BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

My opinion is there is no good Lawrenceville wiggle. I climb straight up main most days, but for people who prefer not to do that here's what I got...

From upper lawrenceville:

Pretty much just climb fisk from butler, cutting over to main st via geneva.

From Lower lawrenceville:

36th to bandera to 38th, cross penn, go left on cabinet st to main st.

Or

just climb up 39th slowly, cross penn and hit cabinet st to main st.

Cabinet is small, ill-paved, and one-way downhill for at least one block. My usual route (I live near 38th & Penn) is Mintwood up to Fisk, then Howley to Main. Sometimes I take Howley all the way up. Mintwood is also poorly paved, but the greater width and visibility make up for it, I think.

I'm likely spoiled by never having to traverse it when the cemetery is closed, but that's my favorite place to get from down by the river to up top of the hill. Nice and quiet.

I think our version of the SF wiggle would be the river trails. Unfortunately, much of the city is in the hills above the trails. But I've used the trails to avoid serious hills on blah days.

i have ridden the SF wiggle, and i can verify that it is indeed mostly flat. i actually think PGH is more hilly for a bike than SF.

Yeah, replace cabinet with howley on most of my directions above... I forgot the order of one way streets up there.

I admit, that when going up main and trying to get to friendship, it's usually easier for me to just cross penn at main and then go left on to woolslayer way (the wrong way) and take that to friendship (or do the dirty pothole alley expressway all the way down comrie to coral).

It's a lot easier to make that left on main st across one lane of traffic to woolslayer than deal two lanes of traffic (one turning down penn and one going straight down main).

There is usually zero traffic on that lane, most uses millgate since it runs parallel and is in way better condition.

i just take fisk all the way up from butler to howley, then to main to liberty. in my experience, fisk is a ton more pleasant than main to bike up.

I usually prefer to cross penn at main, especially at rush hour due to the traffic signal. Sometimes it can be tough to cross at fisk. If it's not the busy hours though, just crossing at fisk is probably the way to go.

Fisk is a lot more pleasant than main, less through traffic.

If it's upper Larryville or lower Bloomfield, that little area has on aggregate the best street names I've ever seen - Woolslayer, Mintwood, Howley, Millgate, etc. I've always liked that.

I've always been fond of the intersection of Christian Way and Liberty Avenue, strictly for its name.

Technically it's Lower Lawrenceville, most of it. I call it West Bloomfield, but that's more of a Detroit joke...

the best part of Christian Way is the fact that it's directly behind a public school...

There's simply no wiggle in Pittsburgh that's comparable to the SF Wiggle. The closest thing to a wiggle we've got is probably Selwyn to Juniata to Hastings to Linden in order to avoid the Reynolds wall, but it's arguable that part of Reynolds is even bad enough to take such a circuitous route to avoid it.

Any "wiggle" that gets you over Mt Washington? (Other than the Incline?)

Any "wiggle" that gets you over Mt Washington? (Other than the Incline?)

Josephine to Arlington?

I always feel like a real cyclist when I skip the Selwyn wiggle and do the Reynolds wall instead.

A real cyclist who wants to throw up, but, a real cyclist.

I think the alternate route is harder because it's a constant grade. "The wall" just rips the band aid off.

I'll skip the wiggle and take my 6 minutes of suffering...

I think I've done the reynolds wall. It was just because I had to write directions down, and was too lazy to write the directions google gave which involved selwyn st, so I took a more direct route.

Any "wiggle" that gets you over Mt Washington? (Other than the Incline?)

Josephine to Arlington?

Well, not really. The first bit of Josephine, although it doesn't look it, feels steep, as is the part just before Arlington (in my recollection: haven't done this for a year). The remainder is pretty nice. On the whole I'd say it's equivalent to 18th though more scenic (depending on you definition thereof; mine is less car, more green).

The streets east of Beltzhoover are interesting and look like they might have wiggle possibilities, though I haven't checked them out with that in mind.

Or just do Sycamore and get it over with, assuming that, unlike the guy writing in the NYT, you had enough sense to buy a bike with a terrain-appropriate drivetrain.

I've resigned myself to doing Sycamore (hence the six minutes of suffering.) Although my bike is heavy, the drive train should be able to climb trees. 22/32/44 in the front, and 11-34 nine speed in the back.

@ajbooth

22/32/44 in the front, and 11-34 nine speed in the back.

That is like the Queen of Granny-Gears!

Definitely has my seal of approval.

Gives you a low of about 17.5 gear-inches.

Unless you're better balanced than me (no great stretch there), you will still have trouble with Sycamore, though.

I climb Sycamore 3x week in the 32-30. Never been in the 22 up front, other than accidentally. When that happened, I almost spun out and fell over!