A few things to consider….
– I live / work in New Jersey
– I am approaching 20 years of employment with BNYMellon
– This is my 3rd business trip to Pittsburgh during my tenure
– I love riding bikes and try to fit in an adventure daily
When I found out I was going to Pittsburgh, I immediately began thinking about ways to incorporate extracurricular riding activities in to my agenda. Here is what I came up with…
Monday, I drove to Pittsburgh from New Jersey which was approximately a five hour drive. Before checking in to the hotel, I made a pitstop 20 minutes north of the city at “North Park” and mountain biked for roughly 3 hours. Upon arriving, I was disappointed the jump lines were closed.. Womp Womp. Disappointment aside, the loop I completed was phenomenal, would ride again and recommend.
That evening, I rode my bmx bike 5 miles across town to a well known indoor skatepark known as the Wheel Mill. Aside from the opportunity to ride this place, my epic adventure for the day was capped when I met local 20 year veteran BMX pro / legend Chris Doyle and had great conversations about kids, diapers, teething and sleeping through the night. Its not everyday you show up to a skatepark and accidentally hang out with a legend and talk about parenthool – LOL. As much as I wanted to be a groupie / fan and take a selfie with him, I felt it would be kinda awkward. To put a little more perspective… My son plays a BMX game on his IPAD and Chris Doyle is the athlete he chose as the rider….
Tuesday morning 5am (which is my usual daily ride time), I was pleased to see snow accumulations and looked forward to riding from the hotel to the South Side to experience the epic Pittsburgh climbs and also snap a pic of the city skyline. I had GPS difficulties with finding the route while within the city and eventually managed to figure out a way to get up the to the top of the south side.
This was a very tricky switchback climb. The snow made it extra interesting… Once slip to the left and I would’ve been in serious trouble.
AND I made it, no issue…
When I planned the trip, I was hoping I would catch a sunrise shot… Unfortunately / Fortunately the weather dictated my adventure and I ended up with this lasting memory.
After spending all day in meetings and after having a drink with some friends after work, I snuck away and headed back to the Wheel Mill and stayed there until closing time. I spent most of the night in this room.
The next morning, I checked out and headed for home… BUT….. I made another pitstop to ride some of the best mountain bike trails Pennsylvania has to offer – Michaux State Forrest. AND as an added bonus, there was a nice coating of snow which made the ride more EPIC!!!! I rode the “Dark Hallow 20” race course loop and enjoyed all 3 hours of it. The pictures do not do this place justice.
So with some creativity, I was able to turn a business trip in to a very productive coupla three day adventures. I have some work pics and stories to go with them but who wants to hear about that? LOL
Thanks for reading!
Mike Williams 