In a time when the country is so divided and many feel the democratic way of life is being threatened in one way or another, 37-year-old Teddy Bloom is going for a bike ride.
But not just any bike ride. He’s dubbed it the Ride4Rights, a California-to-Washington, D.C., expedition to raise awareness of and support for four issues he says are vital to the American way of life: freedom of speech, justice, education and unity.
The Santa Fe, New Mexico, native started at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on April 20 and arrived in Denver on June 7. He plans to reach his final destination, the Washington Monument, on Aug. 14.
He will have covered roughly 3,000 miles on his Kona Libre gravel bike and made 100 or so stops by the time it’s all said and done.
This isn’t a left or right issue, the New Mexico Department of Transportation employee said. It’s simply for “people who like living in America and being in a democracy.”
Bloom is biking across America to raise awareness of and support for four issues he says are vital to the American way of life: freedom of speech, justice, education and unity. Credit: Courtesy photo
“I do have more left supporters because they’re more against what the current administration is doing, but I do have a fair number of conservative supporters who like the conservative ideas of small government and states’ rights and whatnot,” Bloom said.
On freedom of speech and justice, Bloom said, “You need free speech to really be able to assess the needs of the people in the country, to know the problems around the country, or what people need for their jobs and work. That’s how lawmakers can make good decisions. Justice, everybody should have due process. That way it’s as fair as possible.”
Bloom said he picked education as one of his riding themes because he believes it’s important for people to understand why certain federal agencies exist and what exactly those workers do.
Lastly, speaking about unity, he said, “It’s the idea that you shouldn’t be doing something just to screw over other people. When you’re trying to make a law or implement a process or something, it should be either because it’s to your benefit or the benefit of other people. In looking at the internet at least, people seem to have lost some interest in that.”
To amplify his work, Bloom created a website, posts regularly on several social media platforms and shares a daily vlog on YouTube.
When he enters a city or town, he also encourages others to ride along with him, if only for a few miles.
And while he’s run into some obstacles along the way — a tweaked hamstring early on, sloppy dirt roads, a hailstorm in Limon — he doesn’t plan on stopping until he reaches the marble obelisk in the nation’s capital.
“I wanted to do something a lot of people could get behind,” Bloom said. “These are very basic things for a democracy to function.”
Follow Bloom’s journey at www.ride4rights.com.