One-wheeling for a cause

It’s certainly a way to strike up a conversation.

That’s the reasoning of Adam Gianforte as he unicycles across the country to raise money and awareness for human trafficking.

Gianforte, who graduated from Cornell University this spring, is using his trip for multiple purposes.

“This is my unique adventure after college. I’m doing this instead of touring Europe like some people do,” he said. “I think the message I’m mostly trying to get out is that there are still slaves in the world.”

The strange dichotomy between the seriousness of his message and the silliness of his method have actually worked in his favor, he said.

“It’s a great way to start a conversation,” Gianforte said. “People want to know what I’m doing and why. That leads to the conversation about human trafficking.”

There are an estimated 30 million people trapped in human trafficking in the world today and two million children in sexual slavery, Gianforte said. He spent Wednesday traveling from Whitefish to Ferndale.

“This is not something we think about in the first world,” he said. “On my fundraising page I’m almost at $3,000, so this is something which is working.”

Several anonymous donors have donated directly to the organization he is riding for, the International Justice Mission.

The Mission is a nonprofit legal group which helps rescue victims of violence, sexual exploitation and slavery and prosecutes those responsible.

“They fight the legal side of things, prosecute human trafficking and then has social workers to help after,” Gianforte said. “People who help victims get back on their feet and live as normal a life as they can after this horrible part of their lives.”

During his junior year at Cornell, he was informed about the plight of slavery — particularly sexual slavery of children — and resolved to do something. At just 22-years-old, he thought he could at very least raise awareness to the global issue by doing something he knew how to do well.

He has been unicycling for 10 years and initially wanted to ride the Appalachian Trail.

“I was told that would have been pretty impossible,” he said. “It’s rocky and meant for hiking only. So I thought I’d go through Montana on the Great Divide. It’s the longest mountain bike trail in the world. I plan on meeting my family somewhere south like near Helena or Butte or something.”

Gianforte is the son of Greg Gianforte, the Bozeman businessman and conservative political activist. He said his family has been extremely supportive of the difficult trip.

His route runs from Banff, Alberta, where he started a week ago, to Antelope Wells, New Mexico.

Gianforte is hoping to finish the route, which takes him through Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado and New Mexico, sometime in September. His unicycle — which takes a bit of a running start to mount — is equipped with supplies for the road and his helmet has a GoPro camera to film the ambitious trip.

“I’m in relatively good shape so I’m hoping it won’t be too challenging,” he said. “It’s been a lot of nice paved or gravel roads so far. I’m a little sore but I’ll get over it.”

To read more about Gianforte’s trip, visit www.crowdrise.com/unicycle, where you can donate and track his progress, not to mention read his hilarious Frequently Asked Questions.

To check out more about the organization he is fundraising for, visit www.ijm.org.

“Human trafficking is devastating the lives of people,” Gianforte said. “I’m trying to tell people they can do something.”

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.