It's in the Bag, Again

30 Days of Biking Mileage Counter: 63

A brief aside: I know most people will say that jet lag only occurs when you cross time zones, but even after a full night's sleep on Sunday, I still lagged very much in the energy department on Monday morning. I think most of that was due to traveling to Columbus last weekend, which was awesome, but tiring. I mean think about it. Every time you get on a plane, it's a minimum 2 hour procedure not including the flight itself. Add in all the time spent packing, getting to and from the airport and a 1-hour flight is much more than it seems on the surface.

That leads me back into why I love it these challenges. I was exhausted for the first part of the day yesterday and found the energy to ride more than 20 miles. Mostly flat, for sure, but 20 miles is 20 miles. I'm not sure if it's because of the challenge, because the weather was nice, or if I just like to ride a bike, or a combination of all of the above, but whatever it is it feels good to say that I found the motivation to ride 20 miles.

Today, I logged 32.1 miles in total. Kind of a loaded day, so let's get right to it. I picked up a car to service our hotel client in Swarthmore, then rode up to North Philly to deliver several commercial appointments on the bike:

You say you want a revolution...

By the way, long story short I'll likely be filling in on my old route until next Monday at the earliest. I'll enjoy sneaking in extra miles anywhere I can.

Case in point, after I finished up in Fishtown/Northern Liberties, I wanted to do a test run for an appointment I regularly service via car in the far north. It's actually only 3 miles from our plant, so I figured a short 20 minute ride wouldn't be a bad way to spend part of my lunch break. I actually did it in 15, but then had to ride all the way back to Center City, which took an additional 30.

To finish out the day, I participated in my second United by Blue cleanup (you can read about my first here). Of course, I rode my bike, and surprisingly I was one of only a few who did, yet again:

Maybe it's because there's nowhere to park

The weather was changeable all day, but cleared out just in time for us:

It's tough to get people excited about picking up trash, but here we are...

Another great turnout and a great group of people. I saw a couple of the same people from last time, so it's starting to become like a new circle of friends. I biked Cobbs Creek back in August. It's sad that it's in such sorry shape like this every spring, but the fact of the matter is, this is the plight of so many urban parks. You can read more info in the picture below if you're interested (my post continues afterward):

Good news is, we made it a much better place today, to the tune of 2,900 POUNDS OF GARBAGE COLLECTED and removed from the area surrounding the creek. LOOKIT:

It's in the bag. Get it?

Pretty cool that the water department is involved in this too. Even though I still don't trust the water in this city without a filtration system, it's nice to know they care.

It wouldn't be a true biking adventure without a stop for a beer and some "dirty" food, so I stopped by Clarkville in West Philly on the ride home. They're owned by the same people that run Strangelove's in Center City (a place I also visited back in August). Somewhere in this picture, you can see a roasted cauliflower sandwich:

And pickled red onions, which are just the best thing ever

The ride home from West Philly was terrifying, simply because people don't seem to know how to drive when there are trolley tracks present. I survived, however, and we are on to day 5 tomorrow.