By Camas Frank ~
When world traveler, turned author, Jamie Bianchini, came through the City of SLO on a book tour back in April 2015, he had a pretty incredible story to tell.
Bianchini, with help from an editor in Cambria, had written a book about his experiences riding a one-of-a-kind tandem bicycle almost literally around the world on an 81-country expedition he called, “Peace Pedalers.”
Obviously the trip took years, but he redefined his identity, leaving the rear seat open to “invite more than 1,000 total strangers to jump on the rear seat and join the adventure in a gesture of peace, acceptance and friendship.”
By founding a non-profit for the trip, and leaving his mother in charge of a lot of social media outreach, he was able to continue the journey by providing trips to locals on the bike, taking care of their lodging and fare back to their point of origin when they’d managed to take time out of their lives to join him.
Along the way he met his now-wife, who rode the furthest with him before they bought a second bike for her, and over a few months, started a life together. They now have two children, Luca and Candela who were 4 and 2-years old back in April.
Upon their return to the U.S., Bianchini spent 3 years “completing his manuscript and worked closely with New York Times bestselling author Franz Wisner,” as the press announcement explained ahead of the 12,000-mile “Family Book Tour USA.”
Among the many personal anecdotes in his work, Bianchini told tales about hustling donations to “provide 100 bikes to an impoverished township Cape Town; disperse hundreds of doses of life-saving Malaria medication to small African communities; start a school for AIDS orphans in Uganda; and bring fresh water to a community suffering from sickness in Bolivia.”
What no one listening to this tale with rapt attention at a book signing and presentation at the Art’s Cyclery showroom in San Luis Obispo April 26 could have known, was that the specially designed bicycle that was the center of the journey, the one they’d just “met” would suddenly disappear.
It could be an overstatement to say that, to a cyclist, each bike is like a horse, a beast with its own personality and maybe even a soul. Even if it’s a stretch to endue inanimate objects with such characteristics, it still hurts to lose such a companion.
The bike, along with two less unique models, was stolen while the family was on vacation in La Selva Beach, Calif. after finishing their nationwide tour.
“People are rallying around us as they did the last time it was taken but there have been no real leads,” Bianchi told The SLO City News.
Although the bike was taken twice before during his world tour — once in a small Chinese town and once in Zanzibar, Africa — recovery was swift with assistance of locals.
This time, “they were probably real pros,” said Bianchi, “They cut through three bolt locks and they left the bikes that weren’t top of the line… after eight years and 81 countries, I’m offering a reward, no questions asked.”
With some help from the crowd funding community, and folks who were inspired by the “Journey for Peace and Understanding” along the way, he’s offering $5,000 to anyone who will return the bike. Although it’s not easy, the thieves probably don’t know what they took and he’s willing to pay.
“I even met my wife on this bike and conceived our first child out on the tour,” he noted when announcing the reward. “There’s simply no option for it not to come home again.”
While that was his initial reaction, always the entrepreneur with a philosophical bent, Bianchi is working on a kind of high-tech candle that can save energy and prevent fire hazards in the developing world. It’s a nifty gadget and a venture that takes up a lot of his time.
“We had just finished what we were doing with the bike,” he said. “It’s not like it happened while we were on tour. Eventually, yes, you do just have to move on…it still means a lot to our family to have it back though.”
Read about the bicycle built for two and reach Bianchi through: www.aBicycleBuiltForTwoBillion.com.
Editors Note: Luckily Jamie Bianchini won’t have to move on with life without his trusty Bicycle Built-for-2-Billion. “We found the tandem bike!” Bianchini excitedly emailed as SLO City News went to press. “It was stripped down but [we] paid $200 to a strange woman who called out of the blue and we called it good.” They’re still looking for the other two bikes that were taken with it.