Chocolate Rockets, tells the racing story of young black cyclists – “When you’re not given a seat at the table, you take it.” Support directer Ray Dillman and his feature documentary Chocolate Rockets that will tell the story of young black men defying the odds of failure in the inner city, enduring the lack of support in their chosen sport, and making it, on their own. The project is in the works and will follow the criterium race season of two teams from South Central Los Angeles as they seek a third consecutive national championship.
“A chance meeting between a 13 year old boy and a track cycling coach in South Central Los Angeles touched off a revolution in American professional and amateur road cycling. With 21 national championships and over 200 race wins between them, Rahsaan Bahati, Justin Williams and Cory Williams are among the most dominant athletes in the sport. Yet, they are passed for spots on the United States National Teams and the European World Tours. This is a story of young black men defying the odds of failure in the inner city, enduring the lack of support in their chosen sport, and making it, on their own.”
Learn more at Confiscated Film and lend your support via Creative Visions
Where to ride
- Ride Fassa Bike Park this weekend – The Italian Dolomites are opening back up. And if you are in Europe, it might be your time to return to the bikepark. Today, June 27 FassaBike park kicks off their summer season in Italy’s Val di Fassa. The popular lift-served trails of EWS are open, with social distancing keeping riders safe on lifts & in lines, which also means more of the classic routes like the world-famous SellaRonda to yourself. ValdiFassalift.it
- Ride an updated WV Bike Bash with camp, instead of a mass gathering – The 2020 Bike Bash will look a bit different this year, swapping out a large event of tons of people, with a more personal approach to see individual riders come out to camp and ride in smaller groups. The Bike Bash WV team continues to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation in West Virginia and follow the guidelines from local & state government agencies, as well the CDC & WHO, with the aim of responsibly reshaping their event. So the big party will return in summer 2021, but this year you’re still welcome to come for the ‘socially distant camp and ride weekend’ that will be held July 17-19. There’s also a few refund or transfer possibilities for those already registered. BikeBigBearWV.com
How to WIN!
- Win a gold leafed Canyon Ultimate, signed by Mathieu van der Poel – With just a month before pro road racing resumes, sport supplement maker 4gold.be is giving away a custom Canyon Ultimate CF SLX Disc 9.0 Di2 road bike finished in 24K gold leaf, and signed by MvdP. It’s not a simple contest though, to win you actually have to buy 95€ worth of supplements from 4Gold, then register. 4Gold.be
- Win Killer Mike’s State BMX bike, TODAY! – Bicycle Co is raffling off a Killer Mike themed BMX (one of two, Mike has the other) to benefit Los Angeles Bicycle Academy a black LA youth cycling organization. The raffle ends today, the 27th, so show your support quickly. StateBicycle.com
- Win some self-care in Muc-Off’s new weekly Freebie Fridays – This week’s prize pack bundle is intended to give you all you need to get your bike sparkling clean, and even keep you germ-free, too. It’s a simple social media giveway. Enter by liking their post on Insta, following @mucoff, and clicking through to fill out the registration form between now and next Thursday, when it will likely run again. Muc-Off.com
- Win $2000 of Rapha kit from Kitfit – To celebrate the upcoming launch of a new Kitfit App that will help you find the best riding gear to suit your style & tastes, its makers are giving away two thousand dollars worth of cycling gear from Rapha. It’ll be a shopping spree that lets you pick and choose what you want, all you need to do is sign-up to subscribe to the Kitfit App launch (here), then follow them on Instagram or like on Facebook before June 30. Kit.fit
Industry News & Deals
- Tennessee-based Ocoee bike is set for another new name – American Bicycle Group has announced their intent to once again change the name of their consumer-direct carbon all-road, gravel & mountain bike brand. The affordable adventure bike brand started out as Remōt, before getting named to Ocoee after a potential brand confusion dispute arose, taking its new name inspiration from the Tennessee area they call home. Only now, ABG has become aware that this name is also associated with the 1920 lynching of an African American on election day in Ocoee, Florida and the burning of that African American community. CEO Peter Hurley has made clear that out of respect for the community & their customers, that with this new information, he is willing to find a new name again – while at the same time calling out for people to learn more about the injustice of the 1920 Ocoee Election Day Riots. ABG hasn’t yet found a new name, but also said that once they do, any Ocoee owner will be able to get new-branded decals for their current bikes at no-cost, and all bikes currently in production will get the new name decals. OcoeeBikes.com (for now.)
- Buy a Factor LS frameset, get an integrated bar+stem FREE – To promote the recent debut of their race-specific Factor LS gravel bike, Factor has launched a custom build deal that will give a free Black Inc integrated one-piece carbon bar+stem combo with every frameset ordered direct from their website. It’s a deal worth $650 to help get a sleek aero setup for your new gravel bike. Just place your frameset order online before June 30 and use coupon code ‘integrated2020’ at checkout. No need to add the bar itself, Factor will reach out directly to confirm bar/stem sizing. FactorBikes.com
