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Come Explore some of Philly’s Iconic Murals.

You are invited to a historical, iconic, and exploratory cycling experience as we roll through the quiet Sunday morning streets of the city soaking up the essence of Philly as we look at murals.  

At 7:45 AM Sharp, we will gather at Cadence Cycling Center on 3740 Main St, Manayunk. Wheels down at 8:00 AM.   Our goals is to explore thirty urban miles of murals before the traffic picks up.    When we leave Cadence we will cruise down Kelly Drive and pass our first mural across the Schuylkill Expressway near the Conrail train bridge.  

Down Kelly Drive at Eakin’s Oval in front of the art museum there is a beautiful mural painted in the middle of the oval on a street in the parking area.   You may have passed it many times and not notice.  We will turn off before that on Fairmont. 

Our first stop at mile 6 is a delightful African American female owned cafe , Coffee, Cream and Dreams, at 1500 Fairmount Ave.  The proprietors Sonya and Stephanie serve quality cups of coffee.  Their breakfast pastries are tasty and healthy.   Try some zucchini bread, lemon cake,  almond croissant or my personal favorite raisin or cinnamon danish before we start to roll.  And… by the way they are both cyclists.   

We will then start the real mural arts exploration as we go from the Fairmont Section of the City to Spring Garden.   Our first two murals on Ridge Avenue are aptly named Hop Along and Metamorphosis.   Further down Ridge are Dr. J of basketball fame, and Folding the Prism.  

We will cross over Spring Garden Street and pass a number of murals as we head east. At 2nd Street will will loop around the “Pedal Through Mural” on the City Fitness Building south to Callowhill.   Right and up to 5th and the real fun begins as we roll up through the Northern Liberties.    Further on in Fishtown we will pay homage to the Nipsey Hussle mural and hopefully you all look him up.

We will continue under the rail road tracks on Front Street pass an interesting pigeon mural on the side of a liquor store parking lot.   Why?

We will head east on Emerald Street to the Emerald Street Community Farm Park which has wonderful vegetables and a beautiful mural on the side of a building facing the garden.    

We will roll up Front street to a left on Lehigh Avenue.   At this point the murals take on a decidedly Puerto Rican and Spanish flavor complete with faux palm trees.  The vibrant colors give you the feeling that you have been transported to a tropical wonderland. 

2 miles up 5th Street to Olney Ave to see the George Floyd mural.   There is a Colin Kapernick mural on a nearby Diva Beaty store but if the shutters are down it may not be visible. 

Back down 5th Street we will loop back through North Philadelphia near Diamond and Temple University’s Main Campus to see Sonia Sanchez, Smooth Jazz musician,Grover Washington Jr.  and others. 

We will loop back along Girard Avenue before heading back to Cadence along MLK Drive to complete our 30 mile exploration and adventure. 

Make sure that you have front and rear lights for visibility.   Be very aware of traffic while riding in the city, although at that time of a Sunday morning we do not anticipate much traffic. 

Come ride with us and explore different neighborhoods and murals.  You will have a whole new appreciation for our city. 

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/33939286