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BCP Rides

Current Month Ride List


 BCP offers a wide variety of rides for cyclists of all levels of ability. Whether you want a leisurely jaunt through Fairmount Park or the challenge of the hills of Gladwyne or Chester and Berks Counties, we have something to suit you.

All Club rides sponsored by BCP are led by members who volunteer to select a destination and determine a route. BCP maintains a library of cue sheets, which describe in detail routes to various locations. The library is available for all members. So lead or be led (or both!)

Everyone is welcome on a BCP ride, regardless of whether you are a current member. Of course, we hope, after attending one or two rides with us, you'll consider joining!

BCP Ride Classifications

Newcomers should choose rides conservatively based upon their experience, condition, or ability to keep up. For more information on a ride, ask the leader. The following ride classifications are based upon average speed for a given terrain. Helmets Are Required On All Rides!

Class A
Difficult, 45 to 100+ miles>
 18 to 20 mph average on flat terrain
16 to 18 mph average on rolling/hilly terrain
15 to 16 mph average on very hilly terrain
Class B
Advanced, 25 to 90 miles
 15 to 18 mph average on flat terrain
13 to 16 mph average on rolling/hilly terrain
12 to 14 mph average on very hilly terrain
Class C
Moderate, 15 to 75 miles
 12 to 15 mph average on flat terrain
10 to 13 mph average on rolling/hilly terrain
9 to 11 mph average on very hilly terrain
Class D
Easy, 5 to 20 miles
 5 to 9 mph average on easy terrain

Ride Start Locations

Bulldog Statue
The Bulldog Statue is located at the intersection of 25th St. and Fairmount Ave in Philadelphia. Google Map to Bulldog Statue
Italian Fountain
The Italian Fountain is the round fountain behind the Art Museum. Google Map to Italian Fountain
Azalea Garden
The Azalea Garden is behind the Art Museum, on the Kelly Dr. side of the Italian Fountain.
Pennypack Park
We meet at the Pine Rd. Entrance of Pennypack Park. Google map to Pennypack Park
Lincoln High School pool parking lot
The pool parking lot is on Rowland Ave, just north of Ryan Ave in Northeast Philadelphia. Google map to Lincoln High
Bruno's
Bruno’s is located at the corner of Northwestern and Germantown Aves in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. Google map to Bruno's
Church of the Saviour (COS)
The Church of the Saviour is located at 651 N. Wayne Ave in Wayne, PA. Google map to COS

Regular Weekly and Weekend Rides

In addition to individual rides, listed in our ride list, BCP has a number of ongoing regular weekly and weekend rides, perfect for people new to our club or the area:

Sunday Afternoon Rides
Designed for the beginning cyclist and cyclists new to Philadelphia. The Sunny Sunday Afternoon D ride meets every Sunday at noon, at the "Italian Fountain" behind the Art Museum, near the trellis. Sometimes there are other starting points, so please check the newsletter, or http://www.phillybikeclub.org/current.html#regular. It's a 15-20 mile leisurely bicycle ride.

Sunday Morning Breakfast Ride is a regular weekly event. A social and slow paced (C, D) ride, it's perfect for the beginner biker looking for a social breakfast!

Also of interest to new riders is our C-Spin-off Rides. which starts at Noon, also at the Italian Fountain Many of our members probably started in the club with the C-Spin Off Ride or the Sunday Morning Breakfast Ride.

Also check out the Sunday B Ramble. Both the C-spin off and the Sunday B Ramble are regular Sunday rides, starting about noontime and leaving from the Italian Fountain. These are excellent choices for people who already bike and who no longer consider themselves novices. Check our Ride List. In addition to the vast assortment of rides in our newsletter, we also list last-minute weekend rides on a weekly basis! We call these additional rides our "Adhoc-Add-on" Rides and we update this listing weekly on this web site.

In addition to the regular center city rides, another favorite starting place for regular rides is near "Brunos", just at the edge of Fairmount Park in the Chestnut Hill (Northwestern and Germantown Avenues) area of the city (see map below) just on the Montgomery County border.

Saturday and Sunday and Weekday Individual Rides
BCP sponsors various bicycle rides of 20 to 100 miles. Each ride is graded A, B, C or D based on difficulty. We lead rides from many spots, including Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware, Chester and Lancaster Counties and also rides in New Jersey especially in the New Hope Lambertville Area. Many of these rides are scenic nspiring rides, often with long social lunch stops and good company. Increasingly, they are muli-level rides, allowing groups of different ride abilities to have the same great ride experience at their own pace and rendezvous for lunch. Our other rides leave from a wide assortment of spots in the suburbs and around town. The start locations are always listed in the ride description.

Mountain Bike Rides
Enjoy the fun of spirited off-road cycling on trails in and around Philadelphia! While most of our rides are road and touring rides, we are beginning to offer more and more mountain bike rides.

Weekday Morning & Evening Rides
During daylight savings time, a variety of short after-work rides are offered, as well as morning rides for those who have the day off.

BCP members are welcomed and encouraged to lead rides. Contact any Ride Coordinator.

Suggested Equipment

Helmets are required on ALL rides!

Anyone planning to participate in a ride should bring along the following equipment at a minimum. (Even if you don't know how to change a flat tire, someone will be there to do it for you if you have the spare tube)

  • A flat kit consisting of tire levers and a patch kit or spare inner tube,
  • A 6" adjustable wrench if either wheel bolts on.
  • A frame mounted air pump
  • A frame mounted water bottle

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