AN EPIC 3785mi/6000km BICYCLE RIDE TO FUNDRAISE FOR RACIAL JUSTICE

SAN FRANCISCO — WASHINGTON DC
50 DAYS: JULY 9TH — AUGUST 28TH, 2020

Any cyclist will tell you that sometimes, if you're lucky, you get to ride with a tailwind blowing you along. And because you're riding in the same direction you don't even feel it. It's only when you turn around that you realise it was there all along.

Life as a white male Australian is life with a hurricane-force tailwind. And for too long I didn't feel it pushing me along, let alone acknowledge it or do anything much (beyond the odd donation or protest) to help those cycling into the headwinds of systemic racial inequality.


I’m Mikey, an Aussie living in America. I am going to ride my bicycle across the US to raise awareness and to fundraise for the global movement fighting racial inequality and injustice.

Over the past three weeks of social turmoil I have attended numerous protests and I’ve listened to Black, Brown and Indigenous voices imploring us to be there with them over the long haul. A movement not a moment. A marathon not a sprint.

In the spirit of a long-term commitment to racial justice, I am donating my time and my legs. I will ride in solidarity with Black, Brown and Indigenous lives and with all those fighting for equality and a better world.

Please show your support by donating to this campaign, or directly to a charity of your choice. And please share far and wide.

100% of the donations will be split evenly between and donated directly to the following non-profit organisations:

Black Lives Matter
On a mission to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate improvements in our lives.

Indigenous Literacy Foundation 
ILF strives to make a difference to the lives of Australian Indigenous families by gifting thousands of new culturally appropriate books ⁠— with a focus on early literacy and first language ⁠— and by running programs to inspire the communities to tell and publish their own stories.

Bridging the Gap 
We aim to help bridge the gap between the health and education opportunities and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, through the funding of essential and continued research.

Equal Justice Initiative 
The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.

The Sunrise Movement 
Climate justice is racial justice. The fight against climate change exists alongside the fight against white supremacy and colonialism. We see it in every pipeline that tears through Indigenous lands. We see it in every factory pumping pollutants into Black neighbourhoods. We see it in every cage at our borders imprisoning immigrants who tried to escape famine and drought. Now is not the time to stay on the sidelines.

*** NB. I am not officially affiliated with any of these organisations. I am just an individual looking to convert my efforts into much needed funds for these important causes. ***


THE ROUTE

Departing Thursday 9th July from San Francisco, the first leg will traverse the Western Express route through California, Nevada, Utah and on to Pueblo, Colorado.

Here I join the TransAmerica bicycle route through Kansas, Missouri and into Illinois.

From here I follow the Underground Railroad route north easterly through Kentucky and into Ohio — learning about the trails historical significance for African Americans fleeing slavery in the South.

The final stretch will follow US Bicycle Route 50 and take me through Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

And I finish the journey at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC on Friday 28th August. I aim for my arrival to coincide with the planned March on Washington on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech.

During my journey, I want to concentrate on educating myself about racial realities in this world, I want to have socially-distant chats with those I meet and I hope to continue to raise public awareness for these issues.

This will be an unsupported camping journey, aiming to ride approximately 70-80 miles daily.

ALL CYCLISTS WELCOME TO JOIN ME FOR ALL OR PART OF THE JOURNEY!

If you can, please come ride with me — even if only for a few miles.

Follow my travels and link up with me via Instagram (@mikey.danger.hill).

Thanks for reading! Thanks for your support!

Mikey