Holiday lights bicycle tour to feature Griswold-inspired South Philly scenes

UPDATE: Unfortunately, due to the icy roads, the Bicycle Coalition will be pushing the ride back a week, to Thurs., Dec. 19.

Some people love driving around taking in holiday light displays. The Philadelphia Bicycle Coalition is leading a two-wheeled tour in South Philly Thursday night.

Nicholas Mirra, the coalition’s communications coordinator, said a bike allows people to check out lots of different areas in a short amount of time. “There are some blocks that just go all out on holiday lights and biking through those scenes is a really wonderful way to experience that,” he said. “If you’re on a bike ride with more than three other people, that is a festive occasion in and of itself.”

Mirra said riders get into the spirit just as much as homeowners for what is now an annual event.

“Last year was the first time we tried something like this. It was a huge success. We had more than 100 people come out,” Mirra said. “We had many people decorate their bikes with lights, wore lights on their bodies. One person towed a Christmas tree on a little flat platform that he built for the back of his bike. So the bike ride itself was an entertaining site in addition to the lights we checked out.”

The family-friendly tour will be seven miles long and led by Bicycle Coalition volunteers.

Participants should wear a helmet and have lights for their bikes. Details of the event can be found at the coalition’s website.