Baker Street, which takes you from Butler Street up into Morningside, isn't the steepest street in the city, but the rise is long and steady. When I reached the summit on my bicycle yesterday, I was panting like a dog in a sauna.

Morningside seemed worth the effort, though. It's always seemed like a humble village hidden in the city, always had a kind of Mayberry vibe -- though Aunt Bee's specialty might more likely be wedding soup than apple pie.

When I reached the corner of Morningside and Greenwood avenues, I pulled out my "Pedal Pittsburgh" map. This annual bicycle tour, with six courses ranging from 6 to 60 miles, is this Sunday. Morningside is on the routes ranging from 25 to 60 miles.

The Morning Glory Cafe was among the many coffee shops featured on the map but was nowhere in sight. So I doubled back to a guy I'd seen on a Morningside Avenue porch -- a great neighborhood for porch-sitting, Morningside -- and he directed me to the coffee shop a couple of blocks over on Chislett Street.

I walked in and asked what was cold to drink. Heidi Tucker, behind the counter, gave me some choices, and I stopped her when she got to the Italian orange soda. (San Pellegrino Aranciata -- accept no substitute.)

I told her the way I'd ridden. She said she often bikes to work from her home in Lawrenceville, too.

"Sometimes, when I'm feeling masochistic, I'll take Baker," she said with a smile.

So, you see, Pedal Pittsburgh has something for everyone.

This was my third coffeehouse stop that morning. I'd ridden from the North Side to Lawrenceville with my wife (a cheap date, praise God). Monday isn't the best day to look for open coffee shops, but the Perk Me Up Coffee House on Butler Street was perking and Betsy had a cup of tea and I had a cafe au lait. We split a macaroon.

Then we went across the street to City Cafe and I had a cup of regular coffee and we split another macaroon. Then we had to go our separate ways, but the world always looks a little better after a couple of macaroons.

As for the ride itself, these are the basics:

All rides start and finish at the SouthSide Works. Registration opens at 6:30 a.m. Rides begin anywhere from 7 to 10:30 a.m., with the longest rides leaving first. The cost is $30 for individuals and $60 for families. The obligatory T-shirt is offered, but only two to a family. This is Pedal Pittsburgh's 16th year and more than 2,000 riders are expected.

The Community Design Center's mission is to make our city "a recognized place where good design of the built environment is a defining feature," and Pedal Pittsburgh is a great way to show off the place. This year, everything from the Morningside business district to the new August Wilson Center for African-American Culture is featured.

But if you're a first-time rider, stick a street map of Pittsburgh in your back pocket. (Bike Pittsburgh's Bike Map is the best and is available at bike-pgh.org and in most city bike shops.) There may be times where you may want to leave the designated route, and the city's street grid is only a bit more symmetrical than the first throw in a game of pick-up sticks.

Why would you want to leave the designated route? Two words: Butler Street.

It's become a handsome urban stretch, blessedly free of the chains that have turned so much of the country into Generica, and if you haven't seen it in a few years you should check it out. You can hardly throw a Hacky Sack in any direction without hitting something hip.

But, even on a Sunday morning, cyclists can be riding a little too close to cars for comfort. So there may be times when a less-adventurous rider may want to sample the quieter streets that run parallel to Butler, closer to the Allegheny River.

Just be forewarned: None run parallel for more than a few blocks, and the bike trail on that side of the river has more gaps than old goalie's smile.

I did find a stretch of riverfront trail between 36th and 43rd streets, and discovered that the underside of the 40th Street Bridge is a place where some of the worst graffiti "artists" in Pittsburgh show us why their future is not in the visual arts. It's great place to contrast the beauty to be found elsewhere on the route.

For more information, see pedalpittsburgh.org or call 412-232-3545.