CYCLE Program

Hey all! So it’s been forever since I last updated my blog. Beginning in August I became really busy with the CYCLE program (it was a lot of miles to keep up with) then I kept getting odd jobs – good for my wallet, bad for a blog updates.  September I barely even rode and October/November I’ve ridden about town but I haven’t gone on any adventures.  I’m hoping to get back into the swing of things over the next few weeks.  I know y’all are buzzing with anticipation. 

What better way to get back into the swing of things then to show the extent of which I biked during the CYCLE program I assisted to coach?  Since it was such a long time ago (the first three weeks of August) I’ll remind you – and me – of the program. Simply, CYCLE stands for Camden Youth Cycling, Learning and Exercising.  The program encourages middle-school students in the City of Camden to learn how to bike safely throughout the city and region.  The eight participants this year varied in cycling skills when beginning the program.  After a quick catch-up on the basics of cycling and rules of the road the group began to bike throughout Camden and eventually beyond.  Each day typically culminated in a 10-20 mile ride.  Along our rides the students learned about cycle lanes, multi-purpose trails and how different organizations promoting cycling and over-all healthy-living throughout the region.  All in all I/the group racked up some serious miles:

Miles	Minutes	Speed	Calories Burned
197	1,162	10.2	13,368

As you can tell we went all over South Jersey, covering large swaths of Collingwood, Haddon Township and Pennsauken – not to mention the City of Camden.  Below is a closer view of the area we covered. 

The program was chalked full of specific rides, here is a quick roundup of the program’s events:

Day 1 –Basic day of learning how to bike and getting to know one another staying in a parking lot outside the Susquehanna Bank Center.

Day 2 – First time we ventured out of the parking lot along the Central Camden waterfront’s trail, ending up at the base of the Ben Franklin Bridge.   

Day 3 – While learning hand signals we explored the Cooper Grant historic district and eventually North Camden’s Pyne Point Park.

Day 4 – First long bike ride of the camp. While biking along the Cooper River we went through a several parks on our way to Croft Farm, all in all we traveled just shy of 20 miles this day.

Day 5 – First trip across the bridge – we dropped in on the South Philadelphia location of Neighborhood Bike Works which was holding a similar summer program.  The day ended with a short exploration of Society Hill.

Day 6 – Venturing southeast from Downtown Camden we had or first glimpses of the suburban neighborhoods of Collingswood and Haddonfield as well as the stately Knight’s Park. 

Day 7 – Philadelphia Adventure Day!  We began by meandering through the Independence National Historic Park and visiting Elfreth’s Alley in Old City. Eventually biking along Spring Garden (which will become a new greenway  in the near future) to visit Lemon Hill and the Philly’ Art Museum.

Day 8 – Visited the Camden County boathouse along the Cooper River then ventured out into Cherry Hill stopping at Erlton Bike Shop, along Marlton Pike.

Day 9 – Biked to North Camden where Greensgrow’s Mobile Farmers Market set up shop just on the outside of downtown’s freeways interchanges.  Afterwards we discovered the Cramer Hill neighborhood of Camden and Pennsauken Twp.

Day 10 – Rode an endurance ride, past the Jersey Turnpike along Kresson Road. All-in-all this was the longest ride of the camp at 21.5 miles. 

Day 11 –After visiting the Camden Children’s Garden  we surveyed the industrial landscape of South Camden, visiting Johnson Park and the master-planned community of Fairview/Yorkship Square before biking along Newton Lake in Collingswood/Oaklyn

Day 12 – Traveled back over the Ben Franklin Bridge to the Bicycle Coalition’s Center City offices and made a brief stop in Rittenhouse Square.

Day 13 – Accompanied by Rails to Trail’s we cycled through Campbell’s HQ and back to Croft Farm.  The day was documented by a file crew, which you can see here.

Day 14 – The only time we were rained out so we had an amazing day at the Adventure Aquarium, where I got to touch a shark!

Day 15 – Last day of the camp we visited the Whitman neighborhood of Camden as well as back out along Federal Street to Greensgrow’s location that day.  We ended the day with a lesson on how to lock one’s bike so it will not get stolen. 

I wish I had taken pictures as we traveled through the region there is a lot of fodder in South Jersey for an urban bike blog - ranging from deteriorating urban fabric to active tight-knit communities.  Alas, I didn’t – I’ll just have to revisit South Jersey again.  All in all CYCLE was a great experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat.