can anyone tell me if the north shore and other river trails are still very crowded with walkers, etc. to make it difficult for bike riding….a friend told me that a month ago, it was very difficult to ride on the north shore trail due to the crowds.

It will depend on time of day and location.  As long as you are not planning on riding fast, you should be good. The farther upstream you go, the less traffic.  But the roads are virtually empty a good part of the day.

thanks Dave….what part of day the worst and are there still large crowds of walkers preventing bikes getting through?

Not being everywhere at once all day long, I cannot answer your question.  My experience is limited- I lead BiketheBurgh tours and generally head down the trail from the Heinz Plant to the point around noon. The trail has never been overly crowded in my opinion, but we are riding pretty slowly, so having to slow a bit does not happen often.  I have never seen it totally blocked, and even if there were to be two groups of people intersecting, it will only clog for a few seconds.

If you are looking for a fast ride, hit the streets, which often have less cars than the number of bikes you will see on the trails.  I can almost guarantee there will be less people before 8 am and after 7pm.  Just get out and ride, keep a positive attitude, and enjoy powering yourself over the face of the earth.

My observation is that trail usage has returned to near pre-COVID levels. To hazard a guess, perhaps 20 or 25% more people than before.