Wednesday Night Rides Goes Gravel
The latest edition of Wednesday Night Rides slid off the city's streets and wound its way into the Wissahickon.
While an in-depth story of Wednesday Night Rides will have to wait for another time, I couldn't resist pulling out my camera and sharing these scenes from the latest in their series of rotating bi-weekly rides, this time to Wissahickon Valley Park in Northwest Philly.
The Magic of the Wiss cast its spell on about 100 riders who tested their tires and bike handling skills on Forbidden Drive's idyllic gravel path. I didn't take any pictures on Forbidden Drive, but it's easily accessible by trails, sidepaths, and public transit from most parts of town. Weekly group rides featuring Forbidden Drive are also hosted by Philly Gravel Club, PAPERtrail Bike Cafe, and Riders of Rohan and a monthly ride is hosted by Philly Gravel Collective, so opportunities abound.
Meeting and departing from the Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial just north of Boathouse Row, the group stretched out along the Schuylkill River Trail through Fairmount Park, past East Falls, and onto the Wissahickon Bike Trail into the cool and wooded gorge.
See yourself in the pictures on this page? Save them! Share them! Use them! Tag @thetrellisphilly and share this website if you can. The more people are seen on bikes, the more likely other people will be to try riding bikes!
The best part of a bike ride is often the part where you're not pedaling. One of the day's highlights was hanging out with old and new friends on the double arch stone bridge where Mt Airy Avenue melts into the schist over the creek. The air feels at least 5° cooler here on a hot summer's day, and being in the forest without leaving the city feels a little like stumbling into the rabbit hole of Alice's wonderland.
Into the woods. Out of the woods.
The ride concluded with Puffins, Buoys, Kookaburras, and Passion Peach Slushies at Wissahickon Brewing Co where several dozen bikes were parked alongside Babalouie BBQ's food truck. When the bar shut down, the day was done and the remaining riders caravanned in small groups back to their corners of the city.
Wednesday Night Rides is a social ride featuring rotating themed routes every other Wednesday. Join their next ride and follow along at wednightrides.org, on Instagram, or on Reddit.