Ride suggestions from downtown Philly?

[Nooch]

Have to be in Philly over the weekend for a wedding but the weather looks great and I'll have a ton of time to kill while my wife is getting hair and makeup done, so I figure I might as well go for a ride. Staying near Philly City Hall -- anything to do from there, or should I drive out somewhere, or... (any other options welcome!)

Thanks!

[ltwtsculler91]

Originally Posted by Nooch

Have to be in Philly over the weekend for a wedding but the weather looks great and I'll have a ton of time to kill while my wife is getting hair and makeup done, so I figure I might as well go for a ride. Staying near Philly City Hall -- anything to do from there, or should I drive out somewhere, or... (any other options welcome!)

Thanks!

Schuylkill River trail, as far out as you have time for, then turn around and ride back. Start by the Art Museum

[AngryScientist]

and run the steps when you get done.

mandatory.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by Nooch

Have to be in Philly over the weekend for a wedding but the weather looks great and I'll have a ton of time to kill while my wife is getting hair and makeup done, so I figure I might as well go for a ride. Staying near Philly City Hall -- anything to do from there, or should I drive out somewhere, or... (any other options welcome!)

Thanks!

nothing here holds a candle to 9W (and i'm not being sarcastic). the Schuylkill trail is meh, especially when you get to Conshohocken (too many stopping points), not to mention that the section btwn Art Museum and Manayunk is gonna be packed with runners and slow cyclists when it's nice out

i got started by going on the 9W, and weaned off of 9W by riding around DC (still not bad). Can't say i'm that impressed with what I have here.

[nooneline]

Originally Posted by Nooch

Have to be in Philly over the weekend for a wedding but the weather looks great and I'll have a ton of time to kill while my wife is getting hair and makeup done, so I figure I might as well go for a ride. Staying near Philly City Hall -- anything to do from there, or should I drive out somewhere, or... (any other options welcome!)

Thanks!

There's terrific riding close to Philadelphia - basically everything between downtown Philly, and Conshohocken, west of the river, is pretty pleasant - hill roads through green space with not too much traffic. One of my fav routes is of a ride called The Dirty Thirty, but lots of the roads in that area are great.

The Schuylkill River Trail (on the east side of the river) doesn't get all that pleasant (crowded) until past Manayunk, but it will take you out forever (if you do that, I highly recommend a detour up Harts Lane and down Manor Road). You can take it out to near Valley Forge, cross the river, and enjoy that area.

Or, to stay closer, you can take the SRT up to the Wissahickon Park and ride Forbidden Drive through The Wiss - it's a pleasant 20-minute-long wide dirt road through the gorge.

[nooneline]

Originally Posted by echappist

nothing here holds a candle to 9W (and i'm not being sarcastic). the Schuylkill trail is meh, especially when you get to Conshohocken (too many stopping points), not to mention that the section btwn Art Museum and Manayunk is gonna be packed with runners and slow cyclists when it's nice out

i got started by going on the 9W, and weaned off of 9W by riding around DC (still not bad). Can't say i'm that impressed with what I have here.

9W is great for putting your head down, turning your brain off, and riding tempo - and Philly doesn't really have anything like that. But, Philly does have a greater diversity of beautiful, interesting routes.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by nooneline

There's terrific riding close to Philadelphia - basically everything between downtown Philly, and Conshohocken, west of the river, is pretty pleasant - hill roads through green space with not too much traffic. One of my fav routes is of a ride called The Dirty Thirty, but lots of the roads in that area are great.

The Schuylkill River Trail (on the east side of the river) doesn't get all that pleasant (crowded) until past Manayunk, but it will take you out forever (if you do that, I highly recommend a detour up Harts Lane and down Manor Road). You can take it out to near Valley Forge, cross the river, and enjoy that area.

Or, to stay closer, you can take the SRT up to the Wissahickon Park and ride Forbidden Drive through The Wiss - it's a pleasant 20-minute-long wide dirt road through the gorge.

I graduated from Lower Merion HS, moved out for some 15 years, and am now temporarily back in LM

The backroads in LM (where the hilly roads west of the Sckuylkill are located) give me jitters. I guess i just have a really low risk tolerance level these days. Oh well.

Granted, I lived near the Sourlands in NJ for a while, and I feel a bit more comfortable on those back roads...

[Dude]

Not sure of your skill level/time constraints but I could come and meet you and show you some of the area's riding. We have a good mix of hills/flats. DM me if interested.

[nooneline]

Originally Posted by echappist

I graduated from Lower Merion HS, moved out for some 15 years, and am now temporarily back in LM

The backroads in LM (where the hilly roads west of the Sckuylkill are located) give me jitters. I guess i just have a really low risk tolerance level these days. Oh well.

Granted, I lived near the Sourlands in NJ for a while, and I feel a bit more comfortable on those back roads...

Some roads are better than others, for sure. And some times of day...

And everything's relative - when I moved to Philly, I came from somewhere where the riding was worse, through very car-centric, dense suburbs. So I found the mainline riding to be a breath of fresh air.

[chrispino]

Originally Posted by nooneline

9W is great for putting your head down, turning your brain off, and riding tempo - and Philly doesn't really have anything like that. But, Philly does have a greater diversity of beautiful, interesting routes.

Agreed. I lived in NYC for 8 years and would do anything to avoid 9W. God awful road for cycling. The back road through Englewood/Tenafly were so much better.


Anyway, like previously mentioned the Dirty 30 route is great.

I generally avoid the SRT as I find it pretty boring but you could take that out to Valley Forge and there is some great riding around there.


If staying closer to the city be sure to hit Harts Lane and Port Royal

Port Royal:



If heading out to VF Welsh Valley and Diamond Rock are some good climbs

[Nooch]

I don't need to climb much, sitting heavy right now, but I do need to burn some stress and open up some calories for the boozefest that will surely ensue at the wedding... Dude, i may hit you up.

Took that dirty 30 and edited it, but think I ran it in reverse.. Still looks like a good ride, though!