Herriman man completes coast-to-coast ride

HERRIMAN — Kenny Thomas just returned to Utah from a coast-to-coast bike ride, and now he's ready to take on his own state.

Thomas left in May on a 3,043-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness of the national debt.

"Every American really has to stop relying on the government," he said. "The entitlement spending has expanded the national debt to what it is."

He believed the trip would be a lesson in civics for his family. His parents followed Thomas in their motor home, while Thomas' wife and their 8- and 10-year-old girls joined him in D.C. on July Fourth.

Thomas and his clan met with a dozen members of Congress, garnering national media attention, and conducted an informal survey of Americans' feelings on the $1.3 trillion national debt along his ride.

"We're not quitting. We're going to be figuring out ways to keep educating people on this issue and gather survey on the debt," he said Friday.

A bike ride from Logan to St. George is in the works for this fall, during which Thomas hopes to educate Utahns on the debt. He is also planning speaking engagements and a book deal in his future.

For more information on Thomas' efforts, visit www.saveamericasfuture.org.

— Amelia Nielson-Stowell