Sarah Evans, a 22-year-old vegan who studies Latin American culture at the University of Texas at Austin, hopes to live in South America in the future.
Chloe Stringer, 20, is studying criminology at the University of Arkansas, and enjoys listening to podcasts, road trips and sipping coffee.
Keaton Calhoun, a fellow Razorback, is a fan of eating hash browns and she is an “arcade enthusiast.”
The three students plus seven other college-age women share something in common: They are passionate about ending sex trafficking and want to inspire others to advocate for victims of injustice.
Ten young women participating in the third annial Pedal the Pacific ride are cycling to San Diego from Seattle over a period of about six weeks on a 1,700-mile charity trek to raise funds for The Refuge for Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, an Austin, Texas-based nonprofit organization and bring awareness about sex trafficking while empowering people to take local action in their communities.
“I feel small because I love them — I don’t even know these girls — I’m never going to meet them, but I want to be with them through their healing even though I’m not alongside them,” said rider Kalindi Cordero, another student at the University of Arkansas.
“That’s what gets me up on my bike every morning on the days I’m physically and mentally exhausted.”
As of July 12, the group had raised $124,757 of their $250,000 goal for The Refuge Ranch.
The money is committed to helping fund the ranch, which provides shelter to children and teens who are survivors of sex trafficking. The organization operates as a long-term restoration community for girls to women 19 years of age who have been rescued from modern slavery.
The 2019 cycling team traveled through Santa Barbara County this week on their journey south to the finish line.
“No one wants to wake up and be a human trafficking victim,” said Pedal the Pacific rider Robyn Whitaker, a Texas native and recent graduate of Auburn University in Alabama. “There is a vulnerability that has been exploited to get people there.”
The Defense Department has characterized human trafficking as the world’s fastest-growing crime.
The most common form of human trafficking is for sexual exploitation, according to the United Nations.
The Pedal the Pacific women — from colleges in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, and who describe themselves as “hilariously unathletic girls” — began their journey July 8 in Seattle and will finish in San Diego next week.
They met with Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley and members of her senior staff Monday, along with officials of the county’s human trafficking task force and other local advocates.
Dudley, a statewide leader in establishing a coordinated and accountable task force to tackle the issue of sex trafficking, held a meet-and-greet session at her office adjacent to the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.
“The fact that you get on your bikes every day — I know it’s physically difficult and emotionally difficult — you are leaving everything comfortable behind,” Dudley told Pedal the Pacific members.
“You are getting on your bikes, and the purpose is to bring awareness of a human condition that is despicable and impossible for most people to understand.”
Several staff and individuals who are involved with the county’s Human Trafficking Task Force attended, including Megan Rheinschild, director of the Victim-Witness Assistance Program in the District Attorney’s Office.
Also joining Monday were Lindsay Cortina, president of the Junior League of Santa Barbara; Kielle Horton, the Junior League’s immediate past president; Sharon Byrne, communication chairwoman of the United Nations Association of Santa Barbara and Tri-Counties; Jeff Shaffer, director of initiatives at the Santa Barbara Alliance for Community Transformation (SB ACT); Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen; and Ethan Bertrand, district representative for county Second District Supervisor Gregg Hart.
The Junior League of Santa Barbara has adopted sex trafficking as one of its core support issues.
“It’s amazing that you have decided to spend your summer in this way,” Cortina told the young women. “What great hearts you all have to be spending your time trying to do better in the world, especially on such a serious topic. We are happy to support you.”
At the hour-long gathering, each Pedal the Pacific member spoke proudly of how she got involved in the cycling journey, the fight against sex trafficking and the eye-opening experiences of pursuing a passion for social justice.
“People are being exploited, and it’s not fair,” said rider Christina Van Essen, a recent University of Texas graduate. ”If I was in a victim’s shoes, I would want somebody to be advocating for me. It’s going to take everyone in our community to do something.”
Several women were inspired by the Santa Barbara County leaders and hope to pursue a career to further their goals and passions.
Haley Felix, a senior at Oklahoma State University, got teary-eyed as she spoke.
“I, like several girls, was completely naive to the subject before I signed up for Pedal the Pacific,” she said. “I have been on the verge of tears all morning because it’s nice to see educated people who are passionate about this.”
Pedal the Pacific, a 3-year-old organization, was the idea of then-college seniors Sara Belmer of the University of Arkansas, and Savannah Lovelace and Grace Pfeffer of the University of Texas at Austin.
“Pedal the Pacific is just the launching pad to show people that you can make a difference,” said Pfeffer, who works as the public relations and communications manager at The Refuge Ranch.
Lovelace and Pfeffer joined the 2019 Pedal the Pacific team during the gathering in Santa Barbara, as they did in 2018 with that year’s team.
This year’s riders were selected from a pool of eager applicants, and they’ve camped or stayed with host families during their adventure.
“The demand for people wanting to raise awareness is prevalent,” said Lovelace, development coordinator at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Austin.
The group also met Monday with Ian Bentley, the founder and CEO of Parker Clay, a Santa Barbara-based company producing and selling handmade leather goods made by human trafficking survivors in Ethiopia.
Kim Anderson and Aaron Olson, owners of Handlebar Coffee Roasters, hosted a dinner Monday evening at the downtown store’s patio, an event arranged by the Junior League with food from Los Arroyos Restaurant.
On their way to Santa Barbara from Lompoc on Sunday afternoon, Robin and Roger Himovitz hosted a lunch for the group at El Capitán Canyon on the Gaviota coast. While they’ve been in Santa Barbara, Hazard’s Cyclesport has been tuning up the group’s 10 hard-ridden bicycles.
Before they leave Tuesday, they’re being treated to a breakfast with host families — among them Jan and Randy Campbell, Judy and Rob Egenolf, Lynette and Paul Hall, Elizabeth Karlsberg and Jeff Young, Ginny and Garrett Speirs, and Linda and Clark Stirling — and supporters at the Santa Barbara Club.
The riders will then hit the road to Point Mugu in Ventura County.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
