When a group of bicyclists departed Sunday morning from Lane Community
College to begin an estimated 950-mile journey around Oregon, University graduate Jason Elmendorf saw it not
just as an exercise of muscles, but also an exercise of civil rights.
The bicyclists are part of Ride4America, a volunteer organization based in Eugene that Elmendorf said is dedicated to ending voter apathy and encouraging political
activism.
“We’re trying to encourage our fellow citizens to participate in the political process,” volunteer La Vonne Brous said. “It’s the only way we can keep it our country.”
Ride4America participants will visit dozens of cities around Oregon, stopping at college campuses and town centers to talk to citizens about the upcoming election and issues that are pertinent to their lives before returning to Eugene on October 25, Elmendorf said.
Though Ride4America supports Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, Elmendorf, who founded the organization, said its goal is not to encourage students to vote Democratic, but rather to simply encourage them to vote.
“My goal is to not make it overtly partisan, but more about showing people what it means to be an American and letting them figure it out from there,” Elmendorf said.
Elmendorf said he never considered himself to be much of a political activist but was alarmed by what he perceived as the current administration’s disregard for the basic principles of democracy.
“There was sense that people had to fear repercussion for being critical of the government,” Elmendorf said. “These are some of the things you don’t do in a democracy.”
Elmendorf decided to turn his apathy into activism and began searching for a creative way to encourage Oregonians all across the state to do the same.
With his love for bicycling and desire to see the Oregon countryside, Elmendorf said a bike trip around the state struck him as the perfect way to express his right to free speech.
Part of Ride4America’s
mission is to connect
with younger voters, so
Elmendorf designed a route that would allow them to
visit the maximum number of college campuses.
Volunteers said LCC was a
good departure point because of
its proximity to the freeway and
its role in the lives of young people.
“LCC is a logical starting off point philosophically and geographically,” volunteer Randy Brous said.
The location did pose one
problem early on, as confused
bikers headed straight down a
dead-end street rather than taking
a left turn that would have eventually put them south bound on
Interstate 5. The riders quickly
realized the mistake and were
on the right track in a matter of
minutes.
The group will be concentrating its efforts at community
colleges rather than major universities because the smaller,
community-oriented atmosphere provides a better opportunity to
talk to students one-on-one, Elmendorf said.
“In the TV age people just don’t talk about issues anymore,” Elmendorf said. “If you talk to someone directly it’s much more powerful than television.”
Elmendorf said the group does plan on
riding through Southern Oregon University and Oregon State University campuses but will reserve its extended stops for smaller schools.
“There’s already an organization…on the U of O campus
and other campuses that really
support getting the vote out,
and that doesn’t exist in the
(community colleges),” Elmendorf said.

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