Cross-country biker rides through Utah
May 20, 2025, 8:00 AM | Updated: 9:06 am
(Canva)
(Canva)
SALT LAKE CITY — Teddy Bloom started his bike ride in San Francisco and plans to end it in Washington D.C. in August. Although the ride itself will be an incredible athletic feat, he has a bigger intention.
“I’m wearing an American Flag on my back. It’s supposed to galvanize people and make people feel good about America again that don’t otherwise,” Bloom said.
He’s calling it Ride 4 Rights and has 4 different issues that he hopes to bring awareness to.
Bloom said he was touched by the stories he saw of people being impacted by ICE deportations. He is working to draw awareness to human rights and due process.
His second cause is education. Bloom said he feels that people aren’t well educated with the DOGE cuts and jobs being lost. He believes the people need to know what those jobs were, what value they provided and why they were cut.
Third, he wants to promote unity. He believes these are issues that every American can make a difference in. However, in a time of division, it’s hard to make progress.
“I think more people will be more active politically if they feel like it’s a positive thing that’s happening more than just bad news, bad news, bad news,” said Bloom.
Finally, Bloom was impacted by news stories about college students being arrested at protests and believes the right to protest should be preserved. He is riding in support of free speech.
Right now, he’s in the early stages of his ride and still has a long way to go. He said some setbacks caused him to reach Utah a few days behind schedule.
“In the Sierra Nevadas, I was riding injured and got caught in a snowstorm. Then some of the roads ended up being closed for snow, and so it’s certainly been a mixed bag, but I’m hoping it is worth it,” said Bloom.
He’ll ride to the Capitol on Tuesday, May 20th before heading south to Provo. Following that, he’ll move east through Price towards Grand Junction, Colorado.
When he finally arrives in Washington D.C., he plans to do an event to commemorate the entire journey.
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