We Only Come Out at Night

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!

Moments From My Year 2016: Bicycling Edition

A new calendar year is on the horizon, and as is customary, many of us are reflecting on what we've done this year and putting plans in place to make improvements in the next year.  Facebook likes to generate "Moments From Your Year" videos based on their algorithms, and they usually do a pretty terrible job.  I guess I'll always be a critic of anything that's not my own work, but anyway...

It's helpful to occasionally look at where you were in figuring out what to do to get where you want to be (you follow me?), and whether or not you know it, this was a huge year for me.  In its' simplest phrasing, I feel like I have finally turned the corner in "coming into my own," using cycling as a vehicle (forgive the pun).  I have many of you to thank for your enthusiasm on my journeys and adventures that have yielded more for me than just logging miles on a bike.

Because I like lists, here are two.  First, the top 5 posts on this blog this year by viewership:

1. The Bare Necessity a.k.a. the Philly Naked Bike Ride
2. 30 Sense - A recap of 30 Days of Biking
3. Arc de Triomphe - I climbed the hill up to TV-13, among other things...
4. The Vanimal - Ehh...nothing special
5. The Dog Days of Biking - Announcing my second monthly biking challenge

Second, MY favorite blog posts of this year:

1. 300 - Biking over 60 miles in one day for a friend's birthday
2. New Kid on the Block - Breaking in my new Trek
3. Beach Bikin' Away - Riding 22 miles to Dogfish Head brewery!
4. Bicentennial Man - Pennypack Park & Cobbs Creek in the midst of a heat wave, my 200th mile that month and also the 200th post on this blog
5. Bikes, Blues, Broad Street - Kinda a self-explanatory title

And finally, as is my annual blog tradition, I present you with a scroll of pictures and occasional commentary of some memorable moments from my year.  Thanks for riding along, and here's hoping 2017 is even more memorable.

First ride on "The Bike with No Name," who's logged over 2,500 miles since!

Over 200 pounds of laundry & floor mats

After riding to Glenside to see Straight No Chaser

Flower delivery guy

The beginning of 56 miles for a friend's birthday ride!

I Bike for Bernie

Believe it or not, the first time I ever rode to a hockey game

You think it's full, but...

It can get fuller.

Embarking on 22 miles up the Atlantic Coast from OCMD to Dogfish Head/Rehoboth

Wash Cycling in the midst of a heat wave

The DNC closed down Broad Street

This was also during a heat wave

I climbed Flagstaff Mountain...

And also Cherry Hill, to work at TV-13

This was as I crossed over 500 miles in a month for the 2nd time this year

Philly Naked Bike Ride!

First time biking to an Eagles game, too.

OCNJ Boardwalk

First time biking to a Phillies game, too. All that's left are the Sixers...

Cape May

And the year's not quite over...I'm going to squeeze a couple adventures in before the calendar flips.  Thanks, as always, for riding along, and here's to many more miles and adventures.

Door, Knee, Park

Sometimes even when you're operating legally and non-aggressively, incidents are unavoidable.

I was riding home in the bike lane on Snyder Avenue on Wednesday afternoon when I was struck by a fast-opening car door.  Bike lanes, though designated spaces for bikes, are not always 100% bike-friendly.  The bike lanes on Snyder are flanked on one side by parked cars, similar to this setup on 34th Street:

As you can see, car doors open directly into the bike lane, and if you encounter a situation like I did the other day, there's little you can do to avoid them.  I was cruising at a modest 7-10 MPH, not flying by any means, but still too fast to swerve to avoid a car door opening just as I passed his rear quarter panel.

The door struck my bike on the right handlebar, somehow miraculously missing my hand, thus avoiding any broken fingers or knuckles.  Still, the impact sent me flying to the pavement, landing on my left hip.  What hurt more was the bike landing on my left knee, which scraped me up pretty good and left some minor swelling.

I was coherent enough to pull myself onto the sidewalk and out of the traffic lane I had landed in, while the motorist graciously pulled my bike off as well.  I said thanks for the help, but he followed by saying "You realize that you hit yourself, right?" to which I responded with a slur of four-letter words.  He apologized again, because really, this was in no way my fault.

I sat there for a minute or two getting my bearings as he talked to me to make sure I was alright.  We exchanged names as he helped me to my feet, and I tested my knee.  I knew right away I would be fine, and I walked home to bandage it up with some cabbage:

It seems strange, I know, but it's a highly effective natural remedy to relieve swelling.  I took the afternoon off and did my deliveries in a car on Thursday and Friday.  I'm at about 80% as of this writing, and I'm thankful it wasn't worse.  Still, as bike-friendly as this city is, we have a lot of work to do to ensure that bike lanes are more bike-friendly, and I'm going to do everything I can to keep spreading awareness.  Something as simple as "The Dutch Reach" could prevent incidents like these in the future.

In any case, enjoy your weekend, and ride safely.

The Only Constant is Change

I've written many times on this blog about the changes I see in my neighborhood(s) over time.  I noticed a couple more today.  Changes are not always positive, but usually I write about the ones that are. Interesting...

Today, I took a different route than I usually take to get back to our Thompson Street facility from Olde Kensington.  I'd been avoiding Master Street just west of Broad for quite a while due to construction and unfavorable road conditions.  For whatever reason, I decided to go that route today and saw this:

This is Ingersoll Commons Park.  I have no idea what it was previously (other than a construction site), but seeing this park completed and grass growing was a bright spot in an otherwise gray and gloomy morning.  In the midst of so many ugly cookie cutter condos being built seemingly on every other corner, it's always a pleasure to see some new green space.

After my route, I headed to the office at Broad & Locust.  We moved in here on or about May of last year, and I swear since the day we moved in, this old Schwinn has been left to die on the curb out front: 

It's the green one on the street side of the rack, missing a front tire and rusting away (a Rustcycle, if you will).  People would often lock to it, creating a somewhat messy sight:

And fittingly, a street artist left a rather appropriate commentary on the frame:

I wanted to claim this frame on repeated occasions, either to put it out of its misery, or to see if I could reclaim it.  I never got around to it, and somewhat sadly, today it was gone:

And my bike in its place.  It's a positive to see it removed no doubt, but for some reason I didn't mind seeing it every day.  It kind of became part of the identity of that block in my view.  Or maybe I'm just annoyed that I didn't get to it first.

But hey, onward and upward.

Remember When I Knew a Boxer, Baby

This weekend has been my first FULL weekend spent in the city in about 3 months, and I'm taking full advantage of it, mostly getting some mundane housekeeping tasks off my plate.  But that's not really why you're reading this blog, right?

Rather fortuitously, the weather has been near perfect for riding.  Yesterday in between chores, I crossed another Circuit Trail off my list, Boxer's Trail in Fairmount Park/Strawberry Mansion:

A brief back story: Boxer's Trail is where Joe Frazier (and many other boxers over the years) used to train back in the 60's.  Legend has it that Muhammad Ali one went to this trail to challenge Frazier to a fight before management intervened.  Back then, it was narrow and mostly overgrown.  Today, a restoration is in progress, but it's already decently passable:

My first thought from this view was about the bridge in the background, and whether or not I could venture there after I was finished.  Upon further investigation, it's the Columbia Railroad Bridge, not something that's really explore-able via bike.  Sigh...anyway, this is one of those places that, if not for the sounds of the Schuylkill Expressway off in the distance, you'd scarcely know you were in the city.  I detoured around much of this trail back in April, and once again, it's an area I'll go back to explore more another time.  Namely, a time when I bring a mountain bike:

A large section of the trail is gravel, which again, is passable, but much easier with knobby tires.  It's a moderately challenging ride with some serious hills no doubt, but that's what makes it fun.  The northwestern section is entirely paved.  At only 3.8 miles in length, it is one of the shorter trails on the circuit.  With the trail head being 5 miles from my house, I put in 14 miles yesterday, and I'm planning to head back out today at some point.  Ya know, after I cross some other boring stuff off my list...

Nice Rack: 21st & Ludlow

Two Nice Racks posts in a row?  Might be a sign...

At any rate, back in August, I mentioned some of my favorite bike racks in the city, which are actually old parking meter poles that have been repurposed.  Yesterday, I spotted another incarnation of the same ilk:

 

You can't really tell from that picture, but that's actually a bollard (ya know, the kind designed to keep cars from driving or parking on sidewalks) with a bike rack welded to it.  If I zoom out, you'll get the full picture (pun intended):

The poles are a bit more cumbersome, and as a result you can't really lock two bikes to one pole, but still, it works:

 

Philly is by far one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country, but we can always use more bike racks, so this is pretty awesome.  You wouldn't believe how often I ride to places and have nowhere to lock up.

Nice Rack: Water & Oregon

In a blast from the present, back in April I spotted a nice metal sculpture on the back of a flatbed trailer.  Last week, I spotted it again:

This is in front of the South Bowl bowling alley.  Pro tip: if you ride to the bowling alley and walk in with your helmet, your shoe rental is free.

Now to find out who made this thing...I'm assuming its point of origin was in Northern Liberties, because that's where I first spotted it.  If you have any info, let me know puh-lease.