Pushing through pain, poor weather, days without showers and other obstacles, 11 cyclists arrived in Lompoc on Thursday undeterred as they spread awareness about human trafficking as they pedal along the Pacific Coast.
To applause, the 11 riders for Pedal the Pacific entered the Hilton Garden Inn meeting room for a dinner event organized by the North County Rape Crisis and Child Protection Center and the American Association of University Women.
“I hope that you do view this as a celebration of these 11 amazing women who have really taken on a monstrous task to raise awareness regarding the issue of human trafficking,” said Ann McCarty, executive director of the Rape Crisis Center.
Pedal the Pacific, a nonprofit based in Austin, Texas, involves a team of young women riding bicycles from Seattle to San Diego, a 1,700-mile trek completed over several weeks while raising funds and awareness about human trafficking.
“Let’s be honest — not many of us in this room would consider riding from Lompoc to Vandenberg Village on our bicycles,” McCarty said.
Approximately 50 people from the Lompoc Valley gathered Thursday for the dinner and presentation about human trafficking, which in a five-year period in Santa Barbara County saw 232 investigations that identified 75 potential human traffickers with 45 facing criminal charges, according the flier from the county Human Trafficking Task Force.
Of the 207 survivors, 91% were trafficked for sex with 97% being female. About 29% of survivors were 17 years or younger while 33% were 18-24 years old. Some 43% were residents of Santa Barbara County.
“The American Association of University Women stands with you in your fight against human trafficking,” said Lucy Thoms-Harrington, AAUW Lompoc-Vandenberg Branch president.
AAUW members were delighted “to share in your journey — vicariously,” she added.
Organizers encouraged riders to split up and sit at various tables to share stories about their journey.
“Trust me, their enthusiasm is going to feed your soul in a way that you’re not going to expect,” McCarty said. “These 11 women may have come into our lives as strangers, but by the end of the night I guarantee you that you will have made some new friends.”
After dinner, the cyclists received presentations from the offices of Congressman Salud Carbajal, Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann and Vandenberg Space Force Base’s Sexual Assault Response Coordinator along with Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne.
Carbajal’s aide, Wendy Motta, noted the dedication of the Pedal the Pacific participants.
“This ride is not just a commitment of endurance, but it’s a commitment to a very important cause — human trafficking, domestic sex trafficking,” Motta said. “You bringing awareness to this subject shines a light on the frightening fact that this is happening right here in our community.”
The night included a chance to hear from a survivor who shared that traffickers feed upon their victims’ vulnerabilities — financial, emotional and more —with cyclists and others listening in complete silence as the woman talked.
Along the route, Pedal the Pacific cyclists have met with community leaders and complete strangers to highlight the issue of human trafficking.
For instance, the Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary Club members, on their bikes, met the Pedal the Pacific cyclists and rode with them into town, where they hosted a community dinner.
This year riders include Rachel Johnson, who grew up in a Chicago suburb and recently graduated form Hope College in Holland, Michigan, pausing along the route to search for jobs.
The event has provided a chance to make connections with her teammates and strangers, Johnson said.
“It’s so special to have each day filled with different surprises of generosity,” she said.
“Pedal the Pacific provides a way for us to go out of our comfort zones and do something strange that catches the attention of so many people,” she said.
Pedal the Pacific was started in 2017 by friends seeking to raise awareness about domestic sex trafficking. Since then, the group has raised more than $500,000.
After spending the night in Lompoc the cyclists will travel south to Santa Barbara with a lunch stop at ExxonMobil’s Las Flores Canyon facility on the Gaviota Coast on Friday.
On Saturday they will meet with District Attorney Joyce Dudley and Megan Rheinschild, director of the DA’s Victim-Witness Assistance Program, and later attend an evening picnic hosted by the Junior League of Santa Barbara.
They will leave Saturday morning en route to Ventura County.
The 2022 event will raise funds for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Donations can be made by clicking here.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.