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Alex Pretti memorial bike ride planned
Before his death Alex Pretti was said to have found a sense of community at a bike shop in south Minneapolis.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Organizers say the purpose of this weekend's memorial ride is to mourn the death of Alex Pretti at the hands of U.S. Border Patrol agents and to celebrate his life.
'An advocate for getting people to ride bicycles'
What we know:
Alex Pretti was an avid outdoorsman who loved mountain biking and was a customer at Angry Catfish Bicycle Shop in South Minneapolis.
Now the community Pretti rolled with in group rides around the Twin Cities is ready to roll for him.
"Alex is a cyclist, and if you're a cyclist, you're part of this community," said Jerrod Alder, "director of stoke" at Angry Catfish.
'In this together'
The backstory:
Angry Catfish is helping organize a 10-mile bike ride in Pretti's honor this Saturday with stops at Pretti's memorial at 26th and Lyndale and Renee Good's memorial at 34th and Portland avenue, before ending with a moment of silence at the Minneapolis VA hospital where Pretti worked as an ICU nurse.
"I think someone that is that cheerful and loving and has touched so many people needs to be honored," said Alder.
Organizers say the cycling community has many spokes, and similar memorial rides are being planned in more than a half dozen other cities around the country, including New York, Boston and Atlanta, with more possibly on the way, both to mourn Pretti and to show solidarity with his mission of getting ICE out of Minnesota.
"Folks have asked how many people do you anticipate showing up? And I think it's between 50 and 1,000 people. Minnesota shows up no matter the weather," said Alder.
'A respectful human being'
What they're saying:
Organizers say there's no better way to mourn the loss of someone who was so caring than to do something he loved.
"Bicycles are magic. We think it's important in this moment to share that magic with the world," said Alder.
Dig deeper:
Organizers say the memorial ride for Alex Pretti will meet at Washburn Fair Oaks Park, across the street from the Minneapolis Institute Of Arts, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31.
The ride will begin at 1:30 p.m.