#31daysofbiking Mileage Counter: 126
Knowing I had a full weekend to myself for the first time in what seems like forever, I knew I had to go on some sort of adventure this weekend. As I continue along with this journey, the adventures seem to find me.
Case in point, the other night I was told there might be a last-minute gig available. A friend in the musical circle was also contacted. Neither one of us got the gig, but we showed up to say hello anyway. It worked out for both of us, as the owner took down our info for future openings, and I made a brief guest spot at the end of the night.
I also started talking with my friend - I guess I can tell you his name is Shakey Lyman - about his schedule coming up. He mentioned he was playing in Manayunk today, and that's when I found my adventure. It's a 10-ish mile ride to Pretzel Park from my doorstep, which is a drop in the bucket considering what my friends and I did a few months ago...
I tried recruiting some folks to come along, but I think the hot, humid weather deterred them, as I'm sure the chance for thunderstorms did as well. I realized about a mile up the street from my house that I had forgotten my patch kit, but it turns out it was a smooth ride (and it only took an hour!), and a beautiful day for blues in the park:
We're gonna need some mustard
It's always great to see your friends playing and having a good time, too:
He doesn't need an amp, this guy
They played for about an hour and it was fun for every second of it. I thought about sticking around longer, but I kinda wanted to get back on the road. Something about the addiction of biking, or something. I figured since I was this far North, I should venture a little bit more up this way because I rarely come up here. First, to the Manayunk Wall, because when in Rome...
I like to think I'm in great shape (I'm pretty good, don't get me wrong), but even I had to go serpentine just to get up the steepest sections. It's about a half mile of roadway and a 226 foot climb. I did it in 5:26, averaging about 5.6 mph. To put it into perspective, my average speed overall today was 11.5 mph. So why do this? Because it's good to humble yourself every now and then, right?
So what next? I decided to head northeast through Germantown to ride Broad Street from top to bottom. Part of me wanted to check off the sections that I missed during the DNC Ride a couple weeks ago. I'm guessing it was a 5, 6 mile detour to get up there? Again, a drop in the bucket - ha! Broad Street starts rather unceremoniously at the intersection of Cheltenham Avenue, marked by a furniture store and a bunch of duplexes:
Doesn't look all that broad to me...
Like many Philadelphia streets, it's in really bad shape at some spots, but I did keep it on the road for the entire length. Broad Street, for all intents and purposes as a cyclist, should be avoided if at all possible, but hey, I wanted to scratch this one off the list, so I did. I went all the way down to the Navy Yard, which it turns out is a pretty cool place. I'm not a big military nerd, but sights like these are always neat:
I mean, my bike. Look at it!
The Navy Yard is undergoing a rehabilitation, which business-wise is not something I want to focus on here. I take more pleasure in riding around on the streets, feeling like I'm riding on a piece of history. Not everything is new - a good portion of it is preserved, as you can see by the remnants of railroad tracks that now serve as walkways:
Or bikeways in this case...
I was gonna take some more pictures, but by this time, I was ready to chill for a while. A quick stop for water and I decided to head home. One thing I really like about switching to an app to keep track of mileage is looking at the map afterward. Not sure why, I have always liked maps:
I also like the feeling of sitting down after all this
Nothing planned for tomorrow. Likely a short ride to the store and not much else. I think I've done enough for this weekend already, but we'll see what happens...enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!
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