South by South Test

30 Days of Biking Mileage Counter: 347.4

My adventures on this blog are largely random, only occasionally planned. This one sorta falls under both categories.

I'm at the Philadelphia International Airport about once a month these days, and as such, biking there has been on my mind. The airport website actually has a whole page dedicated to bike routes and parking, and it was only a matter of time before I tried it myself. I decided NOT to attempt it for the first time on a day when I had a flight scheduled, because I'd hate to miss a flight because I didn't know where I was going or something stupid like that. So...

If you click on that page above, you'll notice there are 4 recommended routes. Unfortunately, 3 of them are useless to me.

• The Platt Bridge sidewalk is closed (has been for some time) and motorists regularly double the 35 MPH speed limit. You won't get me anywhere near that bridge on a bike, night or day.
• The Cobbs Creek Bikeway in Southwest Philly is the best route, but it's so far out of my way it wouldn't be worth it.
• Tinicum Township is southwest of the airport; Philly is northeast.

So my only real option is Passyunk Ave, which isn't a terrible route in and of itself, but there's debris everywhere once you cross over the Schuylkill River (it's an industrial zone) and the scenery is just blah - car dealerships, industrial operations, and so on. Drivers also speed through that area, so even being in the bike lane is risky at night (Side note: I wanted to do this earlier in the day but I had to cook dinner. No really. I had to. Trust me.)

I made it to the airport safe and sound, but missed the turn for the bicycle parking areas (good thing this was just a test). I eventually found them after some searching, and then headed home, missing another turn on the way out that resulted in 2 extra miles of riding. It looks a little ridiculous:

Almost looks like a heron, or some sort of bird...

For what it's worth, the ride home was far less treacherous, especially considering the fact that there's a buffered bike lane on the way out:

And rabbits. Lots of rabbits.

That's not to say it's all peaches and cream, though, as for a brief stretch, you get dangerously close to the I-95 on-ramp:

It's up there trust me

The ride home was also marred by a brutal headwind mashing me in the face the entire way, so much so that I actually have chapped lips. I've had better. The silver lining was a beautiful view of the Philly skyline from the Passyunk Ave bridge, of which I didn't stop to take a picture because at that point, I just wanted to get home. Oh, and now I know where all the bike racks are at the airport, so there's that, too.

Overall, the Philly airport is not the least bike-able place I've been to, but it needs some work. Same goes for you, #30daysofbiking. We still have 13 more days together.