Philly Showcase

Went to Philadelphia's annual bike race Sunday morning- the 156 mile Wachovia Bank race. It was fun. I walked and ran the 4 to 5 miles from my home to Manayunk. When I got there, a mandatory part of any race visit is to hike up to the top of the Wall (that's what they call Leverington Street which is the toughest part of the race route since Leverington Street is a steep hill whose elevation climbs about 500 feet in a quarter mile). The Wall is the best place to watch the race. It has the best parties and it is neat towatch the riders struggling up that section of the race (and they do it for 14 laps or so).

And I strongly recommend a hike up the wall as a good and cheap substitute for annual cardio test. If you don't die, you are good for another year. The race route is packed with fans and large group of partiers. One group was selling T-shirts that said Everest- K2-Manayunk which facetiously compared the Wall to the Mt. Everest and K-2 mountain peaks. Of the three, I have only trekked up the Wall so I can't say with absolute certainty that they are using excessive hyperbole.

BTW, I took the train back to my home as I was too beat to do any more exercise. Great day for me and I recommend it as one of Philly's greatest events held every year on the first Sunday in June. It's as much fun as the Mummers Parade and the weather is much better in Phily in June than in January.