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Gentlemen, you're going to want to wait until tomorrow to tell that special someone in your life about Payam Rajabi. Anything you do on Valentine's Day is going to look weak compared with this guy's big-hearted labour of love.

How big-hearted? About 43 kilometres big.

As NPR reports, Rajabi moved from Toronto to San Francisco last year – a move that meant having to say goodbye to his girlfriend Clare.

With Valentine's Day approaching, Rajabi thought up a project that gives new meaning to the term "long-distance romance."

He got on his bike and rode 43 kilometres (27 miles) around San Francisco in a heart-shaped route that he traced using a GPS on his iPhone. The ride took two and a half hours but will likely win him a place in the eternal romance hall of fame. And you thought flowers and chocolates were all you needed to do.

"I recently moved to San Francisco from Toronto to start a new job, so Clare and I have been doing the long-distance thing for the past few months. I wanted to do something a little different to surprise her on Valentine's Day. I was excited by the possibility of drawing shapes on a map based on the path I ride. We're both really fascinated by maps and they've been a common point of interest throughout our relationship," he told a bike store in San Francisco.

News of Rajabi's project from last year spread through social media and attracted the interest of Verizon, which has turned his exploits in to an advertisement. The guy in the spot is Rajabi, but the girl he sends his message of love to? It's an actress, not Clare.

"She really liked the ad," Rajabi told NPR, but added, "I think she'd have liked it better if she'd been the girl."

Way to show the love, Verizon.

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