There was a Fall crispness in the air. My car was covered in frost as I loaded my bike unto the rack. I drove to Centre Square Park in 20 minutes for the start of the ride to the Philly Bike Expo. If the temperatures were kinder, I would have ridden from home but not this morning. Jules was already in the parking lot and Leon arrived shortly afterwards. They were covered from head to toe in winter gear ready to do battle with the temperatures. I layered modestly in anticipation of the warm up to 54 degrees by midday. However, the reality at the start was 27 degrees. The grass was covered with crystalized frost and the morning sun shone a harsh yellow-white. As the three of us fiddled with our gear getting ready to roll out, I liberally applied good old Vaseline to my areas of exposed skin. I may appear a bit shiny but Vaseline works in keeping the cold at bay. We rolled out and Mamma mia!! The cold really started talking to us as we crossed over 202 by the Catholic Church and took the downhill on Jolly Road. My fingers became numb and the wind bit through my core. I was patient as and soon we were doing a modest climb that warmed matters up. I’m always amazed at our ability to adjust as humans shortly into the ride we were bantering as if it were a regular summer day. The route had some decent climbs but mostly downhill as we headed to the Tricycle Café and Bike shop at the Spring Mill Station in Conshohocken. Toni had planned to meet us there around 8:45. She was riding from her home. We all arrived at Tricycles like clockwork. After trading insults and bicycle banter we settled down to order the best coffee ever. I even splurged and ordered an apple crumb cake. It was worth writing home to Mom about. A few members of the party decided to pay homage to the Porta-Potty and we were ready to roll again. We headed east on the SRT toward the city. The sun was higher in the sky and the temperature grudgingly moved above freezing. There were only a few folks on the bike path. Portions of the path were covered by oversized brown crunchy leaves that created quite and impressive scene and sound as we crunched over them. Toni, Leon and Jules picked up the pace. I was so enamored by the scenery that I was messing around with my phone trying to capture some shots as I pedaled. I’m usually good at this when it is warmer but my movements were slowed by the cold. My phone dropped with a deafening slap as I was trying to get a shot of the crew rolling. The slow rolled as I returned to retrieve it and we continued at a brisk pace to Shawmont. Here the climb begins up into and through Roxborough. It was welcome to warm us up. Traffic was modest as we rolled through and down the hill to Manayunk. Main street Manayunk was beginning to wake up as it was after 9AM. Folks were gathering at the cafes get start their morning off. We rolled through pass Cadence Bike shop on to Ridge Avenue by the SEPTA Bus Depot then we dipped a quick right unto Kelly Drive. We were on the Drive for a short time until we crossed over the Falls Bridge. One of my favorite bridges to cross. I only wish some improvements could be done to the surface of the road. I do however love the Steel framework and the subtle bluish green color. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive was thankfully closed to vehicular traffic and it has been nicely repaved. There needs to be some improvement to the egress when the gate is down cyclists have to navigate the sidewalk to get back on the roadway. But as soon as we were on it Leon picked up the pace. Toni followed and Jules and myself worked to keep up. We eventually regrouped by the art museum. There we met two other gentlemen who were also heading to the Philly Bicycle Expo. They joined us and we rolled in at a moderate pace engaging in cycle talk along the way. We felt the mounting excitement as we turned off Vine Street on to 12th Street. The Glistening metallic sign on the archway at 12th and Race welcomed us to the convention center. We got rousing shout outs from pedestrians heading to the bike expo as they saw us cycle by… proud in our Black White and Red Philly Major Taylor Cycling Club kits defying the chilly temperature. We rolled around the block and to our pleasant surprise PhillyMTCC Club member Claire, opened the entrance door welcoming us to the Expo. Club member Naja was also inside welcoming guests to the spacious entrance hall. Volunteers from the Bicycle Coalition expediently valet parked our bikes. So convenient. This was the first year that I biked in and I think I will continue to do that in the future. We went upstairs where we had to check in. There were other members of the extended cycling family there. I wanted to get around to the exhibits however realized that the bicycle training being facilitated by John Petty was slated to start at 10:30 and it was 10:31. We checked the event schedule online and figured that it was downstair. We hustled down just in time for the beginning of the session. John was an engaging presenter. The session was interactive as he involved the participation of the audience which asked some though provoking questions and offered some insights and tips for cycling. John did an excellent job moving the presentation ahead while at the same time honoring the contributions of the audience. The room was packed with folks from various cycling clubs. Even the Lehigh Valley Wheelmen were there from the foothills of the Poconos mountains. The first hour flew by. There was a second session at 130. We went back upstairs to browse the cycling goodies on display. KRT had a boot at which they were selling their gear. They have some really cool cycling kits. I wanted to get the graffiti kit top but they were out. I gave a shoutout to Kuran and his crew. Awesome folk. This is what cycling heaven must feel like there were so many cycling goodies. New bikes. Equipment. Cycling recovery lotions. The works. I was chatting with Ella from Delaware when Leon called us over to a booth “Undrbdur”. They sell ointments for recovery and for cycling. The proprietor was a professional cyclist and he said that he rides with the Major Taylor Iron Riders from NYC. So of course, I had to patronize his booth. I got a container of Anytime Muscle Budr Salve. He said it is good to assist in recovery after a long ride. Love the minty and lemony smell. We wandered from booth to booth until folks started hollering out for hunger. We decided on the Reading Terminal Market. John Cusco and Mary from Delaware walked the couple blocks over from the Convention Center with us. It was mobbed with the Saturday lunchtime crowds. The good thing is that everyone was wearing their masks except for the diners. All the food places were crowded. We tried to get a table to seat the six people in our party but were unsuccessful. We decided on lunch from this turkey place. I had a warm turkey sandwich with stuffing and cranberry sauce. We headed for the entrance but Jules was stuck at the cheesteak place. Toni suggested the 4th Street Cookie store and my goodness. It was sinfully delightful. Just the right combination of crispy and chewy. We lowered our masks to chomp on those until Jules got through the line with her cheesesteak. The walk back to the convention center seemed a little longer. I guess we were weighted down by the cookies that we couldn’t wait to wolf down. Back in the convention center there was ample seating for us to eat. We roamed around some more and were struck by the new offering at the Cervello kiosk. They had some awesome carbon bikes on display with sweet group sets and the works for a cool five grand. We lingered at the location but realized that it was after 2:00 PM and we would need head out for the burbs while it was still light out. The roll back was a bit busy as we navigated the Saturday afternoon traffic through the city. After we got around the Philadelphia Museum of Art and back on MLK Jr. Drive it was smooth sailing. At the Ridge Avenue Split at the bus Depot near Manayunk, Toni peeled off up Ridge Avenue for her home. We rolled through Manayunk pass the Saturday afternoon diners. The climb through Roxborough was invigorating as we raced each other up Umbria Street. It was much warmer out and I was feeling good. By the time we got to Tricycle at Spring Mill Station the café was closed. I was a little disappointed because I could use another cup of coffee. We did a brief bio break instead and kept rolling at a brisk pace until we got off the trail in Norristown. The roll along the Stoney Creek in Norristown Farm Park is beautiful in the Fall. The creek captures all the shades of reds, oranges and yellow and through the light back unto the trail. We rode through the final few miles until we were back at Centre Square Park as the sun was making its descent. The Park was crowded with cars of parents coming to watch their kids’ athletic pursuits. We loaded up our bikes and talked about going somewhere close to eat. It was a great day of cycling and we were thankful to have made the trip to and from the Philly Bicycle Expo without incident.