Author Archive
Open Streets PGH
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A nonprofit outfit here in Pittsburgh, dubbed ‘Open Streets PGH,’ offers an event a few times a year wherein the normal ebb and flow of vehicular traffic through the city is halted, and a route is offered to the public for bike and pedestrian usage.
Our Lady of the Pentacle and myself decided to check out and participate in the event, which occurred on a particularly dreary and rain choked weekend day.
The particular route for this outing involved us getting to ‘Downtown,’ whereupon it snaked through the business district and over to the normally vehicle focused Armstrong Tunnel. This led us to a crossing of the Monongahela River over the South Tenth Street Bridge, which would put us in the South Side Flats ‘zone.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m still learning ‘what’s what,’ and ‘where’s where,’ but pictured above is Pittsburgh’s ‘Bridge of Sighs.’ One side of the street is the court house, whereas the other used to be a jail, and prisoners would be marched to their court dates along the corridor housed within that bridge over the street, hence the colloquial cognomen.
As you’ve likely noticed, one opted for use of a wide angle 16mm lens on this excursion. I was traveling light, partially because it was raining, and had my ‘bag of primes’ with me rather than any of the zoom lenses.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the Armstrong Tunnel, dug into a landform called ‘The Bluff,’ which Duquesne University sits atop. The tunnel leads to the northern shoreline of the Monongahela River, and it’s been undergoing rehabilitation related construction for pretty much the entire interval that I’ve been living in Pittsburgh.
Tomorrow, what it looks like within the tunnel, and on the other side.
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Dumberer, and Dumbtastic
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The long walk upon which I ran out of gas, described this week, ended with a cab ride over to a brewery nearby the light rail station which would carry me home. Said brewery is found alongside a fairly busy rail corridor operated by the CSX outfit. While relaxing my sore back and rehydrating with a pint of Pilsner, the signal arms at the grade crossing of the tracks activated, and I painfully stumbled over to get a shot of the passing train.
That’s when I saw one of the most dumbass things I’ve witnessed in the last couple of years occurred. Guys on dirt bikes ignoring the warning bells, the stop lights, and racing across the tracks in front of a moving train.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The trains don’t move terribly fast in this section for obvious reasons, but… Y’know, there’s a lot of ‘physics’ at work when you’re talking about locomotives. Getting hit by a slow moving train (15-20 mph) is somewhat related to getting shot by a fast moving bullet.
Had this kid miscalculated his crossing, hundreds of thousands of tons of mass would have been imparted to his bike and body. Parts of him would have become a red mist as he dismembered, and components of his bike would have gone airborne and landed dozens of feet from the point of impact. If the train operator had to hit the brakes to initiate a full stop, it would have taken the locomotive a good half mile to do so.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
You don’t screw around with trains, I always say. I used to say that about boats and ships in New York Harbor. It’s hard to conceive some of the titanic forces and physics surrounding such enormous machines, but as a reminder just keep saying to yourself ‘speed times mass.’ The reason a tiny bullet can pop a basketball size hole in you is ‘speed times mass,’ and the reason why a slow moving train can dismember you despite its relatively low traveling velocity is ‘speed times mass.’
Dumb, dumber, dumbest. This was some ‘Darwin Award’ shit right here.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The CSX unit was still blowing its horns as it passed through the grade crossing. One of the factors that the motorcyclist’s dumb move accomplished was introducing pure nightmare fuel for the operator of this locomotive. I’ve talked to NYC Subway personnel who experienced the hell of somebody jumping in front of a train they were operating, and have been told that it’s a life changing experience which never – ever – leaves you.
‘Eff you, motorcycle guy.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After getting the shot above, and finishing my pint of beer, a painful but short walk found me waiting for a T Light Rail car to shuttle me back to HQ. I was absolutely ‘out of gas,’ when I got home and prepared an evening meal. I wish I could say it was good, but I soon found myself in urgent physical distress, and didn’t finish it.
All I could think about was sleep, and found myself in bed by 9:30 p.m., a situation which Moe the Dog was highly in favor of. I was quite sore when I woke up the next morning, but had recovered from what was likely a heat and dehydration related physical crisis. Wow.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Lesson is: don’t ‘break the chain’ on regular exercise as it’s an absolute trial to get things started again. Also, I have to start carrying a water bottle with me during the summer. Also – yes, I was wearing a hat.
Back next week with something different at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
Up, over, & pffffft
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the 31st street bridge pictured above, which I walked across the Allegheny River upon. As mentioned several times this week, this walk was a bit of a challenge for me, due to a long period of inactivity. As to why I was inactive for so long, that’s not a terribly interesting story to tell but let’s just say that I had things which needed tending to at home. The situation I was thereby dealing with involved a stiffened set of muscles and tendons in both the roadway interface and my lower back. It was also the first really warm day that I’d been out and about, and it was quite humid so I was sweating profusely. Put all that together and ‘no bueno.’
Saying all that, I’m quite used to having to double down on a walk and ease myself back into a groove after ‘hitting a wall,’ but my physical reserves to continue on were drying up with each step forward. Didn’t help that I was absolutely cooking in direct sunlight. Yeah, it was cloudy, but those were clouds of literal humidity hanging in the air.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At the right side of the shot above, looking southwesterly along the Allegheny River, right at the horizon level – that’s Acrisure Stadium, which the Steelers operate out of, and that’s where I started this walk. Just under six miles is how far I got, basically.
Right after capturing this shot, I crashed out. ‘Ran out of gas’ as it were. Saying that, I was at the middle of a bridge, so I had to stagger on to the other side. My original plan involved walking all the way back downtown and crossing another bridge over the Monongahela River to get back to the light rail, but that all had to be scrapped.
A significant part of ‘adulthood,’ as I define it, is to know when you’re licked. The only thing on my mind at this particular moment was to find a shady spot where I could sit down and rehydrate.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The bridge was finally crossed and upon regaining the street grid, I summoned a Lyft rideshare to carry me to a destination which my intentions of a ten to twelve mile walk were meant to incorporate as a reward for the effort. ‘Man, oh man, I’m getting old’ is what I was thinking.
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
Herr’s Island soliloquy
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The atmosphere had warmed up considerably since the start of this particular walk that a humble narrator had initiated. It was quite humid, and after a long interval of inactivity, this scuttle was grinding me down physically. I followed the Three Rivers Heritage Trail along the Allegheny River and soon found myself crossing a former rail bridge onto ‘Herr’s Island.’
A former stockyard dedicated to the slaughter and dismemberment of animals for the grocery trade, this landform has been redeveloped and largely gentrified with row homes and an office park. Luckily, there’s a bar/restaurant on the island where I was able to purchase a glass of orange juice and also received a free glass of water with my purchase. I sat my stinking pre-corpse down for a few minutes, and allowed a few of the knots in my lower back to uncoil while quaffing the iced liquids. I also took advantage of their lavatory, which was clean and welcoming. I was in a full sweat, and growing increasingly sore.
A voice in the back of my head kept on saying ‘you’re too warm, you need to get out of the sun.’ A louder internal voice said ‘Soldier on.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’d soon be walking over that bridge pictured above, which is called the 31st street bridge. It was my pre-decided ‘turnaround’ point, about four and change miles from where I had debarked the T light rail, nearby the sportsball stadiums. I had one goal to hit though, which was to see what the north eastern extant of this island looked like. On, did I scuttle.
When I was walking the riverfront trail in Millvale a few weeks back, my curiosity was stoked about this section of Herr’s Island. Turns out that there are tennis and pickleball courts on this side of the island, and an office park which houses several governmental and private entities.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There was a section where you could get down to the water, but I didn’t head down those steps. There was a young woman sunbathing down there, and I can’t imagine how creepy it would have seemed if some sweaty and limping old homunculus with a camera just appeared and started cracking out photos. The human infestation is everywhere, and I always have to worry about mobs of peasants with pitchforks.
Now, regarding the physical state that I soon found myself in…
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
No scuttle, no peace
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pictured above is an Allegheny Valley Railroad train set negotiating itself over the Fort Wayne railroad bridge, which spans the Allegheny River and the train is heading towards Downtown Pittsburgh. This bridge, and the particular direction that the AVRR train is heading, lead to a set of tracks in the center of the city which Amtrak and Norfolk Southern also use to head eastwards.
As mentioned a few times in this story, this scuttle was playing out on a warm day, and a humble narrator had spent the couple of weeks prior sitting on his butt at home. I was not enjoying the humidity or warmth as I haven’t fully acclimated away from winter yet, and in my defense it was forty degrees not two days before these shots were gathered. I was thereby in a full sweat, and every step was increasingly an act of will even though the first mile of my intentions had barely been expressed.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One was scuttling along the section of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail which is found on the north shore of the Allegheny River. It’s not exactly a demanding route, given that it’s graded and paved, but after my long somnolent period – agony. My back hurt, and so did my butt. I was sweating profusely and not feeling so great. The drill is to lean into it, tough it out, and get past thoughts of discomfort though. You can sit and whine about it at home later, I told myself. It’s not like you have a choice about exercise, it’s a requirement.
While pedantically negotiating with my lizard brain, I couldn’t help but notice a little blue house which seemed to be the sole survivor of a lost civilization, nearby the former Heinz Factory.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The trail is well wooded, and there are long intervals during which you’re marching through a tunnel of trees and vegetation. That’s nice.
Last time that I scuttled through here during the early winter, there were dozens of homeless encampments observed along the path – tents and lean to’s surrounded by middens of garbage. I’ve heard that the gendarmes were sent in to clear the area of such habitations, and the effort seems to have been successful at accomplishing its stated goal. I do wonder where all the street people have moved on to, though.
Right about when I was shooting the photo above at a clearing in the wall of vegetation, of a tug and barge doing some sort of construction duty with a ‘Dick’s Sporting Goods’ advertising blimp overhead, that’s when I really started craving some sort of hydration. I seldom carry a water bottle with me, and my NYC born habit always involves the statement that ‘I’d stop at a bodega somewhere and grab a Gatorade or something.’
The problem with Pittsburgh, as I’ve discovered, is they ain’t got no bodegas out here. It’s ‘car country’ and the best you’re going to do is find a gas station with a convenience store attached to it or happen across some random 711 or McDonald’s, but those are far and few between.
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
The Newtown Pentacle 