I met with a man on a quest. James is a 62-year-old who has taken on the challenge of riding his bicycle across the United States. He started in Blaine, Washington, near the northwest corner of the county, and he’s heading to the southernmost corner, Key West, Florida.
He hit Fallon last week, after completing the first leg of his journey, riding the Pacific Coast Trail to San Francisco. After crossing over the Golden Gate Bridge on Day 25, James set out on the Western Express Trail, up from the Bay over Tahoe where he crossed over into Nevada.
Riding along desolate U.S. Highway 50, I had the chance to meet this lone cyclist on Day 35, on his way to Pueblo, Colorado. But this isn’t a story about a guy riding his bike across the county. The ride is much more symbolic and serious.
James is riding to bring awareness to the issue of Human Trafficking. As he explains, this ride is a mission, a crusade to make people aware of human trafficking and the organizations that work so hard to rescue the victims and tell the stories of suffering. James is a supporter of an organization called Silent Bridge. He has been an advocate and supporter of Silent Bridge, an international nonprofit out of Vancouver, WA for many years. He is passionate about fighting human trafficking, not just in the United States but worldwide.
James, who goes only by his first name to keep the bike ride about the mission rather than him, is a retired father and grandfather. He visits local restaurants, bike shops, and campgrounds on his ride, as well as other organizations fighting trafficking in their local jurisdictions. On Wednesday last week as he traveled through Carson City. James stopped to meet with the organizers of Xquisite, a non-profit helping Nevada trafficking victims.
According to James, “Human trafficking, on the international level is one of the largest crimes that does not seem to get very much light shined on it.” And it’s not just sex trafficking, there are children, both boys and girls, who are abducted to work as slaves to work in factories, mines, and field workers to grow and harvest drug crops. Often, they are forced to pack drugs over borders from state to state. They suffer, not of their own free will but under threats of punishment to them or their loved ones. He also spoke of the organ trade.
James’s ride is not sponsored or funded by Silent Bridge. He is self-funded but is trying to gather $50,000 of donations for Silent Bridge while out seeing the heart of America and bringing awareness of human trafficking to one person or one group at a time.
“I believe in the goodness and genuine caring of people. I plan to search for the heart of America during this journey, and I’m excited to meet people and educate them on the Silent Bridge mission. It takes strength and community to stand up against evil,” said James.
If you would like to know more or donate you can do so at www.bike4silentbridge.com or www.silentbridge.org.
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