Week 22 in Review (August 1-7)

Well it’s been a while since an update and since that update I’ve biked more than I had the entire month of July. The first week of August was my first week instructing the Camden CYCLE program, and what a week it was. First let me say that I crossed the Ben Franklin Bridge a total of 12 times during the week. That bridge is SERIOUS, even after many crossings I still feel winded after getting to the other side. As for the camp itself it started out slow but has ended in some epic rides around South Jersey.

For a little background, there are 8 children (ages 10-11) enrolled in the camp, the majority coming from Eco Charter School in downtown Camden. When starting the camp the kids ranged in skills from not knowing how to even ride a bike to some being more-than confident in their abilities. However, in the first few days we spent most of our time in a parking lot across from the Susquehanna Bank Center learning various skills (i.e. changing gears, stopping, balance, etc) as well as safety precautions (i.e. hand signals, riding in a single file line (which they still haven’t mastered), etc). 

Although the entirety of the first day was spent in the parking lot the second day ended with biking along the Camden waterfront (which I had done before in a previous unrelated ride that I have yet to finish blogging aboutL). Although we only rode up to the bridge and back the camp ended up accruing approx. 7.5 miles. It was a nice leisurely tour compared to some of the other rides we took the rest of the week. 

Day 3 was much more about getting the campers acquainted to riding on the streets (and as I have learned on Jersey streets, dodging potholes). The camp racked up almost 14 miles biking through the streets of Cooper Grant and North Camden. North Camden is ROUGH, and not in the way you all think I mean. I mean in the sense that the city has not repaved many of the streets in the area since it seems the early 20^th century. Elm Street (the street closest to the Ben Franklin Bridge) is all Belgian block and patchy asphalt.  Highly inappropriate for Loretta.

Day 4 was our first big day – one I wasn’t expecting.  Deemed a fitness day we biked 9ish miles into South Jersey ending in Wallworth Park, between Haddonfield and Cherry Hill. The route followed mostly streets that are along a series of parks lining the Cooper River.  Although there were bike paths along most of the route, the campers stuck mostly to streets in order to get them acclimated to riding in traffic, and that elusive single file line. 

The last day of the week was a trip into Philadelphia to visit Neighborhood Bike Works. We visited their “South Philly” location, the Bikery, at the corner of 5^th and Lombard.  The location is set up as a community center basically.  Targeted for anyone in the neighborhood to use the space as a spot to fix up their bike or talk to someone and learn how too.  While we were there the Bike Work’s summer day camp was happening.  We spent an hour or so talking to them and getting a tour around the facility.  Afterwards we spent a few moments in Headhouse Square before heading back over the bridge to Camden.  All in all the campers cycled roughly 50 miles and with my trips over the bridge everyday along with a few other rides I ended up with a record 93 miles for the week. 

Routes	Miles	Minutes	Speed	Calories Burned
11	93.4	523	10.7	6,099

My Philadelphia neighborhood composite did not change much this past week, and I don’t expect it to for the next couple weeks as I have little time to explore new routes through the city.  However, my regional composite changed a lot.  Philadelphia is now second to Camden in the largest proportion of a municipality I have biked through.  Additionally I added four new municipalities to my list, all in Camden County. Make sure you stay tuned to the Geographic Analysis page for all the deets!