A Plus Attitudes

We had Spring-like winter weather yesterday, Sunday. It got up to 63 degrees on the last day of January in Pittsburgh, PA. Normally the temps this time of year in Pittsburgh are at least freezing if not colder. My husband and I seized the day by throwing our bikes in the back of our car and going for a bike ride in the city of Pittsburgh.

If you’ve never been to Pittsburgh, you’re missing out on a lot. Pittsburgh is full of culture. We have a world-class symphony, opera, ballet, musical theater, an amazing museum system, including the Warhol museum, one of the most beautiful botanical, indoor gardens(Phipps), miles of paved bike trails, multiple theaters including Heinz Hall and the Benedum, top universities: Carnegie Mellon, University of Pittsburgh, just to name a couple, champion sports teams: Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, beautiful architecture, two incline plane cable car systems, plethora of restaurants and cafes, and the list can on and on.

We managed to get in 20 miles of cycling. We took a lunch break mid-way through our ride at an iconic, Pittsburgh-based family restaurant, Eat n’Park.

The cycling experience felt a little surreal. Normally this time of year if we want to be cycling outside, we have to vacation someplace south, but we were actually cycling outside in our home town. It was surreal, but it was wonderful. At one stretch of the trail that runs along the Youghiogheny River, in an area where one can site Bald eagles, there were patchy areas of snow still left on the trail, but it was still passable. I had never biked in snow before. This was a first for both of us and we were having the time of our lives.

Isn’t life funny? It throws you these little surprises when you least expect it. Sometimes the surprises are good, sometimes they’re bad. Yesterday was definitely a good surprise and I am grateful that my husband and I seized the Spring-like weather and went for a bike ride.