Philadelphia International Cycling Championships

Philadelphia hosts one of the premier cycling races in the country. Riders from all over the world come to compete in a 156-mile road race. The course begins on Ben Franklin Parkway, heads north through Fairmount Park in to Manayunk, climbs 300 feet up a 1/2 segment of Lyceum street know as the "The Wall," and returns to the starting line along a similar route with a few easier climbs thrown in for good measure. The Friday before the race, a colleague mentioned a pre-race event that for a fee allows amateurs to ride the closed course. I researched it on Saturday and decided to give it a try.

I woke up a 6:10 AM, ate a quick breakfast, and rode down to the registration table. The ride started at 7:15 AM. Knowing I'd be among the slower riders, I positioned myself toward the back of the pack. As the ride started I settled in to a quick pace with the wind at my back. I held my own and even passed a few other bikers. Though not a competitive or time race, the presence of other riders sharing the same course and starting at the same time gave me good incentive to push myself to finish as fast as possible.

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I thought the Wall would be my strong point as I'm a much stronger rider than I'm a faster one. I tried to ignore the stream of bikers whizzing by me as I struggled up the incline determined not to join the few walkers. I rode all the way to the top and started to much more enjoyable ride back down the ridge. The best part came at the downhill ride near Wissahickon train station. I've ridden down this hill before; however, this time, without traffic or the stop light at the bottom to worry about, the flight down was a blast.

I finished the ride at 8:15 AM--I'm usually not out of bed at that time on Sunday--having recorded an average speed of 13.5 MPH, which is around 20% better than my average! After resting, I went up to investigate around the staging area for the pro race. I found a shady spot to watch the start of the race.

Having only ridden about 13 miles to this point, I chose to extend my ride by venturing in to South Philly. I don't usually like to ride in town on account of the traffic and stop signs/lights, but this seemed an opportune time to enjoy a random jaunt around around a very interesting part of town. It's really better explored on foot, but I appreciated being able to cover more ground. Even before noon the temperature was already stifling. I finished my ride just before 11:00 AM.

The finish for the pre-race amateur ride.

The Pros

Smokestack with a Roof.
It's actually a shot tower. In the Nineteenth Century, to make bullets, they would boil a pot of lead at the top, poor the lead through a screen, and let it fall in to a pool of water at the bottom.

Tree Street in South Philly
(and yes I noted there are no trees on Tree Street)

Memorial Day Ride

I used the Memorial Day holiday to take a second relatively short bike ride on the long weekend. I started a little before Noon and rode west along the shortest route out of Philadelphia, Baltimore/Whitby Streets, into Delaware County. Once across Cobbs Creek, I started to take random turns but kept to a generally westward track and found myself in Lansdowne, a small suburban community with a nice downtown. Outside of Lansdowne, I did something radical, I turned my GPS map off and started navigating solely by interest and a rudimentary knowledge of the neighborhoods, which resulted in a some backtracking and a few loops.

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After riding serendipitously for an hour and half and thirteen miles, I had nearly reached Springfield Mall, one of the properties in my assigned portfolio. In 2006 when I was just getting back in to biking, I rode to this mall in October. I fondly remember the return ride from this mall to Philadelphia. It was almost 2:00 PM and the temperature was around ninety degrees. I decided I'd gone far enough and started started to ride back toward my apartment. I took a much more direct route back and managed to complete the ride just before 3:00 PM.

Germantown Historic Sites

The Germantown Historical Society coordinates a annual pass program that grants admission to a dozen plus historical sites in and around the the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia. Most of the sites are open on Saturday afternoon. I figured this program could form the basis for a bike ride. Last Saturday, I set out to visit a few of the site and take pictures of the ones I didn't have time to stop and tour. I ended up touring three historic homes and taking pictures of six more.

My first stop was the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion at Tulpehocken and Greene, a rare example of Victorian architecture and the only such home open for tours in Philadelphia. After buying my passport, I received a personal tour from a volunteer who knew the house's history very well. Next I rode to Cliveden, the estate of Benjamin Chew, a prominent lawyer in colonial Philadelphia. The battle of Germantown, an American loss that preceeded the winter in Valley Forge, was largely fought on the grounds. The red coats used the house as a fort to much success. The facade still bears cannonball pock marks from the battle.

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From Cliveden, I road south along Germantown Avenue. While it's among the least bike friendly roads in Philadelphia, most of the historic sites have address on this route, once a major thoroughfare to and from downtown Philadelphia. I rode passed the Johnson House, part of the underground railroad; Concord School, built in 1775 ; the Germantown Historical Society headquarters; Dreshler-Morris House, where Washington summered during his presidency; and Grumblethorpe. I also passed, but failed to notice ACES Museum and Wyck. Finally, I arrived at my last stop for the day, Stenton, the estate of James Logan, a contemporary of Benjamin Chew, who is best know of the secretary for William Penn.

Statistics
Length: 19.3
Ride Time: 1 hour 49 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours 28 minutes
Avg. Speed: 10.6 MPH
Avg. Cadence: 55 RPM

St. Michael's-Oxford

It's been over a month since my last bike ride, a streak I aim to end during the upcoming three-day weekday. My last ride came during my Eastern Shore trip in late April. While I wanted to leave enough time at the end of day for a thirty-mile loop ride, as is often the case, engaging activities earlier in the day put me behind schedule. I figured I needed three hours to ride thirty miles, plus an allowance for a required ferry crossing, but I didn't finish at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum until 4:00 PM. I also had deteriorating weather conditions with which to contend. Having brought my bike along on the trip, I was determined to complete at least a short ride so I changed cloths and headed out across St. Michael's prepared to turn back when conditions warranted.

St. Michael's is a lovely Eastern Shore town that caters to the tourist crowd, with seafood restaurants, boutique shops and historic inns. I rode to the far end of the small town in five minutes and joined the main highway back toward the mainland. Two-and-a-half miles out of St. Michael's, I turned right toward the northern ferry dock to Oxford. The whole ride was joyfully flat with little wind, conditions ripe for a pleasant, fast ride. As I approached the ferry dock, I saw cars starting to debark. I quickened my pace and reached the landing at the perfect time to catch the boat south.

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The ferry took about ten minutes to cross the Tred Avon River and land in Oxford, another quintessential shore town, but less touristy. I rode around the town until about 5:30 at which point I decided it would be more prudent to return to St. Michael's the way I came. The weather had held and I had just enough daylight to justify completing the circuit, but with a several hour drive to my uncle's in Washington D.C. the longer route didn't seem justified. Plus, this strategy put me on the ferry for one more crossing.

From the ferry dock, it took me about forty minutes to ride back to St. Michael's. It did start to rain a little bit along the way, but nothing heavy. I reached my car at 6:30 PM, a little more than two hours after departing.

Cars debarking from the ferry.

Oxford, Maryland from the ferry.

Benoni Avenue, Oxford, Maryland

East Strand, Oxford, Maryland

Ferry returning to Oxford, Maryland

Statistics
Length: 19.0 miles (20.7. miles with Ferry Crossing)
Ride Time: 1 hour 24 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 17 minutes
Avg. Speed: 13.6 MPH
Max. Speed: 21.7 MPH
Avg. Cadence: 54 RPM
Cumulative Ascent: negligible
Max. Elevation: 26 ft.

Eastern Shore

The last weekend in April, I took a quick trip out of town. I've titled the trip "Eastern Shore," because my main targets for the trip were three counties in Maryland which lay on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Having entered those three counties, I have attained every county the state of Maryland for my Extra Miler Club tracking.

Despite this title, I really spent more time on the trip in south central Pennsylvania, including my first stop, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. It was actually my second trip to the museum; my first was with my grandparents when I was ten. I behaved better this time. I spent most of Saturday morning looking at the museum's impressive collection of restored engines, rolling stock and other exhibits.

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About 11:30 PM, I started south towards the Eastern Shore. Along the way, I stopped just long enough to snap a picture of the house where Robert Fulton—builder of the famous early steamship, The Clermont—was born. Thanks to my GPS, I also drove just far enough to incur the toll on the Delaware Turnpike, supposedly to follow the fastest route, though toll plaza congestion defeated that end.

Arriving in St. Micheal's around 3:00 PM, I headed straight for the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. Having completed James Michner's novel, Chesapeake, last winter my visit was timely. The museum is a wonderful collection of buildings, with well-prepared exhibits, set in a campus on the edge of the Miles River. Among the buildings are a Chesapeake style lighthouse relocated from the middle of the bay, a working boatyard, and an oystering building.

I packed my bike along for the trip with the hope of riding a 30-mile loop starting in St. Michael's. However, I didn't appear to have enough time following my museum visits to complete a ride of that length (not the mention the growing the threat of rain). Resolved to log at least an abbreviated ride, I started out ready to turn around when conditions warranted. I ended up with a nice short ride that will be the subject of another post.

Back in my car, I drove to Washington D.C. to visit with my aunt and uncle who had agreed to put me up for the night. I arrived an hour later than plan, but they had dinner ready for me and we still were able to visit for a few hours before turning in for the night.

The next morning, I woke up in time for a wonderful breakfast prepared by my hosts. My uncle left mid-morning for a function with a non-profit he chairs, but I stayed a little while longer to visit with my aunt and read the Sunday papers.

From Washington, DC, I drove to the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, PA and arrived in time for the 1:00 PM tour. Passing through security, I joined a throng of raucous high-schoolers participants of a mock government program in the magnificent rotunda, which is modeled on the lobby of the La Scala Opera House in Milan, Italy. After the mock polity cleared out, three tourists remained for the tour, which entered the two main legislative chambers as well as the Supreme Court chamber. In 2006, while visiting the Connecticut State Capitol, I met a Frenchman nearing the end his tour of all the U.S. State Capitols. I asked him which building was his favorite. He replied Pennsylvania. Now, I understand why. The extraordinarily ornate interior astonishes with massive bronze chandeliers, one-of-a-kind marble columns, and elaborate paintings.

Finishing at the capitol earlier than expected, I drove the backroads toward my next destination. In Lititz, the chocolate museum was closed on Sunday, but I did find a great city park with stone-channeled stream and teenagers attempting to trap a duck in a Loony-tunes inspired contraption (i.e some bread under box that they propped on one end with a stick that could be yanked away by a string.)

I reached Ephrata Cloister, my last stop on the trip, just in time for the last tour of the day. Dissatisfied with his previous church's leadership, Conrad Beissel set out to lead a hermits life in the frontier wilderness, but his charismatic personality attracted followers and he ended up, in 1732, establishing a prominent, but short-lived religious community. At its peak, Ephrata housed 80 celibate brothers and sisters. Today, the Saron (Sister's House), the only one of the three main buildings to survive, anchors the site. A wonderful picture of this historic structure decorates the cover on a book of historic Pennsylvania sites that I acquired soon after I moved to this state.

Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania - East Platform

Robert Fulton Birthplace

Gilpin's Falls Covered Bridge

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

Pennsylvania State Capitol

House Chamber

Lititz Springs Park

Saron - Ephrata Cloister