🚲 Biking down the Shore | Outdoorsy Newsletter

The Philly Bike Ride returns to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway this Saturday, rain or shine, with over 6,000 cyclists expected to participate. The noncompetitive ride will take cyclists past iconic locations on car-free streets.

If I could describe biking in one word, I’d say: freedom.

As a kid, I rode my bike to and from middle school. It was liberating and exciting, and felt like the closest I could get to “driving.” These days, I get to ride along more charming views, with Frank Ocean’s “Biking” leading the soundtrack.

Today, we’re cycling through the most scenic routes down the Shore, testing the accessibility of a popular trail system, and catching the sounds of a violin “dancing and echoing in the forest.”

📮 Do you have any special biking memories or pro-tips? What’s your favorite route in our region? Tell me about your experience by emailing me back.

🌧️ Your weekend weather outlook: Friday will be lovely and mostly sunny with a high near 66, but you will need an umbrella Saturday and for part of Sunday. Expect chilly, soggy, and cloudy conditions.

Let’s go. Enjoy the ride, and don’t forget your helmet.

— Paola Pérez

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Biking is a fun way to experience the Shore, especially now that we’re in the “shoulder season.” You can see it all: the boats along the marina, the impressive homes, and of course, the Shore itself.

Many routes involve a combo of bike lanes, side-of-the-road travel, and narrow bridges that require focus. But you’re rewarded by trails that wind past wetlands, lighthouses, coastal towns, and along boardwalks.

Here’s a quick glance at Cape May County Lighthouse Trail, for example:

🚲 Length: 4 miles

🚲 Location: Along Cape May streets to 215 Lighthouse Ave. in Cape May Point State Park

🚲 Kid-friendly: Yes. This is a great route for two-wheeling families because of the short distance and pretty payoff.

There are other routes to try in The Wildwoods, Ocean City, Absecon Island, and more down the Shore. Keep reading for more insider tips in your complete guide to renting a bike and taking in the Shore on two wheels.

🎤 Now we’re passing the microphone to Jason Nark. You’ll always find his work here.

The trail in the Armentrout Preserve meandered through the woods, crossing a gravel road and a wooden bridge before it dipped into a muddy valley where logs served as stepping stones.

It’s an “easy” hike, according to the popular Alltrails.com app, but Freya McGregor, an Australian woman who lives in Alabama, was there with a measuring tape, notebook, and a keen eye, to give the preserve and its trails some tough love.

“Easy for whom? What’s medium? When it says a trail is ‘moderately strenuous’ is that for a marathon runner or a person in a wheelchair?” McGregor said in the preserve’s gravel parking lot Friday afternoon.

McGregor, an occupational therapist and self-described “disabled birder,” runs Access Birding, a consulting and training service. She spent a week in Montgomery County working with the nonprofit Wissahickon Trails to gauge how its trail system is experienced by people with physical disabilities, vision and hearing issues, mental illness, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, even those who’ve experienced gun violence.

Wissahickon Trails, which manages 24 miles of trails in 12 Montgomery County preserves, was awarded a $70,500 grant from Montgomery County as part of the American Rescue Plan Act to improve trail accessibility. That grant will help with an assortment of improvements, including signage and kiosks and also enabled the organization bring in McGregor. — Jason Nark

Keep reading to learn how McGregor conducts trail assessments and why she says “knowledge is power with accessibility.”

Let’s tune in to this story from Beth Fluke of Mount Airy:

I’ve told my children, “When I can’t walk on the earth just put me in it.” Translation, earth trails. Every day, for the past 30 years, unless it’s pouring rain, I walk in the Wissahickon. It is my exercise, place to create new ideas as well as moments of spiritual experiences. On occasion there are moments of confusion, joy, surprises and concern but 98% of the time it’s peace.

Spring is such a sweet time to walk in the Wissahickon! I walk somewhat briskly along the same paths observing daily as life timidly creeps out of the earth. Skunk cabbage buds, yeah the first sign others will follow! So here I was, on top of one of my favorite high points when floating through the trees was the sound of a sweet violin string. At first in the distance then, as my ears focused on the delight, it became louder. How amazing to hear beautiful strings filling, dancing echoing in the forest. At first transfixed, true joy in this sweet moment! Looking back I now understand the tale of the Pied Piper for I just wanted to see the performer and follow the violin. I moved quickly towards the sound, soon I saw a man, moving quickly over the trail on the other side of the small ravine, rapidly and very skillfully bring the violin to life. I rushed forward aiming to the bridge to the other side. In the center of the bridge I realized I wasn’t going to catch him so just stood transfixed, enjoying the enormousness of the occasion.

I can almost hear it! What a rush. Thank you for sharing, Beth. The Wissahickon is a Philadelphia treasure, and it’s a perfect time to get out there for a good hike.

📮 Give us a review of your outdoors experience for a chance to be featured in this newsletter by emailing me back.

One fall quote to go: “Autumn is a mood that stirs the soul to wander outdoors and feel Earth’s love.”