This is an much different bike tour than the last two we did in 2021 and 2022. This tour is many more miles and over 6 days, not 5 days – over 300 miles from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. . This trip my son will be traveling with our group. Steve is taking a break this year. And the tour organization is Wilderness-Voyageurs leaving right out of Pittsburgh.

So first, get to Pittsburgh. For me a morning of travel airport to airport to airport. Once I arrive at the airport, the rest of the crew comes to pick me up and head to a lunch at a local Mexican restaurant close to the hotel we are staying at. The tour will start on Sunday morning. This gives us a little time in the afternoon after lunch to take a trip downtown to take in a local, historic tourist place and enjoy great views of Pittsburgh.

Thanks to Russ for renting a van and driving us around! Having never been to Pittsburgh, I am generally surprised at how hilly and windy the roads are as well as lots of trees and it seems not a lot of people until you head towards downtown Pittsburgh. Our hotel is in Moon Township near an Air Force Reserve Base – makes us chuckle.

Our afternoon adventure is to the funicular railway called The Duquesne Incline. It was used for transportation up and down Mount Washington from 1877 to 1962. Its main transportation purpose was to bringing people to work in the factories along the south bank of the Monongahela River. Previous to the railway, they had to take the “Indian Steps,” basically a trail from the river to the top of Mount Washington. It went into disrepair by 1962 and was renovated and reopened to continue to provide a fun way to get from down along the river to the top of Mount Washington. Named The Duquesne Incline after Fort Duquesne which was the fort prior to Fort Pitt for which Pittsburgh is named. It cost $2.50 each way. The cashier at the bottom collects the cash only and has you put it in an old cash box for which periodically she has to come out and use a stick to push the money down. Quite an entertaining experience!

At the top, you are able to get a fabulous view of downtown Pittsburgh, the three river convergence (Ohio, Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers), the Point State Park (where the forts used to be located), many bridges crossing the rivers, several stadiums (including the Pittsburgh Steelers home) and lots of boats on the river. Beautiful vista! Hard to believe this was where many steel mills were originally located in our country.

Also, near the top of the railway, there are several small bars, homes and office buildings. One has a plaque outside noting a famous meeting by President Clinton and John Major. History everywhere.

Coincidentally we pass an old Carnegie library building, one of many around the country we have seen. Thank you Mr. Carnegie for your legacy.

There is a concert at the stadium tonight and a soccer game happening. A nice city with more to explore but no time on this trip. Back to our hotel for dinner, drinks and rest. The big ride starts tomorrow!