Pennypack in the Snow

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Since Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring it has gotten colder and we had our first major snow storm of the season. What do you expect from a stupid pampered rodent. Of course real weathermen aren't any better at long range forecasts. The cold weather has limited my riding to the mountain bike. I've been to Mercer and the Canal trail but with the 6 inches of snow we got made most trails too deep to ride.

Back when I was researching the Philly book I discovered that the city actually plows some of their bike commuter trails including the trail along Pennypack Creek. Pennypack Creek and surrounding park is a nice place to ride so I decided to check it out so see how it looked in the snow.

It turned out to be a cool place for a winter ride. The main trail is paved but on Sunday it was still covered by some packed down snow. Pennypack is a popular place for people to walk, run and ride so any snow is quickly packed down even before it gets plowed.

I started at the north end of the park which is in north east Philly and only about 40 mins from my house. Although the trail was snow covered traction wasn't too bad. The only thing I forgot about the trail is that the first part has a few steep little hills. Going up them wasn't the problem is was coming down because breaking on snow is tricky. After the first few hills I got the hang of it though.

The main reason I came to Pennypack was the scenery. It was a pretty place in the summer and was even nicer looking with the snow. I stopped and took a number of pictures although they really don't capture the real view.

After the first 3 miles I got to a part of the trail that had been fully plowed and was mostly clear of snow. Except for a few spots the rest of the 7.5 mile trail was clear. I spent a little less then 2 hours going out and back on the trail and am glad I decided to get out for a ride.