It takes 15 minutes to get to the airport. Don't you need to warm up?

It takes 5 minutes to get to west river drive, and there's not much traffic on Saturday and Sunday.

Those are your two options in Philly proper

Fairmount Park is pretty close to downtown. Lots of open space. Should be able to get some good intervals in there.

http://planphilly.com/...untpark.original.pdf

Good luck!

Mark

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thank you both for the suggestions. Looks like it'll be the blustery airport.. I always thought riding here in DC along the Potomac was windy; guess i should brace myself for something even more serious.

Or just head slightly out of the city and use the Schuylkill River Trail. Pretty easy to get nearly an hour uninterrupted (or just barely).

I just realized that not much traffic means no traffic on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Damn, that's fantastic! I can "knock myself out" doing out and backs on West Drive

I actually lived in Ardmore for the last two years of high school but didn't really exercise much during that time.

ETA: spoke to soon. Seems that a warm season only sort of thing...

You're right though, that there is almost no traffic on weekend day mornings. It's not going to be closed, but you're not going to get run off the road like you would weekdays at 9am or 5pm. If it were me, that's where I'd clock out 10 minute intervals, but some people prefer the figure 8 loop on the Kelly Drive side of the river in Fairmount. It's basically this: https://www.strava.com/segments/3861209

Have at it

This is your best bet

bump. may be relocating to Philly. I actually went to Lower Merion about fifteen years ago, but was too chubby back then to run properly and too poor to afford a bike. What i do remember, however, are narrow twisty roads, and i'd like to avoid them if at all possible.

What are some of the routes out of town with significant bicycle traffic? In particular, i'm looking for roads i where i can get in 60-70 miles of non stop riding. For those familiar with NYC, are there anything comparable to the (in)famous 9W. For those familiar with DC, something similar to River Road outside of DC could also do. Basically, i'd like to avoid miles after miles of farmlands if at all possible.

As i've grown rather risk averse, i'd like to do quite a bit of my riding on trails. Could anyone comment on whether it may be wise to do TT intervals on either the Schuylkill or the Chester Trail? Any info on best way to connect these two trails (at least until the connector is open)?

Many thanks in advance.

I never lived in downtown, but I did live in Manayunk for a while, and I work in Conshohocken. Back when I actually rode outside a lot, I would do all my intervals on the Schuylkill Trail from just past the Norristown bus station out to Pawlings Rd with a U-turn at that exit and then back toward Norristown. You can get well over 20 minutes in, and on most weekdays it's relatively quiet. On weekends that stretch is packed with families and cruisers. If you find 60-70 miles of non-stop riding in the area, I'd love to know. When I had to do that, I'd go to New Jersey and ride into the Pine Barrens.

You can do TT intervals on the Schuylkill River Trail pretty safely as long as you avoid peak trail times like summer weekends. Other than the section through Conshohocken, it is mostly uninterrupted (only a couple of street crossings). The trail gets very crowded on nice-weather weekend mornings so you may not be able to do any heads-down high power work then, but at other times, sure.

The Chester Valley Trail is useless for cycling on as it has a busy road crossing every half mile to a mile or so and you can't get up to any appreciable speed. Also it is narrower and has more pedestrians. I use that as my main running trail but I never do any cycling on it unless it's a specified recovery ride.

As for long road rides, getting out into Chester County would be my suggestion. Sure it's a drive out of the city, but you can find plenty of mostly deserted, safe roads to ride on with lots of hills if that's your thing.

thank you both for chiming in, and good to know about the Chester trail as it appears as if there are overpasses across roads.

Are there any roads in Chester county with wide shoulders?

It's mostly woodlands and farms. Where there are wide shoulders, you are on bigger roads with traffic.

Delaware Rt9 is a good place to do this also. It's 50 miles from New Castle to Dover, the road is mostly deserted, and it's fairly scenic, and totally flat with the exception of one large bridge over a canal. Very easy to get a LONG ride there without screwing around with towns or traffic lights.

i think i'm fine with bigger roads and some traffic, up to a point. NJ 29 and US 9W technically have fast traffic (at least 45mph) but are lightly trafficked in the area where they have wide shoulders.

Otoh, i'll do my best to avoid roads like US 322 and 202

And good call re: DE 9, though it's a bit far for my liking. I actually have been on it when i did a ITT and remarked how wide those shoulders are.

Shoot me a PM if and when you move to Philly. I'd be happy to show you some great routes

Philadelphia is a fantastic city for cycling. It really does have everything.

I'll be in Philly next week to interview at a couple of schools and would love to jump into some workouts and meet up with anyone if they're available.

I'll be getting into town by 2pm at the latest on Tuesday 12/13 and can do a run that afternoon.

I'm free before 9:30am and after 3pm Wednesday 12/14. And I'll be free in the morning before 12pm on Thursday 12/15. I'm looking to join someone for a swim (masters? I'll be at Drexel and Temple), a bike, and a run.

Thanks!

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Please don't do tt intervals on the srt, especially on a TT bike. Waaay too many crashes as it is.

Seriously? Maybe you are incapable of riding your bike safely but that doesn't mean the rest of us can't. Learn to ride and maybe you won't crash as much while doing your workout.

Do you mtb? If so hit the wiss, you won't be disappointed

will only have a road bike with me, but thanks!

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I'm pretty good at riding a bike, but the SRT is a multi-use trail... so you're often going to have to navigate some pretty unpredictable people (joggers, walkers, stumblers, people with dogs off leash or on extendable leashes... and a lot of these don't have a good frame of reference for judging fast-moving bikes, aren't alert to other people using the trail, etc.).

For me it's just not a place for serious intervals. I'll do short, harder sprints here and there, but it's tough for me to get a series of solid 10-12m intervals in (assuming an out-and-back from Philly rather than going back and forth on a single stretch).

I like doing less structured rides on SRT, a longer ride with harder efforts here and there (and so I'm not as bothered by places I need to slow down or stop for crossings).


Just my .02, and with consideration that I tend to be a moron/d!ck when doing structured workouts (like, it's more important to me that I finish the interval than avoid scaring someone by passing really close/fast, insulting people who are enjoying the weather, etc)... at the end of the day I'm happier not yelling at people on the trail (who have every right to--and should--use it for walking, etc.). I tend to stick to doing structured workouts in my basement where I can just be angry at myself.

MLK Drive is good, especially when blocked off (for 10-12m intervals you'll end up having to u-turn in the middle of intervals but that doesn't bother me).

I too graduated from LMHS, but a few years before you. I now live in the Art Museum area/Fairmount. I go back for those "narrow twisty roads" a few times/week. Half of the rides I do go through the Main Line, either seeking pretty routes and/or hills. Those punchy climbs make riding even more fun.
Uh, don't you want to avoid "significant bicycle traffic"? More traffic, greater likelihood of collision, etc.

Search Strava/Garmin Connect/RideWithGPS etc. You'll probably find routes which go north. And west. And south. And east (Yep, in to NJ).


So you want to avoid farmland? And narrow twisty roads? And you want 60-70mi riding? On a path with a ton of other people. But avoid risk?

There's always the trainer.

Pathletes need not apply.

But seriously, there's not much relative risk to riding the road, if you ride smart, etc. The SRT is MUCH more dangerous on a spring/summer weekend, for instance, than riding the road. It's stupid crowded it's narrow, and people on it just have no situational awareness.

Farmland in Chester/Lehigh/Bucks counties is some of the prettiest riding around the region.

For purposed work (eg intervals), the entire length West River Drive (April-Nov) is closed to auto traffic 6a-12p. Hogg Island Road (near the airport) is also a good option. Both require turns, since they are 4mi and 5mi, respectively. Rt29 near Lambertvill NJ is a short 40' drive.

But all of those involve riding on the road. With other people. And maybe even a few cars, at times.

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If Karl.n is who I think he is: he's a Cat1 on the road, which kind of hints at his ability to ride a bike well. Regardless of who he is: he's right about not acting like an idiot on the SRT.

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Sure, acting like an idiot on the SRT will get you and others hurt. I would put doing heads-down high power intervals on the SRT on a crowded weekend day to be "acting like an idiot"

If I am planning some outdoor intervals on the SRT, I am going to do it on something like a Wednesday afternoon when there aren't going to be that many people out there.