This Weekend, We Ride in Remembrance of Alex Pretti (+ Event Map)

Alex Pretti was tragically gunned down by unknown, masked ICE agents on Saturday, January 24th, while legally observing their activity from a distance and trying to assist a woman who’d just been pepper-sprayed. In addition to being a part of our member community, he was a regular at Angry Catfish bike shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota, not far from the VA hospital where he served veterans as an ICU nurse. You can read our tribute with more details and ways to take action here.

In the wake of Alex’s senseless death, Angry Catfish, in partnership with Bonesaw Cycling Collective, GenoSack, Melanin In Motion, The Price Brothers, Unsanctioned Ride group and others, is calling on riders and groups across the country to ride in his memory—and the memory of the others killed by ICE—at 1 p.m. Central Time this Saturday, January 31st. If you can join them in person, they’ll meet at Washburn Fair Oaks Park in Minneapolis. If you’re not local, we encourage you to join or host a ride in solidarity with Alex’s cycling community.

Per the organizers, “Alex was one of us, could’ve been any of us, so as we mourn, all of us can come together in unity to remember Alex for what he was. A kind and caring soul put on this earth to be the light for others. Although his light has been extinguished by this fascist regime, it hasn’t been lost. If anything, those sparks fell and ignited something in us that’s been hiding all along. We are stronger together, and they can’t take us all. We’ve gathered together a community of cyclists to remember Alex Pretti.”

If you’d like to join in and gather folks in your area, please print the flyer, tag Angry Catfish on social media so they can share details on their channels, and leave details in a comment in a below.

Alex Pretti Memorial Ride Map

With help from Ride with GPS, we put together this map of organized memorial rides happening all across the United States and starting to span across the globe. We’re still busy adding to it as they come in and will continue to do so all week. Please leave a note in the Conversation letting us know about your ride (with the time, location, and a link, if possible), and we’ll help spread the word. Thanks to everyone who has organized an event already. Amid the tragedy of his death, it’s heartening to see so many from the cycling community to celebrate Alex.

With thanks to Casey Robertson for designing the posters.

Please keep the conversation civil, constructive, and inclusive, or your comment will be removed.