Too Mundane

Well, it had to happen sometime. Some readers might have thought it already happened, but this, this is one for the record books. Two very mundane runs. Not a lot to see, although I still took pictures, to make sure you, the reader, also realizes how mundane these runs were. If you fall asleep mid-post don’t blame me, blame your coffee.

RATS Run #00418 in Shadyside and East Liberty

RATS Run #00418 was a short run from Mellon Park to the end of the rainbow, Rainbow Street, that is. Adding to the whopping 2.69 miles, I turned the corner on Fifth and Penn (East Liberty Version) and ended up high-stepping through downed tree limbs while hoping I didn’t fall into the turning lane. Grrr

The end of Rainbow Street isn’t all it’s cracked up to be; just a busway entrance.

Now I traipsed through little streets which have recently blossomed across from Bakery Square. I’m not sure what kind of soil they’re using, but those trees look pretty sparse. The condos look modern and sleek, but still sparse.

This took me to the back of Mellon Park. Softball and kick-ball leagues were in full swing, so I dodged them and ran behind the tennis bubble, from an earlier ‘future’. Finishing out my miles, I made sure to go to the very end of Cornelius Way, off of Howe. With that, I was done.


RATS Run #00419 in Banksville

Now for another abject lesson in mundanity. I started at the corner of Banksville and Banksville. The little sideroad, Banksville Avenue branches off of the express lanes that are Banksville Road. Outbound drivers are just realizing they aren’t on the interstate anymore, while inbound drivers are gearing up for tunnel traffic. Anyway, a couple of hotels grace Banksville Avenue. Catering to the visitor traffic are an Eat ‘N Park and a piggy BBQ place.

Catering to wedding guests is The Boiler Room. It is temporarily closed, but hopefully that’s just a short-term Covid thing. I must say, while it doesn’t sound like an elegant wedding place, it certainly had the look. Behind “The Boiler Room”, Alpark Avenue stretches back nearly to the Parkway West. When I laid out my route, I took a peek at Google Streetview to see what I was getting myself into. I saw a street lined with cars parked in front of semi-permanent trailers. However, things have changed. All the trailers and cars are gone. Wild grape vines are taking over.

From here, I started up Crane Avenue. It’s a steep, winding road with narrow shoulders and no sidewalks. Prior to running up here, I thought there was nothing around, so no sidewalks kinda made sense. However, two of Pittsburgh’s largest apartment complexes are off of this road (Hyland and Crane Village). Additionally, there’s a bus-stop, orphaned from any pedestrian access; a park at the top of the hill and a restaurant at the bottom. C’mon Pittsburgh, you can do better!

East Entry Drive bears off to the left and conjures up the entrance to a mansion, but in reality is just a short drive to a self-storage facility. There are a few businesses and apartments wedged in there as well. Crane Village is a sprawling campus of garden apartments. I could see the UPMC building and Oxford Center peek through the trees before getting caught in a short downpour. It turned all the streets to rivers and my shoes into canoes, floating me down the hill.


If you made it this far, maybe these runs weren’t THAT mundane. Just be careful going up Crane Avenue.

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