2012 Philadelphia Social Rides

With much of the major riding season over until the spring its time to take a look back at some of the highlights and lowlights of the past year. While there are plenty of alley cats, charity rides, races there are some that stand out more than others.

The most questionable ride that happens is the Philadelphia Naked Bike Ride, PNBR. While the ride has grown since its inception whether it achieves any of it broad based and nebulous goals remains highly questionable. The only people who benefit from the PNBR are the owners of the nearby bars at the Piazza at Schmiddts where the ride ends and after parties are held.

There are rides that are building a sense of community through good deeds and others through good fun.  Examples of rides built through good fun include the Bilenky Junk Yard Cross is an unsanctioned cyclocross where nothing about the course or the participants are regulation. It draws a very eclectic group of participants and spectators for a day of friendly competition.

The Philly Tweed ride is also a great example of good fun builds a community. The Philadelphia Tweed Ride is a vintage themed bicycle ride where the participants dress in early 1900's style clothing and take a leisurely ride through Philadelphia with a stop for a picnic lunch and dinner. Attracting over 100 participants per year of all ages this ride gives participants a chance to exercise their creative abilities as well as create the opportunity to dress up for a unique social setting.

While Philadelphia has its share of charity bicycle rides most of them are century rides run by a non for-profit that have the resources and the staff to execute such an undertaking. There are two rides that I am aware of, that have been created through the hard work of individuals who make time outside of work, school, and other commitments to plan these rides.

Philly Cranksgiving is an alley cat race where participants navigate to a series of grocery stores to purchase items from a list that are brought to a final destination. Organized by two local residents, Gary and CJ,  all of the proceeds go to Philabundance a food bank that helps Philadelphians in need. The 2012 ride raised 800 pounds of food and $1200.00, $1000.00 of which was donated by Tattooed Mom's matching the amount spent by the riders who donated food. This helped feed 2000 residents of Philadelphia.

There was a new addition this year, Gears for Gifts. An organized bicycle ride with the proceeds going to Toys for Tots. Traditionally motorcycle and car clubs holds rides of this nature so it’s always refreshing to see a new twist on an existing concept. I can only hope that this ride becomes an annual event and may some day rival the Midnight Ridazz All City Ride.

I'm looking forward to 2013 to see how many of these rides will cotinue to grow and evolve. As well as what new rides will develop.

Lock your Bicycle - Keystone Cops Edition

Bike theft in Philadelphia is a problem, but to the police this is a “quality of life” problem, viewed in the same light as graffiti and broken windows. In light of the more serious crimes the Philadelphia police have to deal with quality of life crimes have a very low and understandable priority. Short of catching someone in the act the police do not have the time and manpower.

But on Saturday night, January 12, a bike thief made an attempt to steal two bicycles that would have been straight out of a Keystone cops movie. Had it not been for the fact that the two bicycles he stole were property of the Philadelphia Police department and he tried to escape the scene by loading the bicycles onto a SEPTA bus. The police had locked their bicycles to a signpost while making a security check.

The question that needs to be asked is; what did the police officers lock their bicycles with, shoe laces? Clearly whatever the Philadelphia Police Department use could not stop someone with a bolt cutter purchased at a hardware store. I'm sure the police never thought someone would steal a police bicycle; then again people tend to underestimate just how ingenious or stupid criminals can be.

If you're going to take the time to lock your bicycle do it right, invest in a Kryptonite chain or u-lock. You should review the two videos in this post by Hal Ruzel which provide real world examples of what to aovid and what to do when locking your bicycle.

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Doomsday is Coming

Doomsday is coming. Not in the time that Harold Camping predicted or due to the misinterpretation of the Mayan Long Count calendar. Rather its the failing infrastructure that SEPTA has and the inaction of legislators at the state and federal level to provide the needed additional funding. Over the years I have lived in several cities, some with extensive rapid transit systems others with nominal or none what so ever.

Its been long known that SEPTA is operating many of its power substations and tracks that its trains and trolleys run on are substandard. Unfortunately due to severe underfunding SEPTA is no longer able to use temporary fixes and has to resort to more drastic measures. Repair is not an option, shutting things down is. The first sign of the oncoming apocalypse is the 101-year-old Bridgeport Viaduct, which allows the Norristown High Speed Line to cross into Philadelphia.

Time and 2400 passengers per day has taken a toll on the bridge; the ties are so rotted that the spikes that hold the rails in place have been glued down to prevent them from pulling loose. This summer the bridge will be permanently closed as the glue will not hold the spikes in place and the corrosion of the steel framework and concrete foundations will be to much. In order to repair the bridge SEPTA will need 30 million dollars that they don't have.

Regrettably this is the tip of the iceberg. This needed repair is just one of 5 billion dollars in repairs that includes power substations, failing bridges, and other systems. Worse yet the funds that are needed to make these repairs come from state and federal transportation bills and since much of the country uses highway as a primary mode of transportation. What most of these legislators cannot grasp is that there is a greater concentration of population in major cities that rely primarily on public transportation. The fact that SEPTA has to allow system failures to occur and reduce services is appalling. Short of another bridge failure like the Minneapolis bridge collapse in 2007, this will only get worse.

2012 Bilenky Junkyard Cross - Its a wrap

What started a company party has transformed into one of the première and unique regional cyclocross races. No longer a local Philadelphia event; there were cars, vans, and SUV's with license plates from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Indiana parked at Bilenky Cycle Works. This race attracts everyone from competitive racers to people who come out to try their luck; as one racer put it, “I just want to finish”. While not everyone can win their were some crowd favorites; the guy who rode all of his heats in a unicorn mask and the young lady in the women’s division wearing black Uggs.

The Mighty Unicorn

Nothing about the Bilenky Junkyard Cyclocross can be described as standard or regulation. The barriers include cars as hurdles, a mini van as a tunnel, and the narrow pathways where parts are stored become a maze. The surface of the course includes dirt, concrete, and gravel with a mix of oil, transmission fluid, metal fragments, and pebbles of safety glass. 

A tight squeeze

 

 

What Hurdle?

The spectators often have as much fun as the riders and in some small ways influence the race. In two incidents at the car hurdles riders experienced major mechanical failures, spontaneous pit crews from the spectators got them back into the race. They also redesign the course by adding ramps at the car hurdles in time for the bmx/alternate bikes and men’s finals. In one instance when a racer squeezed between the edge of the course and a car hurdle, only to find on the next lap that tires barricaded the hole.

Spontaneous Pit Crew

Catching big air

They don't look like soccer mom's.

There were plenty of cyclocross and mountain bikes and every year there is a growing mount of BMX and single speed bikes. Along with tandems, and modified beach cruisers. This year one rider brought a Pugsley, with tires close to 4 inches wide tires this bicycle was like a steamroller on the course. Some of the fastest and most aggressive riding came in the BMX/alternate bike heats, were the two car hurdles were bunny hopped instead of being hurdled. One BMX racer was a big crowd pleaser as he did wheelies through the start/finish zone during each lap. 

Pugsley in the pit

 

King of the Wheelies

Another factor that makes the Bilenky Junkyard Cyclocross are the prizes for the winner each category. This year crowns for the men and tiaras for the women were designed by Bilenky Cycle Works employee Isis Shiffer. With their unique design and Steam Punk esthetic these are the type awards that will make this memorable to the winners more so than any trophy. 

2012 Philly Cranksgiving - The results

Cranksgiving was back in 2012 bigger and better than ever. More riders, improved routing, and plenty of donations. This year Tattooed Mom's stepped up by matching the total amount of money spent by riders purchasing donated food. What makes Philly Cranksgiving unique is not the event itself; it’s the people who organize it. This ride is not planned by a for-profit or a non for-profit which have the resources and funding to make this type of event run smoothly. But by two individuals who commit their own time and energy outside of their normal schedules. CJ and Gary took some time to answer some questions about this years ride.

1. With 46 riders, how many pounds of food were collected. (not including the amount Tattooed Mom's added)?

CJ: We actually had 62/63 starters, so I am hoping that most of those people finished and added their donations, and just didn't hand in a manifest. But when the day was over, we had 798lbs!

Gary: CJ is correct, we had 62 riders sign up and most of them were recorded as finished and I'm pretty sure the rest trickled in after the time limit.  We ended up collecting just shy of 800lbs of food.  In addition to the food, we had $1250 in donations ($1,000 of which came from Tattooed Moms in place of their food matching).  The cash donations were just as significant of a help, and according to Philabundance, were able to assist in feeding well over 2,000 people!

2. What was the time for the 1st place rider?

CJ: The first and second place riders (a couple) had actually gotten to Tattooed Mom a second or two before I did, around 1:30. Gary and I were trying to decide when to leave Whole Foods at 10th and South for the finish....he decided to stay for stragglers while I headed down to Tattooed Mom. Glad I left when I did! We started at maybe 12:05 or 12:10, so their time was around 1:20 or so?

Gary: I totally forgot to keep track of time, but around an hour and a half finishing time seemed about right.  We tried to mix things up by adding a mandatory 3rd stop on the manifest, where we introduced a mystery stop to keep riders on their toes.

3. This year you moved the starting point out of Center City; did this help avoid any issues with the Philadelphia Marathon?

CJ: I don't know explicitly if it helped or not, but since the riders were starting further from the Marathon course, I suppose it gave us more of a time 'buffer' between the Marathon and our event. I know last year we had some people not being able to take the Spring Garden bridge; not sure if it was the same case this year or not. The scene at the finish was too hectic to mingle and get race reports, hah. In any case, I did like our Penn Treaty start more because it gave us a bit more room to have everyone hang around and chat while waiting for manifests, and not be in anyone's way or raise any suspicion. I couldn't imagine 60+ people standing around LOVE right across from City Hall, where we started last year.

Gary: The marathon was certainly a part of the decision to move the starting point, however the minimal interference we had last year also played into the decision.  Mostly, it was that we were expecting a significantly larger crowd this year with the increased promotion and awareness, and having the extra room for people to hang out before the race certainly helped.

4. When are you are not working non-stop on Cranksgiving, what do you do for fun and work?

CJ: Fun: road rides in the suburbs, DIY basement shows, poker with high school friends, and drinking bottomless coffee at Grindcore House.
Not Fun: I'm a second-year Master's student at Towson University, in Towson, MD. Experimental Psychology. Graduating in May, hoping to be able to get into bicycle transportation research. Until then, it's a lot of driving back and forth just so I can ride my bike and see my girlfriend/friends/family.

Gary: Outside of the wonderful world of Cranksgiving, I lead a fairly busy life (at least I think so...).  During the week, I work a 9-5 as a web designer/developer for a company just outside of Philadelphia.  I'm also an avid cyclist, racing cyclocross on the weekends, riding (as much as possible) otherwise, and riding around the city!  

More info (results/summary/photos) are/will be available on our website (www.cranksgivingphilly.com)