Photo by B. Krist for GPTMC

No doubt about it, Philly is an urban oasis. We’ve got plenty of trees, but also an incredible amount of potholes, cracked blacktop and honking cars. Such are the woes and thrills for the city cyclist. But even the most urban guerrilla needs to find some fresh air, rolling hills, and dare I say… geese?

With just a little pedaling, you can experience the greener side of Philadelphia. Pass the lush green landscapes of Fairmount Park, the car free zones on the Schuylkill River Trail and the rich history of Valley Forge. Now I know, you’re thinking that Valley Forge is quite the hike. And you’re right, but any true cyclist would certainly be up for it.

And whether you are a novice or semi pro, you can certainly enjoy a Sunday ride in the park! Come geared and ready for the Freedom Valley Ride on Sun Jun 21st as the Bicycle Coalition of Philadelphia invites you to head up to Valley Forge!

Choose from distances as low as 8 miles to a whopping 60+ that will lead you to the Promised Land! This ride offers something for every type of rider. Don’t worry; there are four food stops along the way. For more info, log to bicyclecoaltion.org. See you on the other side.

Bike Freedom Valley 2009
Sun Jun 21, 2009
www.bicyclecoaltion.org

Nothing says ‘I love you, Dad’ like 3.1 miles. Am I right? This father’s day, partake in the 7th Annual Run 4 Your Life… Beat Prostate Cancer 5K run, 5K walk, or 1 mile fun walk. This is the second year my dad and I are running the race, and my big sister is even joining us this time! It’s a nice event to participate in, especially if you run it with or for your father.

Each year the run unites prostate cancer survivors, their families, medical practitioners, supporters, and simply runners in the fight against the disease (like my dad & I). At the 2007 race, we got to meet Gary Papa and Vince Papale, both survivors.

The race starts and finishes near the steps of the Art Museum. If you’re feeling energetic after the run, race your dad up the steps Rocky-style. If not, take him out to a nice brunch in the Art Museum area instead, like at London Grill or Bishop’s Collar.

A $25 race registration fee benefits the Foundation for Breast and Prostate Health that works to help advance awareness and research. Hope to see you there!

Run 4 Your Life 5K
June 21st, 2009 @ 8:30AM
www.run4yourlife.org

I’m a true urban girl. I have no fantasies of camping, hiking off-road paths, or otherwise getting the most out of nature. But I still like a good athletic challenge. So I was more than happy to discover Go Vertical, an indoor rock-climbing gym right in the city. It lets me approximate the feeling of scaling the side of a mountain without all that actually-hanging-off-a-cliff business.

Go Vertical is like an adult romper room. Music blares, climbers bounce around on the springy blight blue floor, and everyone throws their bags in a big pile in the middle of the room. The 13,500 square feet of climbing surfaces pop with brightly hued holds (little nubs you grab and step onto) that are organized into at least 250 different routes. Those routes range in level from beginning to advanced, so newbies and seasoned climbers alike coexist easily in the space. On my first visit, the staff and other climbers made me feel fully comfortable about trying things out for the first time.

To climb, you’ll need someone to belay for you (read: hold onto your rope so you don’t fall off the wall), so if you’re a newcomer it’s best to visit with someone more experienced or ask one of the super-helpful staffers (who can all show you a thing or two about scaling a wall) for help. Attending one of the many classes for beginners is also a good way to get started. Prepare to concentrate, feel your arms burning, and quite possibly get hooked: looking down 45 feet after a good climb is an addicting feeling.

Go Vertical
950 North Penn St., Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 928-1800
www.govertical.com

Want to know why you’ve never heard of the Manayunk Kayak Tours? Because it’s actually called the Kayak Hidden River Tour. Duh. Hidden River Outfitters teams up with the Schuylkill Project and provides kayak tours along the Schuylkill River in Manayunk all summer!

You don’t have to be an expert at kayaking to enjoy this river tour. In fact, you can be very not expert. The tour starts out with a mini paddling instruction session with your guide, and then you’re ready to hop on in the kayak and explore all the hidden-ness of the Schuylkill (accompanied by your guide, of course).

Your $50 registration cost includes instruction, equipment rental and the guided tour. Most tours even include a meal at the Manayunk Brewery and Restaurant! Also, this season there are two new versions of the staple tour – Jazz Brunch Tours and a special Early Morning Birding Tour. You can choose to enjoy jazz music and a breakfast buffet on a Sunday morning after your scenic kayak tour, or observe our feathered friends in migration from the water (don’t forget your binoculars!).

All tours depart from the dock at the Manayunk Brewery and Restaurant on Main Street. All you have to do to sign up is call or go online! I can’t wait to try this out!

Visit their official website for more information. Have fun!

Normally, I’d tell you to pick up some subway tokens, a parking pass, or catch a cab if you were heading to the Bank to catch the Phillies play. But why trouble yourself with fees, taxis, and waiting for public transit when all you need is a bicycle and some friends.

Join the Bike Coalition of Greater Philadelphia on Friday, May 29th to catch the Phillies play the Nationals at Citizen Bank, as they bike ride to the Stadium!

Whether you’ve played in traffic before or just a novice to city riding, there will be two group rides to ensure you make it to the game in one piece.

For beginners, head over to the Schuylkill Banks where our newly appointed Bicycle Ambassadors of Philadelphia will give you safety tips and rules on how to handle the traffic lights, potholes, and honking cars before leading you through South Philly.

If you live off a bicycle like me, meet at City Hall to take the ride down Broad. Don’t worry about parking, there will be complimentary valet bike parking provided by Neighborhood Bike Works. How special!

Tickets for Bike Night are limited so be sure to reserve your $25 ticket by calling 215-Bicycle ext 3 or email jill (at) bicyclecoaltion.org.

Bike to the BallPark Phillies vs Nationals at the Citizens Bank
Fri May 29th - Novices meet at Schuylkill River Trail @ 5:45pm
Experienced Riders meet at City Hall @ 6:15pm
www.bicyclecoaltion.org

Uwishunu videoblogger Stephen Metzger met up with Ray Wyatt, the operations manager behind iGlide Tours, for a fun, hands on demonstration of iGlide’s Segway tour around Philadelphia’s museum district.

Tours meet up in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and explore a number of the area’s attractions, including Boathouse Row, Kelly Drive, and the Waterworks.

Interested in checking out the tour for yourself? Reservations are required, so visit iGlide’s official website to score some tickets.

iGlide Tours
www.iglidetours.com

(Meet at) Philadelphia Museum of Art
2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19130
www.philamuseum.org

Fairmount Park along the Schuylkill River, Photo by R. Kennedy for GPTMC

If you weren’t able to make it to last week’s Philly Cares About Fairmount Park Day, but still feel like gettin’ some dirt on your hands this week, the Japan American Society of Greater Philadelphia is holding their annual Spring Cherry Tree Maintenance day.

If you’ve noticed how refreshing the arrival of our cherry tree blossoms are to the general psyche of the city every Spring, know that that doesn’t happen by itself. This is a fun opportunity to learn correct pruning and mulching technique from veterans of the program, and to get together with other folks who love the park.

There is a picnic following the work session, so check with the JASGP website for details and make sure to RSVP with them.

Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC

Our delightful Japanese House in Fairmount Park, Shofuso, hosts a refreshingly low key summer daycamp program every year. Both my sons have attended several one-week sessions over the years, and the experience was not only wonderful, but remarkably affordable. All sessions share certain focus, but there are specialty features with each session, including Japanese Arts, Japanese Puppet Theater, Japanese Martial Arts & Music, and the Japanese Tea Ceremony.

Note that my rough and tumble sons thoroughly enjoyed a session where the focus was the tea ceremony, and having tea served to my wife and I with considerable style by the two of them, in bowls they made no less, while they grinned from ear to ear, was certainly a moment to cherish.

For more information on the camp, be sure to visit Shofuso’s official website.

The Japanese House and Garden (Shofuso)
4700 States Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19131
(215) 878-5097
www.shofuso.com

Leave your car parked in the garage, because two wheels is all you’ll need this month. Afterall, Philadelphia recognizes May as National Bike Month.

To promote a greener healthier Philadelphia, our own Mayor Nutter invites you on Friday, May 15th to come ride with him to City Hall on National Bike to Work Day.

So bring the hybrid, fixed, bmx or even tandem, to the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art at 8:30AM to enjoy the smoothest commute you’ll ever experience.

Don’t pass up this invitation to rediscover and rejoice in the freedom of being on two wheels. So dust off the chain, inflate your tires, and find that banana seat because rain or shine, we’re going to be rolling!

National Bike to Work Day with Mayor Nutter
Friday, May 15th, 2009 | 8:30AM
www.bicyclecoalition.org

Philadelphia Museum of Art
2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 763-8100
www.philamuseum.org

Fairmount Park along the Schuylkill River, Photo by R. Kennedy for GPTMC

Volunteer opportunities in Fairmount Park for individuals and groups happen year round, thanks to organizations like Greater Philadelphia Cares, but a favorite event for me and my family has been the annual Philadelphia Cares About Fairmount Park Day. This year, mark your calander for Saturday, May 16th, and feel free to tell all your friends. It is a great way to share company with those you love, and to meet new people who also are crazy for Fairmount Park.

Over 1,000 people are expected to take part this year, with over 40 site specific projects happening throughout. If you would rather do a little something on your own, grab your biggest pruners and nippers, head to the nearest corner of the park, and have at the thorny Devil’s Walking Stick and any of the invasive vines attacking the trees… just steer clear of the poison ivy!

Philadelphia Cares About Fairmount Park Day 2009
Saturday, May 16th
www.philacares.com/events/annualpages/fpd.htm

Greater Philadelphia Cares
www.philacares.com

Over 240,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer ever year. Become one of hundreds to do something great for your body while doing something to help, by participating in this year’s Yoga Unites fundraiser for Living Beyond Breast Cancer.

Living Beyond Breast Cancer’s (LLBC) mission is “to empower all women affected by breast cancer to live as long as possible with the best quality of life.” LLBC assists women through all stages of breast cancer, from diagnosis to recovery with special programs for targeted groups as well as caregivers and healthcare providers.

How do you get involved? Just register for the event ($30 in advance, $40 the day-of) and email your contact list to ask for additional donations. Then join hundreds of participants on May 14th on the steps of the Art Museum for a morning yoga class with the best view in the city. After your sun salutations, fuel-up at the provided light breakfast and check out more ways to make good choices for your body at the Healthy Living Expo.

You can participate solo, or get a team of downward-facing-dog buddies together to raise funds and awareness for LLBC! For more information and registration, visit their official website.

Leaving Triumph during last year’s race

Does watching “The Amazing Race” leave you hankering to experience new and exciting activities? Don’t think that just because you’re not jetting of to Thailand or Brazil you can’t have a fun and competitive expedition. This Saturday, High Trek Adventure, which organizes scavenger hunts in cities around the country, is coming to Philadelphia.

In the Philly race, teams of two will meet at The Plough & Stars in Old City and embark on a day full of urban exploration. Clues will lead competitors to sites around town, where they will complete different challenges. It’s anybody’s guess what those challenges will be: bowling a strike at North Bowl? Eating a sundae at Franklin Fountain? Teams can bring just about anything they want to aid their quest — maps, iPhones, computers, Power Bars — but transportation is strictly on foot or courtesy of SEPTA — no bikes, cars, or cab rides allowed.

The goal of High Trek Adventure is to get people to venture beyond the corner coffee shop and experience their city in a new way. Over the course of the race, you may see places and navigate neighborhoods totally new to you. In addition to a sense of pride and adrenaline rush, the winning duo will get $300 and a chance to compete in a championship race with winners from other cities. Get ready to throw your elbows and dress to impress: even if you’re not the quickest pair out there, you could still take home a $50 gift certificate in the Best Uniforms category.

High Trek Adventure Philadelphia
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Check-in 11:00-11:50am, Race begins at 12pm
www.hightrekadventure.com

Starting place: The Plough & Stars
123 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

Drexel U’s Mechanical Engineering Department is hosting an awesome human powered vehicle race in Fairmount Park April 17 thorugh 19th, with teams competing from 50 colleges and universities around the US.

This is a huge and incredibly cool event, free to watch, and should prove a great way to spend a day with eco friendly transport folks who are part of our future. There are competition categories covering design and presentation, as well as the purely technical and speed aspects, so expect some rigs that look as well as they perform.

Bicycle up to Memorial Hall to watch the speed races, or over to the Mann Music Center for the endurance races. Bring friends… and bring a picnic lunch!

For more info, visit the official website of the race.

Post by Alli Katz

Bicycles aren’t just an eco-friendly way to travel, they’re a downright way-of-life in Philadelphia. Neighborhood Bike Works has been helping get West Philly kids on bikes since 1996 through workshops, after-school programs and camps. But all that fun costs money – and for the past 7 years, NBW has found a novel solution for raising the dough and helping the earth – a Bike Part Art Show.

Come August, everything from light fixtures to jewelry to t-shirts will be available for purchase, with proceeds going toward the wide-array of NBW youth-helping programs. But first, they need artists to participate.

So on April 16th from 6:30 pm to 9 pm (your last chance to hit up the giant wheel pile), and again on May 10th, you can raid the Bike Church, the NBW’s adult division, to dig for all the parts that would otherwise end up filling the dumps to create a beautiful, inspiring and wonderful piece of art. You save the Earth, the kids of West Philly, and your wallet all at once. There are more raids to come, so keep your eyes open for future dates.

Neighborhood Bike Works & Bike Church
3916 Locust Walk Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 386-0316
www.neighborhoodbikeworks.org

A five mile hike is no big deal. There are the beautiful nature trails along the Wissahickon and leisurely jaunts in Valley Forge that can take care of that. However, here is one for lovers of history, architechure, junk shops, public sculpture, food, and plenty of other surprises.

Germantown Avenue is one of the most historic streets in America, but since Philly is so utterly swimmin’ in history, we often drive it without considering it’s importance. Unless we live along it, we usually don’t slow down enough to really drink it in.

Any Saturday or Sunday morning, take the SEPTA from Market East or 30th Street Station and get off at Wayne Junction, a Frank Furness structure that at one time boasted that “more trains stop here than at any other station in the world.” Head northwest along Germantown Avenue and let the adventure begin.

Colonial mansions and Revolutionary War battle sites shoulder to shoulder with fried fish joints. Thrift shops and antique shops. Storefront churches and grand stone mountains of worship, as well as simple Mennonite and Quaker meeting houses. Vegetarian restaurants and barbeque, a real diner and real beer in real brew pubs. Book shops, historic print shops, discount sneaker stores and surprisingly reasonable sporting goods.

Then there is Wyck, where the same family lived for nearly 300 years. Famous for their roses, their boxwood, and where wysteria got its name…

More after the jump!

I love Chris Purdom’s on line tour of public art along Germantown Avenue. How did I NOT know about the giant Sun Ra mosaic, pictured above? Rocket #9 Take Off To The Planut Venus!

Walk all the way up into Chestnut Hill and relax on the grounds of the Woodmere Museum. Admission is free. To get back home, you’ll find public transportation options aplenty there at the top of Chestnut Hill.

Once you’ve walked Germantown Avenue it belongs to you forever, and becomes one more amazing thing about Philly you can share with friends.