The Sunday ride for Jersey Action Riders was Wissahickon
Park. The reason it was chosen was because today was the
Wachovia US Pro Road Race. So the idea was to ride the park
and then scoot over to Maneyunk and watch the race.
Yesterday was a dreary day and today was not much better.
Overcast and a cool 56 degrees. But it wasn't raining when
I reached the park. A couple of us got there early so we
rode the Indian Head trail to see the conditions.
Trecherous! Wet, slippery, and muddy. We decided to cut the
trail check short and go back to the parking lot.
Wissahickon Park is a very sensative area when it comes to
trail use. There has been a lot of bickering going on and
we don't want to cause a riff by riding on wet trails. So
we met up with the rest of the group and headed down
Forbidden Drive into Manyeunk. We saw lap 1 coming down
from the wall. It's amazing when you are so close to the
pack as they wiz by at 60 MPH. The sound of whoosh and the
wind they generate is intense. We watched the men and women
go by and then rode to the wall. The wall is a very famous
part of this race. It is the steepest section of
Philadelphia (it's a real nasty climb) and they have to do
it 15 times! Half way there by the first "S" turn, one of
the female Webcor pro racers ripped here derailleur right
off her S-Works rode bike in a crash. Here support team was
already way passed her so she was stuck. Being the ever
opportunistic men we are (there were no women on our club
ride today), everyone offered to help. So we converted her
bike into a single speed so that she could at least ride
back to the support camp at the Art Museum. I guess only
mountain bikers carry a full tool kit with them everywhere
we go. I think we had six chain breakers out at once.
We then watched the men come around again and go up the
wall. These guys don't even switch gears. Then we tried our
own little wall on the street next to where the race was.
I'll bet it's a little easier on the road bike, but we made
it. Thank god we only had to do it once. Now we people
watched for a while. It was one big party scene. People and
beer everywhere!
We then rode down to Lemon Hill (the start and finish line)
to watch some more. It's a wild scene and a very popular
race. I've never seen so many people and their bikes in one
place. Every spectator had some kind of a bike. The group
then split. Some went home and a few of us went to the gear
flea market at the museum. I picked up three Voler jerseys
and a pair of shorts for $60. I think $15 a piece to get all
muddy and wet in is a good deal.
We take our gear and ride back to the park and the car.
All totaled 23 miles of paved and dirt road, but it was
fun to watch.
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