Submitted by Joel Mandelman

I live at Seventh and Sansom, a block from Washington Square. I often start at the station at 8th and Market. The stations at 10th and Chestnut, 9th and Arch, and 5th and Market are also close. I wouldn’t object to a station in Washington Square, but I don’t want to sound spoiled. I know most people don’t have stations this close.

I moved to Philadelphia from Wichita in March and have been looking for ways to get to know the city. I joined Indego in June and have been using it regularly ever since. I’m a big fan. I have a bike, but I like the convenience of the bike share program. It’s great for short trips. I don’t have to worry about bringing my bike up to my apartment or locking it up, and you guys take care of the maintenance. I’ve been using the Indego map a lot and thought visiting and photographing all the stations would be a fun project. I’m an Instagram novice, but I like the app and am rooting for a bike-friendly Philly.

The ride took about eight hours, a little longer than I thought. I was thinking, well, one minute per station would be 73 minutes, but I knew that wasn’t realistic. Five minutes per station would be about six hours. That would be possible. In the end, it took a little extra time because I had never been to most of the stations, and I took some time to explore. I’m excited to get back to the Clark Park farmers’ market for mushrooms.

I started about ten-thirty. I wrote out the route the day before. Start close to my apartment, ride out to West Philly, cross the Schuylkill at Spring Garden and get the Art Museum, head to North Philly, wrap around Fishtown, back to Logan Circle, then South Philly, and finish up with the Center City stations near my apartment. I knew where most of those stations were located, so I thought if I could get the first sixty, I know where the last ones are located. During the ride, I used the bike2go app to fine tune the route. And, at the end, I had to stop at my apartment to recharge my phone, which I was using as my camera. Then, I went back out and got the last five stations: 9th and Arch, 12th and Filbert, 6th and Race, 2nd and Market, and Independence Hall. I numbered the photos in the order I took them. I’m thinking maybe someone else can help me with a shorter route.

I would definitely do it again. The photos turned out to be kind of a fall Philly valentine. It was a nice day, and I like photos of street scenes, interesting public spaces, brightly colored leaves, murals, the skyline, and blue bikes.

View photos on my Instagram account here: https://instagram.com/butternutsquashsoup/