In response to the increased interest in cycling generated by the pandemic, we have identified five short easy cycling loops near CMU. We hope these descriptions will encourage more people to get out on bikes.

These are 2-3 mile loops on local bike lanes, paved trails, and low-traffic park roads; some have an unavoidable block or so in traffic. They overlap, so it’s easy to string two or more together for a longer ride. Further, they are near HealthyRide bikeshare stations, so you don’t even need your own bike.

• Each loop is available as a tri-fold brochure with directions and a map. Download the complete set in pdf (7.5 MB). You might have to tell your printer “flip on short edge” to print it properly.
• There’s an interactive map in MyMaps. Click in the left-hand menu of that map to turn individual routes off and on.
• To add the actual GPS tracks to your favorite navigation app, see the bottom of this page.

We hope these descriptions will encourage more people to get out on bikes. Not only is cycling good exercise, it’s easier to maintain social distance while cycling on a street than while walking.

Please send comments on these routes to cmuloops [at] freewheelingeasy [dot] com . Send comments on the bicycle infrastructure to the Pittsburgh 311 Response Center or 412-255-2621 (for example, about improving the surface on Pocusset Drive Trail).

GPS tracks:
To load these routes onto your favorite navigation app, you need the actual tracks, which are stored in a format called KMZ. Here are the KMZ files for the individual loops: [ Merry Go-Around ] [ Around Of Golf ] [ Squarely in Oakland ] [ Overlook the hills ] [ Squirrelly Prospects ]

Bike shops and local businesses and institutions:
These brochures were developed by volunteers for free distribution. You are welcome — indeed, encouraged — to print and distribute them. They will fit brochure racks: Print with “flip on short edge” selected, then fold as trifold brochure. The map side of each brochure has two inconspicuous tick-marks — align the right edge of the sheet to the tick-marks to set the first fold, then fold the left side over.

Credits:
This is a volunteer project of the FreeWheeling Easy folks and the bicycle-pedestrian committees of Carnegie Mellon University and the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition.
Maps by Google consistent with their guidelines.
Produced for free distribution. Copyright © 2020 Mary Shaw under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
When you start looking for longer, flattish, motor-free rides outside the city, check out our guidebook, FreeWheeling Easy in Western Pennsylvania