As an urban cyclist, I agree:
09 August 2020
08 August 2020
Mellow Johnny Sends A Loud, Clear Message
I love food and music. So, some of you may find it unfathomable, or even criminal, that I've never been to Austin, Texas.
Perhaps I'll get there one day. In addition to the sounds and savory stuff, there's another reason to visit.
I mean, even if you don't care about bicycles, how can you not want to check out a place called "Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop?"
Apparently, they're part of a chain in the area, each store with its own management. So, a policy at Mellow Johnny's in Austin might not prevail at MJ's in, for example, Fort Worth.
Actually, that scenario is not as hypothetical as I made it seem. In fact, the Austin shop has done something that the managers of the Fort Worth store aren't--and don't agree with.
Will Black, the general manager Mellow Johnny's--Austin, has announced, on social media, that the shop won't be selling any more bikes to the city's police department. "It was a staff-wide store decision," he said, "that we discussed for a pretty good length of time to make sure we were all on the same page and doing the right thing."
No one incident sparked the decision, he explained. Rather, he and his employees were concerned that, during Black Lives Matter protests in the city, officers were using the bikes to block Black Lives Matter demonstrators.
On Wednesday, when Black announced the decision, Mellow Johnny's was in the second year of a five-year contract with the police department, which has more than 150 bicycle patrol officers in its downtown area police command. The shop's action follows similar moves in the industry. BikeCo, the North American distributor of Fuji bicycles, suspended sales to police forces in June, citing the use of bikes as weapons in protest marches. That move is significant because Fuji had been one of the major bicycle suppliers to police forces in the United States.
"We are not anti-police," Mellow Johnny's post continued. "We believe our local police will protect us from the threats we are receiving right now" on social media. Thankfully, there have also been messages of support--which, I suppose, isn't too surprising, given Austin's reputation as a "progressive" community--and the sense of fairness and justice I have seen in cyclists throughout my decades of riding and working in shops.
Perhaps I'll get there one day. In addition to the sounds and savory stuff, there's another reason to visit.
I mean, even if you don't care about bicycles, how can you not want to check out a place called "Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop?"
Apparently, they're part of a chain in the area, each store with its own management. So, a policy at Mellow Johnny's in Austin might not prevail at MJ's in, for example, Fort Worth.
Actually, that scenario is not as hypothetical as I made it seem. In fact, the Austin shop has done something that the managers of the Fort Worth store aren't--and don't agree with.
Will Black, the general manager Mellow Johnny's--Austin, has announced, on social media, that the shop won't be selling any more bikes to the city's police department. "It was a staff-wide store decision," he said, "that we discussed for a pretty good length of time to make sure we were all on the same page and doing the right thing."
No one incident sparked the decision, he explained. Rather, he and his employees were concerned that, during Black Lives Matter protests in the city, officers were using the bikes to block Black Lives Matter demonstrators.
On Wednesday, when Black announced the decision, Mellow Johnny's was in the second year of a five-year contract with the police department, which has more than 150 bicycle patrol officers in its downtown area police command. The shop's action follows similar moves in the industry. BikeCo, the North American distributor of Fuji bicycles, suspended sales to police forces in June, citing the use of bikes as weapons in protest marches. That move is significant because Fuji had been one of the major bicycle suppliers to police forces in the United States.
"We are not anti-police," Mellow Johnny's post continued. "We believe our local police will protect us from the threats we are receiving right now" on social media. Thankfully, there have also been messages of support--which, I suppose, isn't too surprising, given Austin's reputation as a "progressive" community--and the sense of fairness and justice I have seen in cyclists throughout my decades of riding and working in shops.
07 August 2020
The First Time Without Her
Around this time last year, I had just returned from my trip to Greece.
And it was my mother's birthday. Little did I, or anyone, know it would be her last.
Before taking a quick ride out to Flushing Meadow Corona Park (site of the climactic Men In Black scene and the "the valley of ashes in The Great Gatsby), I called my father. Though he is not religious, he went to church and lit a candle in honor of my mother, who was not terribly religious but attended mass and lit candles. We agreed that it was strange--and, for him, lonely--to experience her birthday without her.
Of course, I was thinking about those rides I took along the ocean during my visits with her and Dad in Florida and my high school days in New Jersey. She never rode with me (or anyone, as far as I know) but she never discouraged me from cycling. She seemed to understand that it was, and always would be, part of who I am.
As she is.
And it was my mother's birthday. Little did I, or anyone, know it would be her last.
Before taking a quick ride out to Flushing Meadow Corona Park (site of the climactic Men In Black scene and the "the valley of ashes in The Great Gatsby), I called my father. Though he is not religious, he went to church and lit a candle in honor of my mother, who was not terribly religious but attended mass and lit candles. We agreed that it was strange--and, for him, lonely--to experience her birthday without her.
Of course, I was thinking about those rides I took along the ocean during my visits with her and Dad in Florida and my high school days in New Jersey. She never rode with me (or anyone, as far as I know) but she never discouraged me from cycling. She seemed to understand that it was, and always would be, part of who I am.
As she is.
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