I told you I had a couple more adventures planned...this one was sort of planned, but the random circumstances around it made it much more adventurous than I originally thought.
You can't tell right now, but less than 48 hours ago, Philly was in the midst of a brief but blistering cold snap, with temps in the teens and wind chills in the single digits. Of course, that didn't dampen the holiday spirit around here at all. Myself and about a hundred others did something crazy on Thursday night: we rode our bikes!
All sarcasm aside, we were all out braving the cold for a couple hours to participate in the Bicycle Coalition's annual Holiday Lights Ride:
It's a ride through some South Philadelphia neighborhoods that are known for setting up fantastic light displays, and also an excuse to decorate your bike in festive apparel as seen above and below:
Of course, there are varying degrees of enthusiasm. As you can see from the second picture, I took the modest approach. We met at Performance Bikes on Columbus Blvd, not too far from my old house on 2 Street. I think the air temperature at ride time was somewhere around 20 degrees, that just right temperature where you have to layer up so much to stay warm outside that as soon as you walk inside you're dripping in sweat. Wahoo.
Ordinarily, I enjoy biking in the cold weather. Actually, I enjoyed this ride, too. However, with group rides such as these, we keep a moderate pace, certainly not as fast as the normal pace I ride on a daily basis. As such, the blood flow was a little slower than I'm used to, so my usual layers almost weren't enough to keep me comfy. That said, as we zig-zagged through the streets of South Philly, I did adapt eventually, and it wasn't that rough except when we were heading West into a headwind. All this considered, you can understand why there was reluctance to stop for pictures, but I'm glad we did:
I mean, look at that. I would have stopped anyway even if the group hadn't. There's something so warming (not literally, but whatever) about this. Just like leaves in Autumn, this only happens once a year. I'm a little annoyed that I forgot my real (see: non-phone) camera at home for this one, but hey, I'll always have the memories. Of course we rode up South 13th Street and experienced its splendor...I took a video which I can't upload here for some reason, but here's a poor quality photo I took of it several years ago. It's blurry, but you get the idea.
All told, we logged about 6 miles:
The ride was shortened by a few miles, and you can probably guess why. I'm sure I could have made it the full length, but I have no complaints. An after party of sorts followed at the Garage on Passyunk Avenue, which included a raffle for some gift cards and a touring bike in exchange for a donation. Sadly, I didn't win BUT, I ran into an old friend who used to work for Wash Cycle, which was kinda awesome. Speaking of donations...
Since it is the holiday season, I'll throw out the obligatory "Donate now" message, and not just because I'm a member of the Coalition. They do more for the cycling community than I think a lot of people know, and this city is constantly changing for the better bike-wise because of their efforts. Interestingly enough, this was actually my first ride as a dues-paying member, but certainly not the last.
Just in case I don't check in before or during, happy holidays everyone!
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