The cycling community in the US state of Minnesota has come together to support a ‘unity ride’ being held this weekend after two residents were killed by immigration officers.
Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti were killed protesting the deployment of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in the city of Minneapolis. Since Donald Trump’s return to the presidency in 2025, ICE have ramped up their apprehension and deportation of suspected illegal immigrants from the country. However, ICE have been accused of illegally deporting American citizens from the country. There has also been evidence of an overruling of due process and racial profiling of both individuals and businesses.
Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, was a keen cyclist who Bikepacker.com described as “a longtime member of the Bikepacking Collective, and part of our community. He was kind, compassionate, and a good friend and neighbour to many.”
The Angry Catfish bike cafe in Minneapolis, where Pretti was a customer, said he was “murdered standing up to bullies in his city” and has organised a unity ride in the city. Titled “Ride Together Stand Together”, organisers hope the event will “remember Alex for what he was. A kind and caring soul put on this earth to be the light for others.”
The event is organised in collaboration with several cycling communities in the city and more than 30 solidarity rides are planned across the country but also in locations as far-flung as Sydney, Australia and Hmburg, Germany.
Businesses in the bike industry have given their support to the initiative. In an Instagram post, Wolf Tooth Components said they were “proud to be based in Minnesota, a state made better by its people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives. It is impossible to discuss our home without acknowledging the tragedy that is happening here.
“Our community is being unjustly and cruelly targeted by the federal government. Peace, justice, and humanity must be restored.
“We’re not saying this as a brand. We’re saying this as neighbors, friends, and family members. We’re saying this as Minnesotans, and as Americans.”
Bike brand Salsa Cycles also shared a post condemning Pretti’s death, and urged people to “stand up” against “neighbours being unlawfully detained, harassed and murdered”. They also called for residents to contact their political representatives.
“Community is equally important in times like this. Alex Pretti was a member of our local cycling community, and our friends at Angry Catfish bike shop are holding a ride in unity on Saturday, January 31. We encourage you to come ride with us, host a ride in your community, or simply go ride in solidarity on Saturday.”
20 thoughts on “Salsa Cycles and Wolf Tooth join Minnesota cycling community in remembering man killed by ICE agents”
Does the venn diagram that
Does the venn diagram that includes Alex Pretti, the US’s 2nd amendment and cycling result in the guy who wears a top that says “armed cyclist”?
https://bikeportland.org/2023/08/04/a-run-in-with-the-armed-cyclist-377783
https://www.youtube.com/@ArmedCyclist
Where is the NRA when the US needs them?
mitsky wrote:
Here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/25/alex-pretti-killing-nra-pro-gun-groups
I wonder how long it’ll take the privately owned U.S. Tiktok to censor the NRA? (They’re already censoring any mention of ICE or criticism of the Trump fascist regime)
I may go to the ride in
I may go to the ride in Minneapolis. I’ll report in if I do.
Unfortunately I’ve been sick
Unfortunately I’ve been sick all week and it’s not looking good. My son and his girlfriend live in Saint Paul, just 10 miles away. I’ll decide depending on how I feel tomorrow morning.
What’s up Andy?
What’s up Andy?
Is it still very cold up your way?
I don’t think I’ve seen over
I don’t think I’ve seen over 10 °F / -12 °C outside in well over a week, with most nights being below 0 °F / -18 °C. I’m pretty acclimated to it, and was cycling regularly until I got ill. I’ve been driving to work this week, with the top up even.
It’s pretty comparable here at the moment to the weather in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, although in general it’s colder up there.
If I sleep okay tonight, 50% chance I’ll put my Brompton in the MINI and drive up there. It’s not a very nice drive, almost seven hours and mostly boring.
Not going to make it. I am on
Not going to make it. I am on the mend, though.
Best wishes! You tried in a
Best wishes! You tried in a worthy cause, but better not to make yourself ill, or more ill.
The irony here is thick. Alex
The irony here is thick. Alex Pretti made a tragic mistake in judgment in going to a protest armed with a handgun, paid the worst price possible for that decision, and is now being eulogized as a dead cyclist. But had he been run down while riding a bike on the streets of Minneapolis, or anywhere else on the roads of Minnesota, or almost anywhere in the U.S., his death would have gone almost unnoticed because the vast majority of Americans could care less that cyclists die at the rate of about three per day in collisions with motor vehicles despite the number of U.S. cyclists being relatively low due to so many peolpe being afraid to ride a bike. The American love of firearms, which Pretti shared (why else carry one, especially when going to a public protest?), pales compared to the American worship of the major killer of cyclists: motor vehicles. As a former Minnesotan, I feel sorry for Pretti, for Minnesota, for a country divided against itself, and for a nation that accepts the carnage on its roadways as acceptable collateral damage for a life of machine-driven convenience.
“… in collisions with
“… in collisions with motorists…”
Unless, of course, the vehicles were self-driving/autonomous.
Damn you Elon.
http://rc-rg.com
cmedred wrote:
Hope you don’t mind, I just ran your text through a “remove victim blaming” filter.
cmedred wrote:
There’s a big difference between a road traffic collision and deliberate murder. Also notable is that medical professionals are not prevented from helping RTC victims, though with Alex Pretti, it was already too late (apparently ICE were more interested in flipping his body over to count the wounds). And, law enforcement officers are not prevented from investigating RTCs.
I believe he’s got a Surly
I believe he’s got a Surly there. The pic yesterday showed the extra triangle at the top of the seat tube and a rather distinctive horizontal sliding rear dropout.
Ride in peace.
Correct, mentioned on a Surly
Correct, mentioned on a Surly fan group on FB:
Probably also worth
Probably also worth mentioning Kyle Rittenhouse…
” For easy reference. On
” For easy reference. On the left, “agitators” and “domestic terrorists”. Or the right, presidentially pardonned “freedom fighters”. ”
Talking of presidential
Talking of presidential pardons, I still can’t understand why trump pardoned the ex president of Honduras who had been jailed for his part in the smuggling of 40 tons of cocaine into the US. I thought he was against that sort of thing. How odd.
perce wrote:
It’s absolutely disgraceful the way you lefty libtards attempt to besmirch the Greatest President Ever (TM) by deliberately lying about the facts. It was actually 400 tonnes.
Ah, my mistake. It’s my loony
Ah, my mistake. It’s my loony leftiness kicking in again.
If any could benefit from a
If any could benefit from a petrol shortage it’s the US. They think they’re entitled to as much cheap petrol as they want. I well remember the impact of the 1973 oil crisis on them; they didn’t know what hit them. Sadly they don’t seem to have learnt from it.