Dr. Craig Davis, a U.S. resident, plans to travel from Prince George to Juneau, Alaska, as part of his Riding for Peace campaign.
Davis, a dedicated humanitarian and international development worker, has personally witnessed the divisions that have separated people in recent years—something he hopes to address during his more than 1,000-kilometre ride.
“After the elections this year, I just pulled the trigger,” said Davis. “The divisions are now worse than ever. I imagine that there are tensions between Canada and the United States — our biggest trading partner — and we share more culturally with Canada, probably more than with any nation on Earth. But yet, tensions are up, travel is down.
“So I thought, as my first project for Peace Bridge Solutions, the nonprofit I started in March, I’m going to do something I love: ride my bike. This time with the intention to promote goodwill, peace and reconciliation, to talk to people, not about politics, but just about humanity.”
Davis is beginning his ride Friday, June 27, and plans to get to the west end of Prince George before making the long haul to Vanderhoof on Saturday, June 28.
“I’m just going to ride to the west side of Prince George. Then tomorrow I have a monster climb and ride to Vanderhoof, which I calculated is about 55 miles and a climb of 1,900 feet, which is a lot for me. I’m not sure I can make it the whole way. I may have to flag down some nice Canadians or someone to take me the last 15 or 20 miles,” he said.
He hopes to travel from Prince George to Prince Rupert, then catch a flight to Whitehorse before heading down the Skagway Highway and taking a ferry to Juneau. He plans to travel about 35 kilometres a day.
Davis is no stranger to long-distance rides and has completed similar trips through Florida, Louisiana, Vietnam, Cambodia, Scandinavia and other regions.
He has also done humanitarian work across the globe, including in Somalia, Iraq and Pakistan.
He added that he’s applied community-based approaches in previous bike trips, such as one he took after the 2020 U.S. election.
“I rode from Florida to Louisiana and back,” said Davis. “I noticed a real division between people. There was a sort of brewing mistrust and hatred between communities, ethnic groups and immigrants. I started asking people what they thought about this, and they all agreed that it didn’t matter what socioeconomic background they came from or what political party—they all felt this division, and none of them felt it was healthy.
“I asked them if they would be willing to volunteer to do something to help their community heal. They said yes. I asked what sort of ideas they had — community gardens, collecting food and clothes for the homeless, and things like that. All of those are healthy, and in international development, we call this community action.”
He told The Citizen that this trip feels like the culmination of his experiences, and he’s looking forward to learning more about Northern communities and their stories.
“I’m quite an introvert,” said Davis. “But on these trips, I often talk to people, just asking about cultural things, and I enjoyed it—but I still felt like something was missing. I was missing an opportunity.
“This sort of seems like it’s a culmination of my career — what I want to do for the rest of my career and into retirement. I want to be part of the solution and stop bellyaching about things that don’t go my way.”
Davis has also recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer, something that has added urgency and meaning to his journey.
“We can either bellyache — and I know I’m not free of that — but I’ve done a lot of soul-searching,” he said. “I try to really curb that. If I focus on positive messages to my family and those around me, I become a better person. I have prostate cancer — we’re monitoring it — but I want to spend the rest of my years being part of the solution.”
He’s also encouraged locals to stop and chat if they see him riding along Highway 16.
“If you see a 65-year-old man puttering along at a very slow pace, pushing his bike up the hill, you’ll know it’s me. If you see me anywhere along 16, just honk and wave — or if you want to stop and chat for a second, that would be great. I hope others begin to agree with me that we can be part of a solution,” he said.
For more information on his trip or to follow along with Davis’s progress, visit peacebridgesolutions.com.
