Mexican American bicycle ‘lowriders’ celebrate festive Memorial Day weekend on two (and sometimes three) wheels

When Tomas Flores has time off from his busy pizzamaker job at Collegeville Italian Bakery, he devotes himself to his other passion: lowrider bicycles.that hosted its first post-pandemic event at FDR Park on Sunday, surrounded by La Liga Pattison, soccer players from many nations, food and T-shirt vendors, family cookouts and lots and lots of parked cars.

“We’re trying to change the perspective of what lowriders are all about. It’s not about gangs and drugs. It’s about family coming together,” said Flores, 35, a Norristown resident and longtime hobbyist of lowrider bikes. His first from-scratch bike he built himself, a green banana seat Schwinn-style that he then sold for $300.

Champions Lowriders meets roughly once a month and has about 30 members. The club’s owners will ride in theLowrider fans combine a love for bicycles, family, Hispanic culture and a little engineering. Most bikes are handmade and include a shout-out to the maker’s country of origin. “It’s really about getting all our families together,” said Flores’ son Andy, 16, who set up under I-95, manning a raffle table and selling bubble gum and candies.

While organizing the event, Flores had no luck reaching anyone at the city’s Parks and Recreation Department for a permit. In typical Philly fashion, he relied on a personal network., who put him in touch with Alvaro Drake-Cortes, the new community liaison for immigrant groups in Philadelphia with the Welcoming Center. They worked together to secure the necessary permits for an event at FDR Park.

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