Philadelphia Social Rides - 2016

With warm weather approaching people will be turning to thoughts of love. The love of bicycling. For those of you who are looking for way to socialize and ride your bikes there many options available in Philadelphia.

Social rides last 5 to 20 miles depending on the ride, at a pace that allows for a wide range of bikes and fitness levels. Social rides usually have a “no drop” policy, that ensures that everyone who is in the ride makes it to the finish. Ensuring that no one gets lost or left behind to a flat tire or mechanical breakdown. These rides provide a final destination where you can socialize and have something to drink and eat.

The list below breaks down the Social Rides currently available in Philadelphia by daytime and nighttime rides.

Daytime Rides

Philadelphia Open Ride - https://www.facebook.com/phillyopenride/

On of two new fledging social rides in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Open Ride is the creation of Pope Ride organizer Alexandria Schneider. She lead off her first ride with a fall leaf tour of Philadelphia complete with a picnic with the best view of Philadelphia, the Belmont Plateau. In December there was a Toys for Tots ride that I hope will become an annual tradition. Ms. Schneider appears to have some new rides lined up for the spring and we look forward to seeing what they are.

Norman’s Irregular Bike Rides - https://www.facebook.com/groups/517736488374969/

Norman’s Irregular Bike Rides is the other addition to the Philadelphia Social Ride scene. In the fall it held the Day of the Donut, a tour of Philadelphia’s best donut shops. With warm spring weather on the way we are sure there will be more rides to come.

Women Bike PHL - https://www.facebook.com/groups/womenbikephl/

Founded by Katie Monroe of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Women Bike PHL is a private Facebook page for women cyclists with over 2100 members. It is a forum to ask for advice about all things cycling and to promote the rides they host. The goal of Women Bike PHL is to inspire more women to ride a bike and support and encourage them along the way

Take Your Time Bike Ride - http://tinyurl.com/pnlu3tj

Departing from Rittenhouse Square on the second Tuesday of every month around 6pm. These rides always finish a different destination each ride. Starting in April and ending in October these rides alternate between coed and women only.

Philly Kidical Mass http://tinyurl.com/oan2vp3

Kidical Mass Philadelphia is part of nationwide movement seeking to promote family friendly bike rides and bring awareness in our cities that kids are traffic too. Riding as a group Philly Kidical Mass provides safety in numbers by using routes that incorporate bike lanes and low traffic streets that are 1 to 4 miles long. Kidical Mass rides often end at local playgrounds giving you the opportunity to socialize while your children play with new friends.

Cranksgiving Philadelphia http://tinyurl.com/pf2hgvc

Held in November close to Thanksgiving. Each rider has to purchase food from a shopping list at predesignated supermarkets and then arrive at a final destination. All of the food is donated to Philabundance. For those of you who want to race there are prizes for top finishers in several categories and a special award for the individual who brings the most food. In 2014 Cranksgiving Philadelphia had 100 participants who brought 1200 pounds of food and $700 in cash. The final destination is Tattooed Mom’s on South St and they double the amount of food brought in.

Philadelphia Tweed Ride http://tinyurl.com/mxkt492

Held in the fall around November, the Philadelphia Tweed Ride is the dressiest social ride in town. Attracting 100 riders on average the Philadelphia Tweed Ride dress code asks its participants to dress in clothing from 1900 to 1920 England. The attire ranges from vintage clothing to vintage inspired, with bikes to match. Winding its way through Philadelphia this ride becomes a parade of its own. Complete with a stop for a picnic, post ride drinks and awards, the Philadelphia Tweed Ride is the ride of the social season.

Nighttime Rides

Philly Full Moon Bike Ride http://tinyurl.com/n9vfype

Come howl at the moon with the Philly Full Moon Bike Ride. Held on the full moon of every month this ride departs from the Philadelphia Art Museum in the evening. Well attended, the Full Moon ride makes sure that no one gets lost or is left behind, and finishes at a local bar for drinks. Rides are held year round so dress for the weather and bring lights.

Philadelphia Bike Ride - https://www.facebook.com/phillybikeride/

With rides falling on either the third Friday or Saturday of the month. Philadelphia Bike Ride tours through different sections of Philadelphia.

Philly Bike Party http://tinyurl.com/ot2l67t

Come dance the night away with the Philly Bike Party. The Philly Bike Party rides are usually on the third Saturday of the month and is 6 to 8 miles long. Along the way the ride makes several stops to socialize and dance.

Lets Go Ride a Bike

With warm weather approaching people will be turning to thoughts of love. The love of bicycling. For those of you who are looking for way to socialize and ride your bikes there many options available in Philadelphia.

Take Your Time Bike Ride - http://tinyurl.com/pnlu3tj

Departing from Rittenhouse Square on the second Tuesday of every month around 6pm. These rides always include a different destination each ride. Starting in April and ending in October these rides alternate between coed and women only.

Philly Full Moon Bike Ride http://tinyurl.com/n9vfype

Come howl at the moon with the Philly Full Moon Bike Ride. Held on the full moon of every month this ride departs from the Philadelphia Art Museum in the evening. Well attended, with a no drop policy this ride ends up at a local bar for drinks. Rides are held year round so dress for the weather and bring lights.

Philly Bike Party http://tinyurl.com/ot2l67t

Come dance the night away with the Philly Bike Party. The Philly Bike Party rides are usually on the third Saturday of the month and is 6 to 8 miles long. Along the way the ride makes several stops to socialize and dance.

Philly Kidical Mass http://tinyurl.com/oan2vp3

Kidical Mass Philadelphia is part of nationwide movement seeking to promote family friendly bike rides and bring awareness in our cities that kids are traffic too. Riding as a group Philly Kidical Mass provides safety in numbers by using routes that incorporate bike lanes and low traffic streets that are 1 to 4 miles long. These rides often end at local playgrounds giving you the opportunity to socialize while your children play with new friends.

Cranksgiving Philadelphia http://tinyurl.com/pf2hgvc

Held in November close to Thanksgiving. Each rider has to purchase food from a shopping list at predesignated supermarkets and then arrive at a final destination. All of the food is donated to Philabundance. For those of you who want to race there are prizes for top finishers in several categories and a special award for the individual who brings the most food. In 2014 Cranksgiving Philadelphia had 100 participants who brought 1200 pounds of food and $700 in cash.

Philadelphia Tweed Ride http://tinyurl.com/mxkt492

Held in the fall around November, the Philadelphia Tweed Ride is the dressiest social ride in town. Attracting 100 riders on average the Philadelphia Tweed Ride dress code asks its participants to dress in clothing from 1900 to 1920 England. The attire ranges from vintage clothing to vintage inspired, with bikes to match. Winding its way through Philadelphia this ride becomes a parade of its own. Complete with a stop for a picnic,  post ride drinks and awards the Philadelphia Tweed Ride is the ride of the social season.

Bilenky Junkyard Cross http://tinyurl.com/nxb8cma

The Bilenky Junkyard Cross closes out the social riding cycling season. Held in December in the junkyard abutting Bilenky Cycle Works, the Bilenky Junkyard Cross has one of the most unique courses around. Utilizing  items found in the junkyard you can expect to climb over cars, weave through auto parts and tires, and splash through puddles of unknown fluids. Each year the merry elves at Bilenky Cycle Works add their own course modifications. Pits made from sofa cushions or leaves and seesaws.

2013 Philly bike scene in review

Philly Bike Party – After a one year absence the Philly Bike Party resurfaced for a Halloween ride. I understand that the organizers have had a busy 12 months with college, graduation, jobs, and planning the Philly Naked Bike Ride. I would like to challenge them to hold a ride once per quarter in 2014 to show that this group is more than a capricious flight of fantasy.

PPD Bike theft sting – One of the funnier and at the same time depressing moments was the Philadelphia Police Department's attempt to reduce bike thief. Instead of equipping an expensive bait bike with a GPS tracker and motion sensor and locking with an easily cut lock. So they could track thieves back to their homes and recover more bikes. They left an unlocked bike and arrested the first person who took it, not really a sting, more like entrapment.

On the other hand its hard to take the Philadelphia Police Department's efforts seriously when their own bikes get stolen. 

#unblockbikelanes - Recently the Philadelphia Parking Authority has begun to take the steps towards dealing with vehicles that park in the bike lanes. They created a Twitter hashtag, #unblockbikelanes, as a way to crowd source a database of problem locations throughout the city. There is only one minor problem, the launch for this undertaking was announced in the middle of December. So for the next three months the fewest number of cyclists will be riding due to the weather. I can only hope that there is a relaunching of this program in April to remind everyone. When more cyclists will be riding and more eyes will be on the street so this initiative succeeds. More importantly will be to see how long before the PPA starts cracking down on this problem.

Philly Full Moon Ride – With rides planned to coincide with the full moon of every month. The organizers of the Philly Full Moon Ride have been made a consistent effort to hold monthly rides since they first appeared on the scene. The fall and winter rides have been moved to an early start time something that allows for more ride time and makes them more accessible to people in 9 to 5 jobs who have to get up early in the morning. A practice that I hope will continue into the warmer weather.

Philadelphia Kidical Mass – One of the best success stories of the year has been Philly Kidical Mass. Created by Dena Driscoll and Marni Duffy as a way for families with children to enjoy child friendly group rides with other families. Each ride is a few miles long, using a combination of bike lanes of side streets, and finishes at a local playground. Philly Kidical Mass has quickly become the local source for cycling with children and cargo bikes; which have become the minivan for the urban cyclist.

Philly Full Moon Bike Ride

One of the things I have found frustrating about the Philadelphia cycling scene is the lack of a monthly social rides when compared to other cities. A ride that is free of any political or social statement. Just a ride for the sake of riding.

There is a new kid on the block, the Philly Full Moon Bike Ride. They hold a ride once a month on the night of the full moon. Departing from the Art Museum around 10pm they ride through the streets of Philadelphia ending at a local drinking establishment. With their first ride in May the organizers are building a following on Facebook with 41 members, the May Ride had 10 riders and their June ride had 25 participants.

With the ride happening on a different day of the week every month I hope the organizers will consider moving the start time to an early hour. So people who are in 9 to 5 jobs can join in and still get some sleep.

They are planning for their next ride on Monday, July 22. I look forward to seeing this ride grow and evolve. To become a new Philadelphia tradition.

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