PICL closed last year strong, and has big plans for 2026

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Cycling League (PICL) finished the 2025 season with incredible milestones and envisions an even stronger season in 2026. Rooted in access, equity, and youth development, PICL continues to bring meaningful cycling opportunities to city-based students and families across the state. Piscitello Law is proud to support this mountain bike league and happy to highlight some of their key accomplishments last year and visions for the new season.

Teen Trail Corps Hits 50,000 Volunteer hours!

The PICL Teen Trail Corps was created to give student-athletes firsthand experience maintaining the trails they ride. In 2025 alone, PICL athletes contributed over 7,500 volunteer hours on trails across Pennsylvania.

Since the program began, the Teen Trail Corps has now surpassed 50,000 total volunteer hours – a major milestone and a testament to the dedication of the PICL community.

This is no small effort. Student-athletes take on meaningful, hands-on work, including digging and shaping trails, trimming branches, and clearing brush. Their efforts support public trail systems, private properties with public access, and a wide range of mountain biking and multi-use trails.

Solid Support for Youth Cycling across the state

Over the past three years, PICL has generously provided over 200 bikes to youth PICL athletes across the Commonwealth of PA. Additionally, the League has supplied more than 30 bicycles to the Bicycle Coalition Youth Cycling’s three mountain bike teams participating in PICL. They have also subsidized coach training for teams and ensured scholarships and financial aid for families in need of financial assistance.

1st Youth Mountain Bike Conference Big Success

In September 2025, PICL hosted its first conference-level youth mountain bike event at Belmont Plateau, Philadelphia. The weekend drew more than 450 riders from across the region, making it the largest youth cycling event in Philadelphia’s history. The event showed what’s possible when city parks are activated for youth-focused, community-driven cycling.

PICL builds new network in Pittsburgh area

Thanks to support from RK Mellon and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, PICL is connecting with more kids in the Pittsburgh area. In July 2025, PICL hosted a mountain bike Try-It event with students from Neighborhood Academy in Pittsburgh. They also worked with the Student Conservation Association, Ruach Cycling Club, Environmental Charter School, and Outdoor Inclusion Coalition to get more kids from Pittsburgh on bikes.

A Long-Term Vision for a Philadelphia-Focused Conference

Looking ahead, PICL’s long-term vision is to establish a Philadelphia-based conference, with events hosted entirely within city parks and designed to serve both city teams and the broader Southeastern Pennsylvania region.

By creating local, park-based events, PICL is enabling more students to participate. This vision is already taking hold. New teams - such as the recently announced Neighborhood Bike Works team for 2026 - are joining in part because events are now close enough for students to ride to on their own.

Additional events are being planned at Belmont Plateau, Lemon Hill, and the Wissahickon, with further sites under consideration in Pennypack, Tacony, and Cobbs Creek - expanding access points across the city.

PICL has role in International-level Classic

PICL has been named a key nonprofit partner in the relaunch of the Philadelphia Cycling Classic. After a ten-year hiatus, this international race returns to Philadelphia and is expected to draw more than 100,000 spectators.

Race day is set for Sunday, August 30, 2026, with the start and finish line once again located in the iconic Logan Square area.

As part of the event, PICL plans to host a youth skills area at Lemon Hill, helping introduce more families to cycling at all levels and creating a pathway into youth mountain biking.

PICL has developed an impressive core of Committed Sponsors

Supporting PICL means investing in youth, access, and a future where cycling is safer and more inclusive across Pennsylvania. This fast-growing league is backed by a strong group of sponsors who support its work at every level.

Key partners include cycling industry leaders such as Trek and BMC, along with the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau, and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, whose commitment to conservation aligns closely with PICL’s focus on trail stewardship and the protection of natural resources.

Piscitello Law is proud to be among PICL’s core supporters, sharing a commitment to getting more kids on bikes.

To learn more about PICL – or to start a mountain bike team in your community – visit the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Cycling League website or contact Team Development.