The ride to Pittsburgh today was the final planned day of riding at least 100 miles. Unforeseen circumstances could force me to ride over 100 miles on a different day of the trip, and I hoped this wouldn't happen. 11 centuries (100+ mile ride) for this trip was plenty for me. Shortly after riding away from Kent, I soon found myself back in the countryside. One major difference I had begun to notice the day before that I was experiencing again today was the absence of farmland in this part of Ohio. Instead, there were a lot of homes on acreage, small subdivisions, or undeveloped land. I would have expected more farmland. Riding around here was on relatively flat terrain, too. Around 30 miles into the ride, farmland returned to being the norm. Hills also became more common, especially after Salem. I stopped in East Palestine for lunch, the final stop in Ohio before crossing the border into Pennsylvania. State route OH-14 changed to PA-51 after crossing the border into Pennsylvania, and the highway widened to four lanes with a wide shoulder. The surface also seemed a bit faster to ride along. After several gradual climbs that were anywhere from half a mile to a mile and a half in length, it was a downhill coast into the Ohio River valley. The infrastructure in this area was impressive. There were many bridges that crossed the Ohio River, many of which were the older steel truss variety. The industry in the area was a lot more substantial, too: steel mills, recycling facilities, warehouses, and factories dominated the river valley. Rain had moved into the area, but it appeared as though I had missed the heavier rain. All told, I rode through a light to steady rain for a total of about 20 minutes. Once I was closer to Pittsburgh, the rain had moved on, and the route ran along the Three Rivers Trail, but before getting to said trail, I crossed the McKees Rocks Bridge. This was a really interesting bridge to ride across, for two reasons: 1) it was over 7,000 feet in length, and 2) I wasn't able to get on the pedestrian pathway, and this was at 4pm on a Friday in Pittsburgh. Fortunately, a traffic light controlled the flow of traffic, which then came by in predictable intervals. Between these intervals of traffic was easygoing riding. Shortly after crossing the bridge, I connected to the Three Rivers Trail. The Three Rivers Trail winds along the Ohio River and eventually the Allegheny River into the north side of Pittsburgh. After riding around a gradual bend in the river by Heinz Field and PNC Park, Pittsburgh's three yellow symbolic, steel bridges came into view: the Roberto Clemente Bridge, Andy Warhol Bridge, and Rachel Carson Bridge. While taking this all in, I noticed that the handlebar wrap had begun to come undone on the righthand side of the handlebar. This meant a stop at a bikeshop. After leaving the bikeshop, a quick dinner was due. Before grabbing dinner, I looked at my mirror... my mirror that wasn't there! When the handlebar was rewrapped, I forgot to clamp the mirror back onto the handlebar. Looking down to see no mirror felt extremely awkward; after all, the mirror had been the for the entire trip. Riding mirror-less just didn't feel right. I left the shop just before 7pm, and the shop closes at 7pm. By the time I got back, the shop was closed and the owner gone. I didn't think too much of this. Now that I was further east, I would likely pick up a new one at a bikeshop along the way. After dinner, I rode to my host's residence. It was a quick four mile ride across Pittsburgh near the Oakland Square Historic District. I quickly learned that the Midwest definition of "hill" and Pittsburgh definition of "hill" were drastically different. Bates Street is a tame example of this difference. While I was only on this street for 0.30 miles, it was very steep. By my estimation at its steepest points, it may have been upwards of a 18% grade. After riding over 100 miles today, this 0.30 miles seemed longer than it truly was. Once I arrived at my host's place, I was beat and ready for bed after cleaning up. Tomorrow's ride would be shorter, and it would all be on an old railroad bed, which is now the Great Allegheny Passage Trail.
