A Tale of Two Weeks

For the most part, this January has very much looked like January.  In fact, it's been downright brutal at times.  It was so cold earlier this week that my pipes in my kitchen froze, which isn't an irregular occurrence in Winter, but nonetheless...

It's been pretty cool (pun intended) to see just how many people are still willing to brave the cold and ride every day, myself included.  OK, I'm not gonna lie.  I took this weekend off.  I literally had no reason to ride other than for pleasure, and when it's 20 degrees outside with 3 inches of snow on the ground, there's very little pleasure to be had, even for a cycling enthusiast.

One awesome thing about this though, when I was forced (yes, forced) to ride to work on Friday, I finally popped my baby's snow cherry:

Hard to believe since we've logged well over 2,500 miles together in less than a year, but last Winter, I kept her in the stable until we had some more palatable weather.  Now, she's been around the block more than enough that I'm not so paranoid about her getting a little dirty.  I gotta say, she did very well.  Wouldn't recommend doing it every day tho...

In any case, the weather broke sometime between last night and today, and we were greeted with beautiful sunshine for most of the day, with temps near the 50s.  Hard to believe, really.  At times, I'm totally alright with global warming (not literally of course).

It was perfect riding weather, so I made the most of it.  Besides commuting and other less-than-exciting errands, I had to make a detour to a friend's house in West Philly and took a few extra detours on the way home.  Most notably I paused at Drexel Park, which was the launch point for the Naked Bike Ride 2 years ago, and also features a gorgeous view of the Philly skyline:

My crappy phone camera really doesn't do it justice.  What a town, I tell ya.  Without a doubt my most enjoyable ride of 2017 thus far.  Not like it has much competition, but you get the point.  All good things must come to an end, and as I re-entered South Philly, it started to rain.  I made it home just in time to avoid getting soaked.  There's another positive though.  With a forecast in the 60's tomorrow, I'm anticipating a lot of riding...and if nothing crazy happens, the full moon bike ride.

33 on the 33rd

I sneaked in one final adventure in 2016, and it just so happened to occur on my birthday.

Back during 30 Days of Biking, I was inspired by my friend Todd, who told me he always rides the distance of his age in miles on his birthday.  Oddly enough, he's also the guy that inspired me to do 30 Days of Biking.  We rode together with several people from Wash Cycle Laundry on April 16th, and I decided that day that I wanted to do the same on my birthday.

Weather permitting, of course, it was a great idea.  I don't know if you're aware, but December is historically much cooler than April.  My birthday last Friday was no exception, but despite the chilly temps (I think at ride start, air temp was 40F) and high gusting winds, it was a beautiful day for a ride:

I didn't expect everyone who rode along with me to log 33 miles (yes, that's how old I am), so I set the meeting point at the Philadelphia Art Museum.  From my house to there it's about 5 miles, and I added a detour or coffee in the early morning in hopes of ensuring a 33-mile total.  The destination, you ask?  Iron Hill Brewery in Chestnut Hill.  You knew I had to pick a brewery as my waypoint:

I hide my exhaustion well under a Winter jacket and 3 layers.  The ride there was awesome at times, arduous at others, mostly due to the wind.  I didn't even mind the hills.  But that wind...I kid you not that I was literally dripping in sweat by the time we got there.  Give credit to the garment makers - my Winter gear did its job a little too well, but later on, I would be glad to have it...

Anyway, FOUR of us survived the trek up the hills of Northwest Philly.  Our reward, some excellent bar junk food (Hey, it's my birthday. Birthdays are for stepping out of bounds.) and local craft beer:

It was definitely worth it for that and one other reason; some members of my immediate family joined myself and friends for lunch as well:

Couldn't have asked for a better experience, and it wasn't but halfway over.  Remember, I still had to ride back home.  One of the best parts of riding up a large hill is that you eventually get to ride back down.  On blistering cold days, a downhill can be a blessing and a curse, especially if you're not dressed properly.  That Winter gear came in handy when we dropped downhill at nearly 18MPH...

I branched off some time after we got back to the Art Museum and headed back for South Philly for an almost exact 33 mile round trip.  You might think I had planned it:

Some said it was pretty crazy.  I just think it's crazy that I biked this distance without leaving the city limits.  This place seems so small to me at times, but this reminded me how sprawling it can be.  It also was yet another reminder how lucky I am to live here and keep the company I keep.

And thus starts a new tradition, with many thanks to all who joined, whether in practice or in spirit.  I hope you all had a safe and happy New Year's celebration.  Here's to another fantastic year of biking.  Who wants to be crazy enough to join me for this ride later this year?!?!?!?

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.