Unbelievable.
When a bike-riding Black man stopped next to a Philadelphia bar to urge people on the patio to wear masks and social distance, the bar’s white owner responded by standing up and threatening him with a gun while shouting Trump campaign slogans.
A couple of women responded by quickly stepping between them and urging the owner to put the gun away, while the man on the bike armed himself with a U-lock in self defense.
Which probably wouldn’t do much to stop a bullet.
This happened yesterday on 2nd ST in Old City Philly WHERE I WORK!! My friend Liz, the blonde in front of the man with the gun, was standing up for the young black man who only had A BIKE LOCK!!! We need answers!! @FOX29philly @6abc @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/iRBUEHxO7W
— Dj Torney ♛ (@Dj__Torney) July 6, 2020
Fortunately, no one was hurt.
Remarkably, the police haven’t taken any action yet, despite clear video evidence of assault with a deadly weapon.
Apparently Black lives don’t matter that much in the City of Brotherly Love.
Or maybe it’s just Black bike riders.
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Lots of people still need to get their bikes ready to ride before taking them out during the pandemic.
USA Today offers tips on things to check before resurrecting your bike during the age of Covid-19.
Popular Science — yes, it’s still here — provides their own advice on how to bring your old bike back to life.
Surprisingly, they both get it right. And credit USA Today for not even mentioning helmets until the last line.
Then again, Popular Science doesn’t bring it up at all.
While you’re at it, you’re going to need some good chain lube, too.
And C|net tells you how to keep your ebike battery in top shape.
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Once again, you’re urged to support protected bike lanes on LA’s Sunset Blvd by spending your money to support a local business along the corridor; this time, it’s The Kitchen on Fountain Ave.
Wednesday, it's #bikesmeanbusiness for The Kitchen! and if you can't order food, you can donate to support local business at https://t.co/Vm7U6RVbjt @streetsforall @lacbc pic.twitter.com/C82vW4X8Ol
— Sunset4All (@SunsetForAll) July 7, 2020
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
An upstate New York man faces charges for shooting at a boy riding a bicycle; fortunately, he only hit the bike.
Call it a bike hate crime. Someone used a four-wheel drive vehicle to pull down a giant bicycle sculpture on a Virginia trailhead, as well as ripping out bus benches, trash cans and porta-potties.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Seven young kittens had to be rescued from a UK barn, after their mother was hit and killed in a collision with a bicyclist.
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Local
No news is good news, right?
State
Six long Bay Area rides that begin in urban centers, for your next trip to the area.
National
A $25 donation to the Davis Phinney Foundation could get you a $9,400 Allied Cycle Works Able road bike hand painted by former pro Taylor Phinney.
Bicycle Retailer examines what companies in the bike industry received loans as part of the federal Payroll Protection Program; the only LA-area company appears to be offroad ebike maker BM E-bikes.
Tim Blumenthal is stepping down as president of PeopleForBikes after leading the bike industry advocacy group for the past 16 years; current COO Jenn Dice was scheduled to take his place on of the first of this month.
Reviewers for Outside suffered through weeks of trail riding just to help you pick the best mountain bike helmet.
A Denver TV station says car-mounted bike racks are in short supply now, too.
The new Pikes, Peaks and Prairie Route route plotted out by the Adventure Cycling Association runs 1,300 miles from Yellowstone to Minneapolis, past the Devil’s Tower, Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills.
Milwaukee Brewers utility player Brock Holt is one of us, after his wife bought him a bike to ride to practice sessions during the coronavirus lockdown.
Chicago bike shops say the pandemic bike boom is leading to the best bike year in history.
Streetsblog says New York’s open streets program isn’t working for everyone, with most located in wealthier and predominantly white areas.
A Philadelphia high school football coach sadly remembers a 15-year old boy who was fatally shot while riding his bike during a violent weekend in the city.
Police in North Carolina are looking for a Charlotte man with dementia, who may be riding his bike to Statesville, roughly 41-miles away.
International
Cyclingnews considers the best all-around bike for commuting, riding and racing.
A Canadian woman has raised over $30,000 to fight ovarian cancer while setting a new record for bicycling across the country, covering 3,667 miles in just 20 days.
London’s police insist an officer accused of stopping a man for Biking While Black said he didn’t have any lights displayed, rather than saying he didn’t have a license plate, which isn’t required in the UK. Never mind that the stop was made in broad daylight.
An English driver got ten months behind bars for crashing into a woman who was riding her bike while driving at twice the legal alcohol limit; he’ll also lose his license for 27 months.
A new study shows a third of Scottish drivers don’t give bike riders the required five-foot passing distance, as police warn they could face fines.
The British edition of Runner’s World offers tips on how to prevent and treat knee pain from bicycling.
Police in the UK are looking for a BMX rider who shouted a racially abusive comment at a woman as she walked along a roadway.
Britain’s largest bike chain predicts the bike boom will last throughout this year.
More evidence of the pandemic bike boom, as bike sales under the UK’s Bike to Work program have doubled over last year.
Finally…
Your next bike could be a submarine. And get off the damn sidewalk, already.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already.
