Nice Rack: Penn Center

This one was tough to photograph - I pass by here several times a week and I swear, every time I did (until yesterday) there was a homeless guy leaning against these bike racks across 15th street from City Hall.

These birds were formerly featured at the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Nice Racks is a series of bike rack art I've stumbled upon throughout Philadelphia.

Damn the Mann - Well, Sort of...

As activity picks up in the City of Brotherly Love with Summer on the horizon, things are picking up at Wash Cycle as well. After all, more activity means more dirty laundry. :-D

One seasonal appointment I'm more than happy to have added to my roster is the Mann Center in West Philly, if for no other reason than that I get to bike ~4 miles each way a few times a week AND GET PAID FOR IT.

Today was the first time I've ridden out there, and let me tell you, 4 miles in this weather was certainly a sticky affair - literally. When I finally made it to the top of the hill, the concessions company rep wasn't there yet, so I decided to catch my breath and take in the view. It's much better on a clear day, but this isn't too shabby either:

Of course, two seconds later, the security guard came up to me and said "You know you ain't allowed in here." Actually, no, I didn't. And I double-checked: after entering through the back gate, there are no "authorized personnel only" signs or anything resembling them. So no, sir. I didn't know. How would I? I'll spare you the rant about authority figures. You've heard it all before anyway.

At the very least, a moment's peace in the midst of a typically hectic schedule is always nice, the view was equally enjoyable, and the mostly downhill ride back to the laundromat was pretty awesome too.

Nice Rack: 15th & Mifflin

It's an absolutely gorgeous evening in Newbold, a neighborhood to which I almost never venture, mostly because I have no reason to. Hah...

This rack is outside Ultimo/Brew, a coffee and beer cafe. I'm not 100% sure what the shape inside the oval is supposed to be, but my guess is it's a hop (because they serve beer - get it?).

Hoppy Sunday evening.

Nice Racks is a series of bike rack art I've stumbled upon throughout Philadelphia.

Rustcycles: Girard & Ridge

Today was a gray day across Philadelphia, and among other things, I saw yet another sobering reminder that it's a dangerous world out there.

This isn't technically a Rustcycle, as it's a brand-new memorial, but eventually it will age and become part of the neighborhood landscape, similar to this one at 2nd & Girard. The men who are memorialized were killed by cars EXACTLY one year apart, on the same street. Weird...

Of course, it's impossible to catch EVERY piece of news throughout the city - I only stumbled upon this because I work right up the street - but somehow I missed this a couple weeks ago. After looking into it, this really is a sad story. According to this Philly.com article, the rider, Jay Mohan (subject of the memorial), was a filmmaker, musician and all-around good guy.

At any rate, always wear a helmet, and watch your back (front and sides, too). And I guess, stay off Girard Avenue.

Rustcycles is a series of abandoned bicycles and locks I've stumbled upon throughout Philadelphia.

Deflating my Plans

Well played, West Philly.

Last week was the anniversary of the MOVE Bombing in Philadelphia. I'm a bit of a history nerd, and I'd heard about this story before, but when reminded about it last week, I thought it might be neat to take a ride out to West Philly just to see what the scene looked like nowadays. I had some time yesterday.

Knowing full well the scene was actually going to be boring by most standards - a boarded up stretch of row homes - I still decided to do it. The ride there was a nice, leisurely 40 minute trek westward from my house, across the Schuylkill River. It had rained earlier in the day, and late-breaking sun made the afternoon weather absolutely beautiful.

That is, until I started to hear a "ticking" sound from my rear tire around 58th and Pine. I knew exactly what that meant - I'd picked up a nail or some other foreign object and it was only a matter of time before my tire went flat. And of course, I didn't have a patch kit or a spare tube with me and most bike shops are closed on Sundays.

I could have stuck around and done what I originally intended, taking pictures and the like, but instead I decided I should just go home. It was going to take me at least an hour to get back to 2 street, and I still had a bunch of OTHER things to do that evening. The quickest, easiest way was to take the train, and annoyingly I didn't have any quarters, so I had to spend $3 on a $2.25 train fare. I know it's only $.75, but the principle is annoying.

Anyway, I guess I can try again some other time. At least I got 6 miles in on a Sunday...

I Assure You, We're Open

For the last 2 months, I've been working out of a mostly empty laundromat with one other person. Even though I've missed some of my fellow cyclists in center city, it's been kinda nice to be able to come in and work at my own pace without being bothered. I get a lot done that way. Hah...

Every time I've stepped outside, the neighbors have been asking on a daily basis "What's going in there?" and "When do you open?" Apparently this place opens to the public on Monday. I'll miss the alone-ness of this place just the same, but it's kind of exciting... This neighborhood is undergoing a rehabilitation, and a big part of that is bringing new businesses in, either in a renovated space or a completely new one. Before Wash Cycle bought it, this was an abandoned auto parts store just a few months ago:

There's still work to be done, but it's definitely looking better than it did. I wish I had a before picture. Of course, with progress, there will always be detractors and obstacles. If you look closely, the paint under the "Opening Soon" sign is fresh because we were tagged last week. And I'm not sure if this was human-caused or a natural casualty, but that solar panel on the far right looks to be injured. Bunch of savages in this town...

Anyway, onward and upward, and happy Friday.

Nice Rack: 11th & Cross

It was a beautiful morning, and having no water was as good an excuse as any to go out for breakfast at Black N Brew. If for no other reason, I was able to brush my teeth. Ha...

I also stumbled upon the fabric-adorned bike rack above. I'm thinking this was part of a neighborhood initiative some time ago, because there are several of these throughout the surrounding street corners, and other objects are decorated as such as well. Case in point, the stop sign where G decided she wanted to pose:

Nice Racks is a series of bike rack art I've stumbled upon throughout Philadelphia.