I spent Saturday in Fairmount Park watching my nephew riding in the "Schuylkill Scrambler" collegiate cycling race. Whether the day was a success depends on your viewpoint. My highly competitive nephew certainly didn't think so, because he didn't win (a kid from Williams did). But his mother did, because he completed the 31.5-mile race unscathed; she was apprehensive, to put it mildly.
It didn't help matters when I asked him before the race where we should stand to get the best view.
"Well, it depends if you want to see crashes," he said matter-of-factly.
And of course there is no maximum age for causing maternal anxiety: my brother rode his bike from Chadds Ford into Philadelphia to join us. Fortunately our mother didn't find out about that one until he was safely back home.
"Remind your brother," she said to me acidly, "he is not 25 any more."
It was a beautiful warm day and I was amazed at how many colleges were represented: Harvard, Brown, West Point, MIT, Shippensburg, Kutztown, Penn, Penn State, Drexel and Dickinson are just a few I remember. Villanova and Yale seemed especially organized, bringing along folding tents and chairs and stationary bikes so their cyclists could stay warmed up. Driving home on the Expressway I saw van after van loaded up with bikes. (Speaking of the ride home: from the Girard Avenue on-ramp to I-76 westbound, there was not a single traffic light until Route 82 and Lincoln Highway in Coatesville. Made amazing time.)
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