The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia’s 2021, bicycling season at the Bartram’s Garden is coming to a close. In late July, we revamped biking at Bartram’s Mile by offering free bike rentals, bicycle tours, and free Lear-to-Ride classes to the local community.
It is truly one of the city’s hidden secrets located in South West Philadelphia and has grown in popularity over the past several months. In addition, the Bartram’s Mile trail will be expanding as well and will be having its official ribbon cutting this Saturday, November 6th from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm.
Bike programming at Bartram’s Garden started several years ago but lost its moment and the COVID-19 pandemic. But beginning this summer, we began ramping up the bicycle education programming and saw a huge spike in popularity of the three-day curriculum. Before the programming started up again, community members we spoke with admitted to not even being aware there was a free bike education program at Bartram’s. That changed this year, and we are excited to see this program continue for years to come.
The curriculum was as follows:
Thursdays, Open Bike Container – allows people to come by and learn basic bike maintenance skills, such as fixing a flat tire, break adjustments, drive-train basic maintenance, and proper use of bike tools.
Fridays, Bike Friendly Friday (BFF) – focuses on bicycle safety tips when riding with a group of bicyclists which covers hand signaling and bicycle rules of the road. This is an opportunity for individuals, who have explored the trail, to share their knowledge and experiences of Bartram’s Garden with their friends.
Saturdays, Learn to Ride classes – a two-hour class offered to both adults and children which alternates every Saturday. These Learn to Ride Workshops are meant to encourage and enthuse beginner cyclists and as a prompt lesson for intermediate riders to learn how to ride a bicycle. No matter the age, who they are, or what cycling experience they’ve had, these workshops should portray bicycle commuting for what it is: A fun, healthy, convenient, environmentally friendly, and easy way to get around the city.
The overall season started slow but eventually picked up its pace in the fall once we started promoting these events on social media in mid-September. We went from 1 to 8 people in attendance, per-week, in the summer months, to 15 – 30 people per week in September and October. It is clear that the demand for biking has grown in popularity. 
This will be the last week for Free Biking at Bartram’s Garden.
Please join the Schuykill River Development Corporation, East Coast Greaan Way Alliance, Circuit Trail Coalition, and Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia for the official ribbon cutting for the Bartram’s Garden Mile trail extension from 56th street to 61st street.
When: Saturday, November 6th from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Where: Bartram’s Plaza, 3000 S 56th St, Philadelphia, PA 19143
Why: Free bike rentals (all-ages), Free stuff, and Fun Fun Fun!