TD Bank Philadelphia Cycling Championships

Riders make their way up the Manayunk Wall

After a watching a lap of both men's and women's rider make their way up the wall, we walked over to where they start to come down and around this corner.

Riders would cut the corner so close to the curb my camera lens almost hit them

This year marked the 25th running of the Philadelphia International Championship. Sponsored by TD Bank and presented by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the 156-mile classic remains the longest running and most important single-day cycling road race in the United States. Bethany and I walked around the course and I shot a few photos before my camera ran out of batteries - whoops..

Soap Box Derby

We made it to the Red Bull Soap Box Derby on Saturday despite the tropical storm warnings (and wind and rain that goes along with that.) There were so many people in Manayunk that you couldn't move up or down the wall. We picked a good spot at the bottom for the first few races - close enough that we could see and smell the burnt rubber from the screeching tires as the racers were trying to stop before slamming into the haybails. Mayor Nutter even went down in the pouring rain in the Red Bull car. I did manage to squeeze off one shot of Big Bertha before we left.

Manayunk Bike Race

This was the second year I went to the bike race in Manayunk. It is a good time, as just about everyone who is watching the race is drunk. (And the race ends in the early afternoon). This year it was way too hot for us to drink, but Bethany and I met up with my friend Jon and his girlfriend Becky. We walked around the course and watched a few laps at the wall - a super steep hill, before we went to Bethany's co workers house on the downhill section.