Monday, June 15, 2009

This is How I Roll



On Saturday, I joined the Collingswood Bike Share. For $25, I get a bike plus free maintenance and parts for a year (a benefit of being a resident). After a biking fiasco that involved me on a boardwalk cruiser riding with Bill on his triathalon bike, I've been aiming to get a ride of my own -- and there she is, a sweet cherry vintage Schwinn road bike that my mom said made a fine racer in her day. It's enough to get me started and interested in biking again for the first time since high school when I tore up the trails of Avalon Campground.

I'm going to be bringing Cherry (her name is either that or Sweet Cherry Pie sung to the tune of "Sweet Caroline") down the shore, and look forward to doing some island-to-island rides (though I'll leave Emily's behind and tail out of the picture).

So, bikers, where do you like to ride to the shore? And even though Cherry is a road bike, I'm sure the readers would be happy to hear some mountain bike suggestions, too (and don't forget to enter the music contest!)

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7 comments:

Matt said...

Dune Drive in Avalon/SH. Good bike lane, though not very smooth. Pleasure Ave in Sea Isle is a favorite, as is 1st & 2nd Avenues in Avalon/SH.

Stay away from WW!

Jen A. Miller said...

Matt, I was wondering about WW and biking today -- thinking that it would be very congested. Am I right?

RBB_Blog said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
RBB_Blog said...

I agree on the AV/SH bike path... It can get rough, but it's better than nothing... WW can get a little congested, but I do most of my riding early in the morning. When I ride to Sunset Beach, I like to cut through Wildwood on the boardwalk. The cement paths the Tram Cars take work great as bike paths. The same, of course goes for rides to Ocean City. The promenade in SIC is nice and smooth... Watch out for blowing sand, though. The inlet bridges.... only advice, don't look down, and watch out for gulls dropping shell fish... -Rob

dtshifter said...

That is a sweet Schwinn and in nice shape for the vintage. My user name dtshifter means down tube shifters like the ones you have on your handlebar stem. I'm an ex-road and track racer (velodrome) so I know a good bike when I see one. At the shore I am of no help to you with bicycle routes. I just rent a beach cruiser and try not to get lost. I am only posting to say that bicycle is a good one. With those horizontal dropouts it would also make a sweet fixed gear bike. The flat shore towns are perfect for riding a fixie!

iconjohn said...

So many bitter sweet memories of riding my bike to work from 61st street Avalon to 95th street Stone Harbor. I was working Marabellas and the damn sea breeze would kick in from the south so it would be an upwind battle everyday.

Ann Delaney said...

I agree with John about the seashore wind. In our teen years, my sisters and I had the regular ride from 56th Street in Avalon to the Whitebrier (when it was a restaurant/hotel on the beach at 20th Street)- The sea breeze would always kick in just as we were headed home! The bike lane in Avalon and Stone Harbor is a huge help during the busy summer season.