Memorial Day

The weather ended up being about as good as you could ask for last Monday which meant I would be out for what is becoming my weekly bike trip.  This time I went early enough to catch a small lunch on the way down before arriving in Philadelphia by midday.  Instead of providing little details about a constant peddling motion I will give a list of patterns taking shape that aren't necessarily annoying but make me shake my head.

1.  The Tour de France riders.  This entire list is based off a select few repeat offenders and is not a statement about the group as a whole.  However, this group is probably the worst especially in packs.  I'm not sure if some are aware but this isn't the Tour de Schuylkill.  They ride as if they are the only ones out there and all else should look out for them.  If you want to max out your speed go find some open country roads instead of a place with walkers, runners and skaters let alone slower bikers.

2.  Kids between 9 and 13.  I'm not great at guessing kids ages so this is a ballpark figure.  Here is my reasoning on why I think this group struggles.  First off there aren't a ton of kids out.  Young ones tend to stay close to their parents and sometimes even look a bit cautious.  Older kids generally have an understanding on how the process works.  This 9 to 13 range I feel are just old enough to show they can ride a bike like everybody else.  I almost hit a kid the first time I went after he decided to turn his bike to the left as I was passing.  I don't even think his feet were on the pedals.  He was just mounted on his bike in the middle of the trail.  I hit the brakes and said watch out before his mother who was behind him apologized.  Last Monday while leaving the city I slowly followed a group out led by a kid in this age range who at a point along the trail only big enough for two bikes made a left turn with his front wheel.  A biker with speed in full attire had no chance.  He hit the brakes but slid into the kids wheel.  This also happened under a bridge with concrete support so you couldn't ride into the grass.  His mother apologized and the kids did two or three times.  At first the guy looked like he was going to say something but to his credit said as long as everybody was okay it was alright.

3.  The out to lunch riders.  This is probably the group that most surprises me and has nothing to do with actually biking.  Regardless of when I go there is always a group of people that don't pull off the trail when they stop riding.  They stop and talk, look at the sights but can't manage to move a few feet over.

This is all to be expected when traveling on heavily used sections.  It's nice that other people enjoy the outdoors as well and the people who understand the rules of the road far outweigh the ones who don't.

Here are a few pictures from the ride.  Ended up being 55 miles.

Museum from across the river

Boathouses

Final stop to relax with the grass people at Walnut Street