Some “classic” Philly rides
This is a list of rides starting from Center City, Philadelphia that show off some of the area's scenic highlights. These rides are ideal for first-time visitors. Each ride has a cue sheet provided in pdf format.
All rides start at the Philadelphia Art Museum or Lloyd Hall, which is behind it. The Art Museum is located at the end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th St. It's the imposing Greek-looking building with the stone columns and steps made famous by the Rocky movies. The Benjamin Franklin Parkway is a Champs Elysees-like set of four dual carriageways that stretches from City Hall (15th and Broad) to the Art Museum, broken by a traffic circle (Logan's circle) near the Franklin Institute, Natural History Museum and Free Library. Traffic can be busy during rush hours but there are bike lanes on the outer carriageways. Lloyd Hall is the first building on boathouse row. It is 0.4 mile from the Art Museum steps, along Kelly Drive (to the right of the Art Museum as you look at it). It has public restrooms and a snack bar. There is an Azalea garden, Italian fountain, waterworks, and car park between the the Art Museum and Lloyd Hall.
1. "The Drives" (9 miles, flat terrain)
This is a short, flat ride along the banks of the Schuylkill River. The ride gets its name from the two roads it parallels, Kelly Drive and West River Drive. The route can be done entirely on bike paths, and thus is good for novice riders and families. On weekends from April through October, West River Drive is closed to motor traffic so it makes a broad and safe place to cycle. The section on Kelly Drive near Boathouse Row is very popular with rowers, joggers and rollerbladers, as well as bicyclists, and so can be frustratingly busy when the weather is good. Faster cyclists, including the Veno Velo group, ride on the road rather than the bike path, although bicycles are prohibited to do so during rush hours. Click here for a cue sheet (list of directions) and pdf format map of The Drives.
2. Forbidden Drive and Manayunk (25 miles, very gentle climbs, not suitable for skinny tires)
This ride starts along Kelly Drive then follows the Wissahickon river as it meanders through Fairmount Park to the border of Philadelphia in Andorra. From here, there is a sweet descent to the Schuylkill River Trail and a flat return along the Manayunk towpath, Main St in trendy Manayunk, and West River Drive. The large majority of this ride is on bike paths. It is great for mountain bikes, hybrids, or touring bikes, but because it includes the crushed stone and rock of Forbidden Drive, it is not recommended for racing bike tires. An unusual feature of this ride is that it seems to involve more downhill than uphill!
3. Main Line and Valley Forge (60 miles, hilly start, last 20 miles flat)
This ride is modified from the Freedom Valley ride organized by the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. It starts by climbing out of the Schuylkill valley into Bryn Mawr and the Main Line, where quiet roads are lined with many fine old houses, including the Barnes Museum. It passes close to Swarthmore College and Villanova University, before entering Valley Forge National Park. The return is along the flat Schuylkill River Bike Path, Manayunk, and Kelly Drive.
4. Scenic Schuylkill Century (100 miles, hilly in places, last 20 miles flat)
This ride is an old version of the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia's major organized event. It travels through Manayunk, Miquon, Spring Mill, Plymouth Meeting, Mermaid Lake, Evansburg State Park, Arcola, Spring City, Birchrunville, Yellow Springs, and Valley Forge. The route is a mixture of old villages and pastoral landscape. It is moderately hilly, particularly the middle third. However, the last 20 miles returning from Valley Forge is along the flat rails-to-trails bike path. For those looking for something more challenging, there is also a very hilly return through the Main Line (110 mile option).