Photo from bicyclecoalition.org

Philly bicyclists will get together this Wednesday (May 20) for the Ride of Silence, the annual international event that honors the cyclists killed or injured by motorists. The ride also raises awareness of cyclists’s right to share the road.

The 8-mile ride will start at 7 p.m. at the foot of the front steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum and will go through parts of West Philadelphia before returning to the starting point. A brief pre-ride dedication ceremony will begin at 6:45 p.m.

Last year about 175 bicyclists participated in the ride and this year the organizers are hoping to attract at least 400 riders.

Here are more details about the Ride of Silence route from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia:

From the Philadelphia Art Museum the ride will proceed down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, circle City Hall, continue to Independence Hall, and head over to West Philly via the Walnut St. Bridge. The ride will return to the front of the Art Museum over the Spring Garden Street Bridge.

Riders are asked to gather at 6:30 p.m. The duration of the ride is expected to be one hour. Helmets are required and bicycle lights are encouraged.

Minor Threats Chess Club’s coach, Jason Bui, sent us an update on the latest achievements by his students, who recently returned from the Elementary National Championships in Nashville, Tenn. and also participated in other chess championships this spring. We wrote about the club and its fundraising efforts earlier this year. The Minor Threats Chess Club is based at Mitchell Elementary School and its members are West Philly schoolchildren in grades 3 through 8.

“It has been a loooong month for the Minor Threats Chess Club. We spent a total of 16 out of 32 days on the road from April to May. We had three very long bus rides. We had our bags lost in Ohio (don’t worry, we got them back). We broke down along the side of the turnpike on the way back from Louisville (everyone got home safe and sound). We had sick kids and parents. The kids never complained.

Syair was sick on Sunday in Nashville. He threw up before his first round. He went in and won and then came out and still couldn’t eat, took a nap, went in and won the last round of the day. He won his first Nationals trophy that weekend.

Derrick Moore, a 4th grader at Mitchell Elementary School, with a trophy. (Photo courtesy of Minor Threats Chess Club)

Junior High Nationals was Derrick’s first Nationals. He won his first individual trophy there.

The Philadelphia Chess Society (our super group consisting of Paul Robeson Chess Club, Minor Threats Chess Club, and Enon Connected Pawns) won 7 trophies at Elementary Nationals. Not bad for only having 13 kids playing.

These trips are amazing opportunities for our kids. They learn so much about the world, chess, and themselves. They get to see that there is a whole big world out there. They get to see that if they are brave and they are willing to work hard that nothing can hold them back.

I would not be able to take these kids on these trips without the support of people like you. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!“

A Red Paw Emergency Relief Team volunteer and rescued dog posing near the donated car. (Photo by West Philly Local).

Here’s some great news for a great local organization that has helped save lives of hundreds of our little friends and companions since its inception in 2011. Red Paw Emergency Relief Team, a non-profit that responds to fires and other disasters in the city and helps displaced pets, has just received a new vehicle, which will allow them to continue their important work, since their old car started breaking down too often. The new car was donated by NRG Home.

The new vehicle was presented to Red Paw’s staff and volunteers, including the founder and former firefighter Jennifer Leary, this afternoon near the corner of 48th and Walnut Streets, across the street from the empty lot where the Windermere Court Apartments building once stood. Red Paw was created in the aftermath of the devastating fire at Windermere in January 2011. Many pets remained trapped inside the heavily damaged and structurally unstable building for weeks after the fire, which prompted rescue efforts by local pet rescue organizations.

Jennifer Leary was one of the firefighters responding to the Windermere fire. She founded Red Paw in July 2011.

Several noted public figures, including Cornell West and Chuck D., will be leading a rally and march to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the MOVE tragedy tomorrow.

On May 13, 1985, Philadelphia police under orders from city officials dropped a bomb on a home at 6221 Osage Ave. occupied by several members of the MOVE organization. Eleven people, including five children, died in the resulting fire and dozens of nearby homes were destroyed.

The rally starts at 11 a.m. at 62nd and Osage and organizers are asking participants to “walk, bike, jog or caravan” to 38th and Market where a speak-out will begin at 4 p.m. Activist Angela Davis and writer Alice Walker have prepared video messages that will be played. Speakers include West, Chuck D., hop hop artist Rebel Diaz, activist and attorney Alton Maddox and activists from the Black Lives Matter movement.

If you are unfamiliar with the MOVE or the events surrounding the bombing, here is an excellent documentary released in 2013 that pieces together news footage and interviews. Other background resources include a post on Philadelphia Magazine’s site today. Here is a look back from the Philadelphia Inquirer during the 25th anniversary.

A young horseman crosses 45th and Baltimore on his way back to Clark Park. (Photo by Mike Lyons/West Philly Local)

One of the urban cowboys who often ride in Clark Park moseyed through Spruce Hill on Wednesday, crossing Baltimore at 45th on his way back to the park.

The annual benefit auction for University City Arts League, a great non-profit organization that offers art education and events to the community, is currently underway. Many amazing items are available for bidding, including beautiful art and jewelry pieces, handmade clothing items, oriental rugs, gift certificates to local restaurants and shops, tickets to various shows, books, vacation getaways, wine tastings and much more!

Online bidding closes at 10 p.m. on Monday, May 4. The live auction and party is on Saturday, May 9. Click here for more information.