Out Braving the Cold

So the weather is looking pretty miserable for the next few days so I figured I would brave the cold this afternoon and head out for a bike ride.  With temps in the high 30s I put on ever piece of clothing I thought would keep me warm (underarmor, long johns, jersey, vest, windbreaker ... you the idea).  As you can see from the picture I am pretty well bundled.


I decided to pick up where I left off on the Great Allegheny Passageway from the day before so Bernard (the bike now has a name) hopped into the car and headed out to Duquesne.  Before I leave PGH I would like to cover the whole trail and hopefully once the weather gets nicer I will be able to cover a bit more ground. 

After parking I saw these crazy cool steel people so I had to stop and take a picture.  

The weather was pretty decent once I was out on the trail and after five or so miles I had to start taking off a couple of my layers.  

I did pass a lot of crazy cool things like the old movie set of The Brave Little Toaster

and then I hit the outskirts of Mars (yes there is actually a Mars, PA)

finally I came across a graveyard where trailers and boat houses go to their final resting place.  

On my way back through Boston I stopped to read all about the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railway, and of course take a picture. 

As you can see things were going great 

Until BAM (or should I say POP) ... I blew a tire.  A few miles out I suspected I had a slow leak, but kept going figuring I would be able to get out there and back before I ran into any problems.  Sadly I had not brought a flat kit with me or an air pump so I was forced to walk my bike back.  Thankfully the weather was pretty decent and I was on my way back to the car so it was not a total loss.  There were two very nice bikers who stopped, but sadly they did not have an extra tube and/or pump. 

The good part about the walk back was I did come across this great piece of street art which I would have missed if I was on a bike.