🚲 Cycling down the Shore | Outdoorsy Newsletter

🤩 How about those Perseid meteor showers? I think I caught four or five in the late night sky.

Here’s what we’re doing today:

• Let’s ride: Explore the Shore from a bike.
• Cool discovery: What sound does a black hole make?
• Sprucing up Camden: A high school history teacher and a lawyer spend their summer providing free lawn care.

☀️ Your weekend weather outlook: Mostly sunny skies. Sunday may bring showers.

— Paola Pérez (outdoorsy@inquirer.com)

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Hop on

Last week, we scoped out some of the Jersey Shore’s best farmers markets. This time, we’re exploring the area on two wheels.

🗺️ From Cape May to Long Beach Island, there are plenty of scenic routes to ride along, including breezy boardwalk paths, lighthouse rides, and wildlife trails.

🚲 No bike? No problem. Our guide also shows you where to rent one nearby.

💡 Important tips: Check local bike rules, bring a lock if you plan to stop for food or shopping, always wear a helmet (even on short trips), and don’t forget sunscreen and water, especially on longer routes.

Find the full guide here.

News worth knowing

• Should you drink water from the tap in Philly? See what the Philadelphia Water Department’s recent drinking consumer confidence report says, and how to reduce your household exposure to contaminants.
• Cheltenham Township is buying a pool complex from a private developer for up to $4.5 million, but a resident’s lawsuit alleges that the deal violates public bidding rules.
• A $10 million initiative was approved last month in the Pennsylvania state budget to assist farmers who have lost crops after a disastrous April freeze. Weaver’s Orchard, which applied for the grant, said the program is a great first step, but that it’ll take years to recover.
• A new study calculates that human-caused climate change doubled the likelihood of the tinderbox weather conditions that sparked Canada’s massive summer wildfires. Smoke from the wildfires led to unhealthy air quality conditions in Philadelphia and other parts of the country.

🌳 Your outdoorsy experience

Did you capture any cool visuals of the Perseid meteor showers or the solar eclipse this week? What else are you doing or seeing out there?

This is your moment to shine, dear reader. I’m on the hunt for new stories and would love to hear from you. Email me with your recent or distant memories in nature (pictures, if you have them, are welcome). You may see it featured right here.

One free lawn cut at a time

🎤 Now we’re passing the microphone to New Jersey education reporter Melanie Burney.

With the afternoon sun beating down, Keith Benson and his childhood friend Brian Turner meticulously tended to a lawn in Camden’s Parkside neighborhood on a recent Friday.

They took turns pushing a red lawn mower that left neat lines in the lush grass. They edged up the perimeter and pulled weeds from the sidewalk in front of the property on Bradley Street.

A short time later, the pair completed the job, packed up their equipment and sped off to their next assignment in Benson’s burgundy Ford-150 pickup.

They didn’t get paid and they didn’t want any payment, except possibly a cold bottle of water.

Benson, a Camden High history teacher, and Turner, a litigator and personal injury lawyer at a Cherry Hill law firm, are spending the summer working for free. They want to give back to the city where they have lived and worked.

“I’m grateful to be able to do it,” said Benson, 46. “We have to pass that on.” — Melanie Burney

Discover how and why the duo started to give back to their community through lawn care.

Paola’s picks

🎶 An oddity: A Villanova scientist translated data from black holes into sound. Take a listen.

📸 A view: This week’s total solar eclipse as seen from Valencia, Spain.

🦅 A tribute: Jackie, a famous bald eagle from Big Bear, California, died this week from illness.

🌅 A song: “Golden Hour” by Luna Li.

🥾 An activity: The Friends of the Wissahickon’s guided hike series kicks off this Sunday. The first hike is sold out, but you can register for future ones here (free).

🦎 A friendly view

I made a friend in New Orleans this summer.

👋🏽 Take care out there!

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