We are back this week and doing something special to celebrate our love for bicycles and a late Valentine’s Day. We’ll be writing “LOVE” through the streets of South Philly led by Philly Bike Train’s Alexa R. The ride ends at Solar Myth on Broad Street.

This route has a lot of turns, so please either use navigation or ride with someone who’s navigating the route. We’ll try to group people together at the start so there’s at least one person running navigation in each group of riders, but we encourage you to run navigation on the route yourself–this ride can be confusing otherwise. We’ll regroup a few times to keep everyone on route.

Special ride notes:

• There is still snow around, but this route is primarily on-roads and the snow shouldn’t affect the route. It’s forecast to be mostly above freezing between now and Wednesday so more melting is expected!
• We’re writing the letters in reverse order, starting with “E”
• We plan to regroup after the letter “E” at Jefferson Square Park, at the top of the “V” at 8th and Addison Streets, and again at 22nd and Federal Keith Haring mural for a photo.
• The 22nd Street bike lane has snow in places, so we’ll take the lane up 22nd street.

As usual, we’ll ride according to our How We Ride guide. Please follow these ride norms so everyone’s on the same page, and we keep the ride safe and fun. We’d like to highlight:

Stop at lights. Please, please DO NOT block intersections contrary to the traffic light. Our group can be very large and extended, and holding traffic risks serious conflict. If the light turns red, please stop.

Roll past conflict. Whether it’s angry motorists or unruly pedestrians, please do not engage with conflict and move on in a way that de-escalates the situation.

Finally, a reminder of risks and responsibilities. You don’t need to sign a waiver to join a Wednesday Night Ride, because it’s an entirely voluntary & free group activity. But please keep in mind:

• Everyone rides at their own risk.
• Every rider is responsible for themselves, their behavior, and their bike.
• Keep your bike properly maintained. Here’s a link to a basic bike check.
• Cycling has inherent risks–you could crash, fall down, or get hit by a car, and get hurt or even killed–though we try to minimize these risks.
• If you have a health condition that could affect your ride or put you at additional risk, consider a) checking in with a doctor, b) letting us or a friend know, c) having a backup plan to get home if riding doesn’t work out.
• We always plan to have a sweeper, but can’t rule out that you could get lost, or that your bike could break down and you’ll need to find another way home.

Want to lead a ride in 2026? We’re looking for ride leaders. Let us know if you’re interested! Our only criteria for leading a ride is that you’ve joined us before. You don’t need to have prior group ride lead experience or come up with the whole route on your own, we can help with that!

Thanks for riding! See you Wednesday.