Swarthmore students and faculty joined Delaware County-area cyclists on Saturday, March 28, for a 4.5-mile bike ride in memory of former Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics Eduard “Teddy” Einstein. In December 2025, Einstein, 38, was fatally struck by an automobile while riding his bicycle in Upper Darby, PA.
Einstein’s death sparked an outpouring of grief and fond memories from friends, colleagues, and students, as well as outrage over the incident from a number of cycling advocacy groups in the Philadelphia area. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia (BCGP) — which published an article criticizing the road conditions for their role in Einstein’s killing a couple of weeks after the accident — joined volunteer organizations Philly Bike Action (PBA), of which Einstein was a member, and Bike Delco in sponsoring the memorial ride.
“We had an excellent turnout,” said Swarthmore Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics Jacob Russell, a PBA member (like Einstein himself) who helped to organize the event. “[BCGP] estimates that 75 people showed up. One of Teddy’s summer research students … got the chance to meet Teddy’s wife Ruth [Fahey] and left some flowers for him.”
Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics Carolyn Reinhart added that she was touched by the extent of local involvement in the memorial activities.
“One of the things that stood out to me was the number of people who participated that didn’t even know Teddy. A local bike rental company offered free e-bikes to use for anyone who wanted one. The biking community is passionate about bike safety and showed up to support Teddy’s family and demand concrete changes.”
The memorial ride was completed by two separate groups of cyclists, departing from either end of Einstein’s nine-mile daily commute between the Swarthmore train station and Clark Park in West Philadelphia. The parties met at the site of the crash, where they commemorated Einstein through a “ghost bike” dedication ceremony. Ghost bikes, Russell explained in a conversation with The Phoenix, are bicycles painted white and left at the sites of fatal collisions between cyclists and automobiles.
“People biking make up a disproportionately high percentage of traffic fatalities,” he said. “Ghost bikes are common memorials that are intended to both remember the person killed and bring awareness to the dangerous conditions people bike face on our streets.” Russell added that the particulars of the memorials vary according to the wishes of mourning families.
BCGP oversees installation and upkeep for ghost bikes in the Philadelphia region. Russell noted that the coalition frequently contacts families impacted by cycling-related deaths, offering a range of support services, which include the dedication of a ghost bike in the victim’s name.
“In January, I asked if Ruth would like to have a ghost bike dedicated to Teddy. She decided she wanted to do it this March. We also decided that we wanted to use the event as an opportunity to demonstrate the type of simple improvements that could be made at the intersection [where the crash took place] to make it safer for people walking and biking,” Russell said.
He went on to explain that the intersection’s width, roughly four times that of a typical two-lane road, encourages drivers to turn without coming to a complete stop, a practice that endangers drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. For the memorial service, traffic cones were strategically placed to narrow the intersection to a safer width, a temporary change that BCGP, PBA, and Bike Delco hope to see implemented permanently across local roads in the future.
In addition to securing these infrastructural improvements, the event aimed to introduce those unfamiliar with local cycling to the challenges that Delco bikers face.
“On one hand, riding a bike is a deeply joyful and empowering way to get around,” said Russell, emphasizing that cyclists are able to experience their surroundings far more directly than car passengers. “On the other hand, riding a bike is objectively terrifying. Not because riding a bike is inherently risky (it’s not), but because in our region, bikes are forced to share streets with automobiles.”
Describing herself as “someone who rarely bikes and certainly hasn’t biked on the streets between Swarthmore and Philadelphia before,” Reinhart noted that she was caught off guard by the stressful nature of cycling in the area.
“Impatient people in cars honked at us and swerved around us. Parts of the road had no shoulder and no bike lane (even though we were on a designated bike route), forcing cars to pass us without a lot of extra space,” she said. “I don’t think people who are used to driving in the area really understand what it is like for bikers. This experience has certainly changed how aware I will be when driving in the future.”
“Teddy was far from the only person who commuted by bike from Philadelphia to Swarthmore,” said Russell. “Many more faculty and students would choose to use a bike if it wasn’t so dangerous to ride on the streets in our region. I would like to see the college put its political and financial clout behind creating truly safe bicycling routes from around the region to campus.”
Several Pennsylvania political figures did participate in the ride and ceremony. State Senator Tim Kearney, joined by State Representatives Gina Curry and Heather Boyd, presented Fahey with a Senatorial Citation honoring “Teddy’s life, his dedication to cycling, and the advocacy his passing has inspired.”
Kearney’s Facebook post about the event also noted that the activism following Einstein’s fatal accident has resulted in a slate of promised upgrades from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, including “narrowed crossings using quick‑build materials, a protected bike crossing, high‑visibility pedestrian markings, and asphalt bump‑outs to slow traffic and create safer space for vulnerable road users.”
Russell highlighted that, for many Philadelphians, cycling is more than a leisure activity. The majority of local riders use their bikes as a low-cost, environmentally friendly alternative to gas-powered transportation.
“They are going to work, to school, or to the grocery store. They are visiting friends and family. Like Teddy, they are just trying to get home after a haircut,” Russell said. “Projects to improve bike safety are not vanity projects for recreation, [but rather] basic infrastructure that empowers people to have more choices in how they get around.”
