Traveled to West Virginia to ride the Wheeling Heritage Trail and a short part of the Brook Pioneer Trail. The Brook Trail is open for a partial distance due to bridge construction in Wellsburg. We rode a total of 33 mostly sunny, very hot miles. The trail runs along the Ohio River but views were limited due to lush vegetation growing along the river bank. The trail is paved, for the most part smooth, and runs the gamut of urban, industrial, and woodsy. There are many historical markers along the way so we were able to get a good sense of the culture of the area. It was an interesting ride, I’m glad we experienced it, but don’t know that we will return. There are so many trails to explore! Onto Moraine today, one of our tried and true faves.

Found a trail the other day that is a glorious combo of three of my favorite things- biking, food, and history. The Westmoreland Heritage trail is almost 10 miles of flat, well-maintained crushed sone that meanders along Turtle Creek, cutting through the Turtle Creek gorge. It’s a nice blend of beautiful, serene woods and friendly small towns. The gorge is lined with interesting rock formations, and a connecting bridge leads to Duff Park and a more challenging trail.  At the terminus we found Ginny’s, a friendly neighborhood pizza joint that serves the best wings and apple caramel sangria I have ever tasted. The trail contains many informational markers detailing the history of an area in western Pa that I didn’t know much about. And of course, nothing caps off a bike ride as well as an ice cream cone!  Scenery, history, food; all in all a great ride! 

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Oftentimes other people can say things so much better than I, and their words can truly be that which makes you go hmmmmm… while recently riding my bike across the Fort Duquesne Bridge, I noticed something that I hadn’t seen before. Usually my trip across the bridge consists of a lot of gawking at a variety of fellow bridge-crossers and the beautiful river view, while occasionally remembering to keep my attention on my bike driving. For some reason, however, on that particular day, my attention was caught by the simple, black-markered words to live by that were scrawled across the railing. Words to live by…here they are…enough said…