A day in Philadelphia: a 30-mile bike ride and a trip to the Eastern State Penitentiary.
A month after the ribbon cutting, I finally was able to check out the latest extension to the Schuylkill River Trail — the gleaming white Christian to Crescent section that juts above the water.
Continue reading “I paired pedaling the newest part of the Schuylkill River Trail with an off-bike adventure”Loved biking on the Schuylkill River and Chester Valley trails. The hills that followed? They never seemed to end.
How in the world did we (Komoot? Ride with GPS?) pick this metric century route to Gap, Pa., a small town in Lancaster County?
Continue reading “Day 1 of biking from Philadelphia to DC: trails (yay) and hills (too many)”You’re right by the Delaware River, and I mean right next to the water. Ducks, maybe some boaters, the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge.
A new section of the K&T Trail just opened in Philadelphia. It’s only 0.6 miles long so you might think it’s not worth the effort to explore.
Wrong.
Continue reading “The newest part of Philadelphia’s K&T Trail has stunning river views”Still plenty of urban grit, but this section heading south from Center City Philadelphia is getting better for biking — and more is coming.
Nine years ago, I biked from suburban Conshohocken through Philadelphia to Wilmington, Delaware along the East Coast Greenway route.
It was time to see how part of the East Coast Greenway route had changed since then.
Continue reading “The East Coast Greenway from Philadelphia to John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge”The Schuylkill River Trail has had lots of upgrades since I biked from Conshohocken to Reading seven years ago. This time I started in Philadelphia. Here’s what I found.
Actually, make that two solid metric centuries — 62-plus miles each time — since we — my sister and I — biked back the next day.
Continue reading “Schuylkill River Trail: A metric century from Philadelphia to Reading”Both have great sections — and messy parts too.
I shocked a few of my neighbors when I said I was biking to Philadelphia this past weekend. It takes an hour to drive using I-95 so it seems crazy far to bike … and besides, how would you go?
Continue reading “Two ways to bike from Princeton to Philadelphia — which is better?”The “Fraud Street Run” is a great opportunity to check out some Philadelphia trails.
Should anyone be surprised that someone came up with the crazy inspiration of a route between these two Philadelphia news-making sites in this crazy election month?
Continue reading “Four Seasons (Total Landscaping) to Four Seasons (Hotel) — a Philadelphia bike ride”Even if I end up in a food coma.
I know, I know — there’s a food element to so many of my rides.
So when Riverfront North — the public-private partnership creating access to 11 miles of the Delaware River plus parks in northern Philadelphia — created a bikes and bbq event, I was in. And I brought a bunch of people with me.
The bike ride began at Pennypack Park along the Delaware and used the Pennypack Trail, which follows the Pennypack Creek away from the river. You’re quickly in the woods, with the creek often just next to you, and the city seems far, far away. Sure, there are a few road crossings, but you ride under even more big stone bridges with traffic far, far above you.
Ten miles out, 10 miles back, so most of the 14-mile trail and enough to know you deserve that barbecue at the end.
14 pastry stops on one bicycle ride!?!
What a way to see parts of Philadelphia by bike! Bicycle Coalition of Philadelphia organized a ride called ProfiteROLL on Saturday that let you hit up to 14 bakeries and coffee shops for sweet treats. Yes, 14!
I tagged along with a sister and her friends, and we skipped a couple of the stops. But even then, I — who shamelessly can admit to eating lots of cookie dough in one sitting and, yes, immediately gobbled down the small portion of edible raw cookie dough offered up at Sweet Box Bakery — had had my share of sugar after just a few stops. Thumbs up to the generous breakfasty bar with jam from Hungry Pigeon that put me over the edge. Good thing the Bicycle Coalition suggested bringing containers to carry the excess.
And they’ve made a good Sunday breakfast. Still some leftovers for Monday.
Continue reading “Bicycling from bakery to bakery in Philadelphia”The Pennypack winds and climbs (if just briefly) alongside Pennypack Creek.
Trails have a reputation for being flat and, to some people, kind of boring. That’s because many were once railroad lines, and locomotives aren’t going to pull a train up a steep hill or around a sharp curve.
Philadelphia’s Pennypack Trail breaks that mold. It winds and climbs (if only briefly) along the Pennypack Creek, offering riders shade and water views.
Continue reading “Philadelphia’s Pennypack Trail: A surprisingly hilly bike ride”
Exploring by bicycle 