Gravel Ride of the Week: Philadelphia (A Philly Bike Expo Squad Ride)
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Who says you can’t ride gravel in big cities?! After attending the first day of the Philly Bike Expo, I joined in for some Sunday morning urban gravel riding, led by the Philly Bike Expo Squad. This ride was non-stop fun from the get-go and within the span of only 20-miles, we got to see so many different parts of Philadelphia. If you’re looking for variety, then this is the ride to check out. Art Museum steps and Rocky statue, check. Incredible (but equally technical) single track trails, check. Wissahickon forest views with a mid-ride coffee stop, check. Not to mention all the spectacular city skyline views and overhead bridges. You don’t want to miss this Gravel Ride of the Week, so grab you’re Philly cheesesteak and follow along with this entertaining ride!
The group ride started off at the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. If you know your movies from the 70s & 80s, then you'll know that these steps can inspire you to run to the top as you channel that inner Rocky Balboa. This was an experience that I missed out on during a previous work trip to Philly, and so this time I wasn’t going to pass up on this true tourist attraction. You’ll just have to watch the video to see if I did a good job.
Some truly incredible bikes lined up for this group ride. The tandem bike build by Junkyard Cats was definitely the most notable bike on the day. This tandem was one of the many custom bikes on display at the expo and it had to go back to the showroom after the morning group ride. This bike even walked away with the runner-up prize in the People's Choice awards at the expo. If you want to see more of the custom bikes at the expo, then check out our coverage of the event here.
There was no shortage of energy at this group ride, and it was a blast cruising around Philly with the PBE Squad. The first part of our ride took us along MLK drive, a section of road next to the Schuylkill River that is closed off from vehicles over the weekends. This allowed for lots of opportunities to enjoy the sights of the city and the many amazing overhead bridges. The gravel riding fun started once we hit some single-track trails in the Belmont area. It was easy to forget that we were still within the boundaries of a big city. Cruising along the fast-flowing trails felt like something that could just as well have been encountered somewhere deep in the mountains. Equally as impressive were the bike handling skills displayed by the tandem riders along this section of the route. Whenever they were presented with a difficult obstacle, they dismounted and mounted totally in sync, like true Cyclocross pros.
For the next part of our Philly adventure, we took a trip through the Wissahickon and the many trails that you find in this area. Spoiler alert ... they're technical! In a few instances, we were faced with boulders and a few drop-offs - that still qualifies as gravel, right?! After some hike-a-bike exercise, we headed over to the Paper Trail Bike Cafe to enjoy some mid-ride espressos. If you ever find yourself in this area, then be sure to swing by this neat hide-out in the woods.
Charged up with caffeine, we made our way back towards the city via the paved roads and were once again presented with incredible skyline views of the city along MLK Drive. The grand finale to the ride came in the form of some rolling thunder! That's right, as we cruised into downtown Philly, a long convoy of thundering motorcycles were also passing through. We got to ride behind these deafening machines all the way to the convention center. Now that's what I call making a grand arrival to the expo!
Thanks so much to the Philly Bike Expo Squad for leading one highly entertaining urban gravel ride. I can absolutely recommend joining a local group ride if you want to experience a big city to the fullest. We were so glad to be able to participate and will certainly be back in the future. If you ever get the chance to visit Philadelphia in early November, then be sure to add both the Philly Bike Expo and their group ride to your calendar!
- Wiehan
