Similarly, homeward bound, there is the possibility of flying down a staircase at the north end of the 7th St Bridge.)

Alt route to 40th SB: Come down through the cemetery as Stu suggests. Turn _right_ on Butler, and take the first left at the light onto Plummer. (this intersection is shaped like a backwards K, so there are two lefts here--take the near turn, toward the Busy Beaver.) At the end, turn left on 44th, then take the first right onto Foster. At the end, turn right onto the bridge sidewalk. Similarly, for getting to 16th SB--from Foster, just before the bridge, turn right onto 40th St Extension. The break in the barrier Stu mentions is just past the railroad tracks. Cross the series of parking lots--you'll need to go through another set of jersey barriers, but it's much wider--to 36th St. Make a left; Smallman is the first right. (Railroad starts at 31st St, underneath the bridge; Spruce is discontinuous, though from 34th you could cross Penn to Spring Way, the alley between Penn and Liberty.) To reach the Strip District Trail, take Smallman, or Railroad to 21st; turn right and go to the end of the street, then left onto the trail. (I think someone mentioned there also being access from 23rd, though it's not on Google Maps yet. From Penn, turn right on 24th, then left on Railroad to wherever.) Next exit is 11th; you can also climb up at 10th through the Convention Center water feature, the ramps at 7th, or the stairs at 9th and 6th, or continue all the way to the Point.

Lots of options, thanks everyone! :-) I'm excited to try some different things out and see what works best when the time comes.