Takin' it to the Street Art

30 Days Mileage Counter

Bike: 446.1

Car: 428

Train: 8

I had another ambitious weekend of plans lined up, and with decent weather in the forecast, things were looking great. Unfortunately, the rain showers hung around longer than expected this morning, but that didn't halt anything. Today was supposed to be the more relaxed of this weekend, but on the spur of the moment, a change was in order...

I began today with a 2.5 mile trek through the rain to City Hall for a much-anticipated march in support of Bernie Sanders:

Bike for Bernie goes against the marching aspect, but it has a nice ring to it, so whatever

I didn't take many pictures in the rainy conditions, but I did take some, including these adorable youngsters:

And a few other not-as-adorable people

Overall, I was happy I braved the weather, and we got a lot of people from the sidewalk to join in, which was kind of the whole point. I had to branch off about 3/4 through because I really had to pee, and I forgot the lunch I had packed at home. I wasn't about to let good food sit out on the counter and go bad all day. The joys of living in a city where you're never more than a few miles from home and a bus, cab, train or bike can get you there in 10 minutes or less...

When I got home, I found this had arrived in the mail:

It's a bird! It's a sticker! It's on my guitar!

2.5ish miles marching in the rain...worth it. By the time I finished eating lunch, the skies had cleared and you could scarcely tell it had rained. In a spur-of-the-moment decision, I decided to bump up my Sunday plan to today, because I remembered that I now have a hockey game to watch at noon, and depending on what happens, I may not feel like riding a bike afterward. We may as well include this in my Sunday Cycling Series.

I've mentioned this before, but for some reason, I love street art. Weeks ago, without even looking for it, I stumbled upon the graffiti mecca of Philadelphia that Streets Dept. exposed to me several months ago. By the way, his blog is amazing. Highly recommend.

Anywho, I decided this was going to be the weekend I went back to check it out. #30daysofbiking is all about adventures, right? Not quite knowing how exactly I would get to it (you'll see what I mean in a bit), I headed for North Philly knowing roughly what I had to do. I'm not going to disclose the exact location out of respect for the artists and because I agreed to do so on the Streets Dept. blog, but when I saw this faux-fence and graffiti overlay, I knew I was on the right track:

But I'm still on the fence...

Then, I saw a sign:

Literally. A Sign.

I was already 9 or so miles from home - all via bicycle - by this time. I rode up some pretty steep hills, facing a stiff breeze almost the entire way, but a mile or so later, I finally got there, wherever there was supposed to be. It was time to pause:

I did take a short walk along the upper rim (as you can probably tell). All of these pictures are from above the channel, and initially, I couldn't figure out how to get to the surface. I wasn't about to go home. I had ridden all the way up here and I wanted to make the most of it. So, I had to take a detour about a mile down the creek, where I finally found a way down. It's even more amazing at creek level:

I probably spent an hour here, just taking it all in, taking pictures whenever I felt like it, and really just relaxing. I know it's not what most of you would think is relaxing, but nonetheless... I will come back again, because street art is never constant.

Of course, it wouldn't be the Sunday Cycling Series without a stop at a new brewery/bar, right? I wanted to check off one more thing off my "to-do" list by visiting the Philadelphia Brewing Company on the way home:

Believe it or not, I've never drank a beer here

...and I still haven't had a beer there. Their tasting room closes at 3. I read that it closed at 5. Never trust what you read online. No big deal. They happen to be right next door to Atlantis, the lost bar, so I hopped over for a quick one:

What exactly is "Philadelphia Style?" If it's cheesesteak-flavored, I may not be into this jawn...

It was decent. Sorely needed after well over 20 miles of biking. This city is yuge.

Tomorrow's plan is to watch the Flyers at the Royal Tavern (they're 2-0 when I show my face during the game - no reason to change what works!) at noon. Of course I'll bike there. And that's it until Game of Thrones. 23 down, ONE WEEK to go, #30daysofbiking. You've been amazing.