Week 9 in Review (May 2 - 8)

This week has been full of cycling adventures. I feel like it’s the first week that it has been warm enough to bike around without worrying about biking in the shorts or pants and being adversely affected by the wind. There are no wind chills when it’s 70. I also I have been slow to update my 5^th Street ride series and I went on another epic bike ride with Zack this week. So therefore I’m just going combine my stats and everything into the week’s review and then dive into more detail when the time comes that I actually write about the ride. 

Routes	Miles	Minutes	Speed	Calories Burned
5	62.5	296	12.68	3,550

Aside from my ride through West Philadelphia with Zack I went on some pretty decent rides. Most notably on Tuesday, when it was 72 and sunny for the first time in a while I decided to traverse the busy Center City streets around city hall, bike up the parkway and do a gorgeous loop around Fairmount Park.  I saw a gaggle of baby geese that were just adorable but I didn’t have my camera so I couldn’t capture the moment. Then Yesterday I went on a lovely, yet hungover, ride with two of my friends, Meghan and Judd. We had discussed this ride earlier in the week and then attended a fairly epic Kentucky Derby party, where I learned that a Mint Julep is mostly Bourbon. However, we all made it to our meeting spot on the Schuylkill Trail and then biked to Manayunk for a coffee and bagels. It was the perfect day!

On Sundays the City closes down West River Dr./MLK Dr. for bicyclist and for runners alike.  Before noon one can travel from the Art Museum to the Falls Bridge, about 4.1 miles.  However, after noon they reopen the road south of Sweet Briar Lane to traffic, leaving about 2.7 mile car free.

All in all it was a great week for biking. Including my West Philly ride, I’ve made huge gains in in the percentage of Philly I’ve been through. This week I have cycled through just shy of 15% of the entire city, 14.85% or 21.3 sq. mi.  Additionally I’ve made great gains in the number of neighborhoods I’ve been in, 88 out of 138 neighborhoods or 64%.

CORRECTION: Last week I stated 89 neighborhoods but I miscalculated and there were only 80 neighborhoods that I have actually biked through more than 2.5% of them, which is my criterion for showing it on the map.  

A few key points concerning my current biking trends are: I’ve biked through nearly 85% of Center City, and I’m shy of only two neighborhoods in West Philadelphia before I can say I’ve biked through all of it.  Make sure you check out the Geographic Analysis page for a more in depth look.