BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Yes.

Google maps doesn't quite give a good route using the bike feature, and there's some kind of weird glitch through Crafton, but I'll write up a route and put it up later this evening.

I see that edmonds59 hasn't responded yet, but I don't think he'll mind my adding a couple of ideas.

a) Once you become familiar with using the long staircase that leads down to Second Avenue by the Armstrong Tunnel, your bike choices are improved. IMHO going down is as hard as going up.

b) On Downtown streets, don't be afraid to take the lane. On most, the speed limit is 25 mph, which you would likely not be going much slower than. Do not be cowed by drivers. You have every bit as much right to the road as they do. Keeping to the right is dangerous because of doors.

c) If not already familiar with using the bike racks on the front of PAT buses, please do. They're a good "plan B" in cases of time, bad weather, carrying a bunch of stuff, etc. Granted not every G2 from the Carnegie park-and-ride will be rack equipped, but many are, and we're told that in a few months all will be.

Stu, were you up at 3 in the darn morning?

Boy, does drawing a route in Goofle maps suck. I almost could have just met you and showed you the route!

Anyway, here's a route into town that I like.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=h&msa=0&msid=217889992230945734959.0004a0de864911bb8d3bd&z=13

From C'negie, don't take Noblestown the whole way in, it goes through a little strip-mall area that is a real PITA. And Crafton Blvd climbs a little less.

For going through the West End Circle/trapezoid/rhomus area, there are different ways to deal with it, depending on your confidence level. The 200 yd section of Carson is actually much worse than the circle itself. If you're ok in traffic, ride Carson from the circle to the Station Square drive. If less comfortable, take the stairs at the end of the West End bridge and take the sidewalk to the same.

Try this on a weekend to feel it out, it's much easier. Good luck!

@Edmonds - have you tried Bikely for mapping? I use it often, and love it. It's not perfect by any means, and there are a couple of frustrating elements to it (I usually unclick the "automatically follow the road" option, even when I am mapping on on road route, for example, as it sometimes does these weird extra leg things.) www.bikely.com

I'll have to give it a try, for sure.

Yeah, I think that feature could be improved, I'll admit I tend to use http://gmap-pedometer.com when I actually want to draw a route.

But, in a lot of cases, I think it's easier to just let google maps route you, and tweak it as necessary... I think this is the same route, and it only took one via point: http://goo.gl/Nb8Km

BTW, if there is a legitimate routing problem, or even just something you think could be improved, I urge you to use the "report a problem" link in the lower right corner. I would put something like "BICYCLING DIRECTIONS" in the description. People do look at those reports.

Thanks, Salty. G maps has a street in Crafton that doesn't exist, Chartiers Ave between Woodlawn st and Crafton Blvd, and the "by bike" function tried to take me that way, I should probably report that.

Looks like there's a walking path there, not a road. Google knows not to route cars over it, but that it's OK for pedestrians. Apparently it's marked as OK for bikes too. If it's not actually rideable on a bike, please do report it.

ETA: And I wanted to mention http://ridewithgps.com/routes/new as an alternative for route plotting. I find the way it shows elevation is more convenient than bikely's method. (You can mouse over the elevation graph and have it show the corresponding part on the route, for instance.) Plus you don't have to log in, the mouse wheel works as in Google Maps (unlike gmap-pedometer), it auto-remembers your most recent route, etc.

I keep meaning to check it out, it might be mountain-bikeable, but I'm never on a mtn bike, there. I'll do it sometime.

That is a "trail". That old piece of Chartiers was a trolley line. It is rideable on a street bike. Mostly like a dirt road with overgrown weeds, and some erosion.

I used to ride it, but then drifted over to the paved route that is highlighted in the Google route already provided. I liked that route in general since it got me away from the shopping district at Noble Manor on Route 50.

dig edmonds map, but keep on Noblestown road the entire way, imho

very doable ride, only way i get South out of the city by bike

+1 ridewithgps.com. The ability to zoom into the map by highlighting sections of the elevation plot is sweet.

Threadjack - if anybody wants to check out a little destination ride out on these routes, there's this:

"The parish of Sts. Peter & Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 220 Mansfield Blvd, Carnegie, PA will host its 45th Annual Ukrainian Easter Egg Sale. The event will feature: Over 1,500 hand crafted Ukrainian Easter eggs, hand made crafts from Eastern Europe, Ukrainian Embroidery, Ethnic foods from our kitchen, basket raffles, door prizes and church & museum tours,. We will be accepting Mastercard/Visa/Discover for egg and craft purchases. For additional information please call: 412-527-5359, 412-279-2111, 412-276-0342"

Sunday should be rather nice!

I like ridewithgps - a lot, for the reasons you note. However, the "save route" mechanism is not intuituve or easy to find. I lose a lot of routes on it.

Sometimes fake streets on maps are Copyright Easter Eggs, placed to prove ownership in copyright disputes. But I'd imagine that Google is smart enough to not route through the fakes, so it's probably worth reporting.

awesome! Thanks so much for all the info, I'm going to try it out sometime this weekend, maybe Sunday.

okay I've got a few questions about the route:

1.) how close to the W. End Bridge can I hook up with the heritage trail?

2.) how do you guys feel about going to the 10th st. bridge and through the Armstrong tunnels? I need to be on the lower half of campus, so the stairs would be unnecessary.

10SB, it's a function of how comfortable you are with riding in traffic. Over the years, as I've gained confidence, I just take the lane, but at night I take the sidewalk. I don't ride it that often, so I would trust what others say who ride it more regularly.

Tunnel, I would NOT ride the tunnel unless with a group. There is a sidewalk on the downstream side, but is very narrow. Two people can get by one another, but if one is a bike, it's awkward. Best to dismount.

I agree with stew, 10th stree bridge is rideable if you are comfortable in traffic, but it also has sidewalks on both sides. Likewise you can ride through the tunnel, but this is sketchy. The first few times I would suggest using the downstream sidwalk on the bridge, then use the sidewalk through the tunnel.

how close to the W. End Bridge can I hook up with the heritage trail?

From the south end of the WEB, carry bike down the staircase, and ride the sidewalk along West Carson. Once you get past the big long building on the left, make a left at that traffic light. From there, you can pick up the trail. I'd say it's about 1/4 mile of busted sidewalk, but it's a helluvalot nicer than dealing with West Carson traffic. There is *no* sidewalk on the eastbound/inbound side of WCarson. Frankly I'm surprised truck mirrors don't scrape the sides of the buildings in some places.

I ride in the Armstrong tunnel from Forbes to 2nd - it's down hill. I would be hestant in the other direction. If it were the only convenient way to get where I was going, I would do the uphill direction on the sidewalk (and stop politely for pedestrians)

If you're coming from the west via West Carson, the Smithfield Street Bridge (either on the sidewalk or in the roadway) seems a much better option than a route using the Armstrong Tunnel. The Fort Pitt Bridge is also OK (on the sidewalk).

Thanks again!

Ok, *finally* this is officially out in the US:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/add-your-local-knowledge-to-map-with.html

So, instead of "Report a Problem", you can just fix the maps yourself

Hey just curious, have you given this a go yet?

Hi amandasolecism - I did a similar bike commute from Crafton to Downtown much of last summer and fall. I'm on crutches due to a running injury right now, but if you have any questions about the roads and traffic flow or anything else feel free to message me.

amandasolecism, or others, any interest in riding in together on biketoworkday on May 20, in case you haven't tried the ride already? And if so, what time do you need to be in town?