Bike Philly is a bicycle tour of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, on a closed route cleared of motorized vehicular traffic.
The tour is sponsored by the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia

Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is a nonprofit advocacy group working to improve conditions forbicyclists in the Greater Philadelphia region through advocacy and education. The BCGP was founded in 1972 and has a...

, and it occurs on the second Sunday of September. The inaugural event for Bike Philly was held on September 9, 2007, and consisted of two 10 mile loops, a Center City

Center City, Philadelphia

Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...

 route, and a Fairmount Park

Fairmount Park

Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...

 route. The ride attracted 2,500 riders

Bike Philly 11 is scheduled for Sunday, September 11, 2011.

Route

The starting point for the tour is at the front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...

, with rider registration and check-in held in the Eakins Oval

Eakins Oval

At the end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, just in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is Eakins Oval. The loop of road is usually host to a large volume of traffic as it connects the core of the city with Fairmount Park, Kelly Drive , and Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive...

 across from the Rocky Steps

Rocky Steps

The 72 stone steps before the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania have become known as the "Rocky Steps" as a result of their appearance in the triple-Oscar-winning film Rocky and four of its sequels, Rocky II, III, V and Rocky Balboa, in which the eponymous...

. The tour begins at the Eakins Oval and travels down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway

Benjamin Franklin Parkway

Benjamin Franklin Parkway is a scenic boulevard that runs through the cultural heart of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Named for favorite son Benjamin Franklin, the mile-long Parkway cuts diagonally across the grid plan pattern of Center City's Northwest quadrant...

 into the streets of downtown where riders snake their way past city landmarks such as Reading Terminal Market

Reading Terminal Market

Reading Terminal Market is an enclosed public market found at 12th and Arch Streets in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Over one hundred merchants offer fresh produce, meats, fish, groceries, ice cream, flowers, baked goods, crafts, books, clothing, and specialty and ethnic foods...

 the Philadelphia Mint

Philadelphia Mint

The Philadelphia Mint was created from the need to establish a national identity and the needs of commerce in the United States. This led the Founding Fathers of the United States to make an establishment of a continental national mint a main priority after the ratification of the Constitution of...

, Penns Landing

Penn's Landing

Penn's Landing is the waterfront area of the Center City along the Delaware River section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is so named because the founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, docked near here in 1682, along the now paved over Dock Creek, after landing first in New...

, City Hall

Philadelphia City Hall

Philadelphia City Hall is the house of government for the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At , including the statue, it is the world's second-tallest masonry building, only shorter than Mole Antonelliana in Turin...

 and South Street

South Street (Philadelphia)

South Street is an east-west street forming the southern border of the Center City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the northern border for the neighborhoods of South Philadelphia. The stretch of South Street between Front Street and Seventh Street is known for its "bohemian"...

, while passing through the neighborhoods of Old City, Society Hill, and Chinatown

Chinatown, Philadelphia

Philadelphia Chinatown is a predominantly Asian American neighborhood located within the Center City district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States...

 before returning to Fairmount Park. Once in the park riders have a choice to return to the museum area for a festival, or continue for another 10 miles touring through the extensive roadways of Fairmount Park before returning to the end of tour festival.

For experienced riders the tour organizers also provide additional open road low-traffic routes of 10 and 30 miles with marked route signage, stocked rest stops, and mechanical support (SAG

SAG

Sag or SAG may refer to:* sag * a sag pond* a lens sag, distortion of astronomical lenses and mirrors* Sagittarius , in astronomy*Sagittarius * Sag Harbor, New York* Sâg, a commune in Sălaj County, Romania...

).

External links

• The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia - Tour organizer
• One riders experience