Elizabeth Smart's father joins bike ride to lobby for laws protecting children from predators

SPRINGVILLE — Ed Smart and Ahmad Rivazfar biked through Salt Lake and Utah counties to the state Capitol on Friday.

But the trip, Smart said, wasn't about "two old goats in spandex" who decided to take a scenic tour of Utah. Rather, the two men, each fathers of daughters who were kidnapped and assaulted, hoped to raise awareness for several pieces of legislation aimed at protecting children from predators.

Smart is the father of Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped and held hostage for nine months starting in 2002. Rivazfar, from Rochester, N.Y., is the father of six children. In 1988, the boyfriend of his ex-wife kidnapped his two daughters, drove to a remote area, raped the girls, slit their throats and left them for dead. Sayeh, then 8, survived. Sara, 6, did not.

Rivazfar used that tragic experience to form The Surviving Parents Coalition, a nonprofit organization that lobbies for funding and legislation to protect children from abduction and sexual abuse.

About two years ago, during a strategic planning meeting for his group, Rivazfar, who had biked in several charity events before, brought up the idea of making a bicycle trek across the U.S.

"Everyone thought I was crazy," he said. "Ed stood up, however, and said, 'I'll ride with you.' "

Smart and Rivazfar mapped out a 3,500-mile journey from Rochester to Los Angeles. The "Ride for Their Lives" campaign began Aug. 21 and is scheduled to end Sept. 22. Salt Lake City was the 17th stop of the 26-city tour.

The cyclists started their ride Friday in Springville, where Smart and Rivazfar spoke to students at Cherry Creek Elementary. When it was time to start pedaling, a group of first- and third-graders gathered outside the school and chanted the campaign's motto, "Not One More Child," as Smart and the others rode off.

Smart has spoken to several school groups during his journey. It's something, he said, that "puts a smile on your face" as he talks to them about safety and feeling empowered so they know that "no one has the right to hurt you."

Smart's daughter Mary Katherine, 18, and son Charles 24, joined their father and Rivazfar, along with South Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Snyder and Utah Attorney General's Office spokesman Paul Murphy, coordinator of the state's Amber Alert system.

Both Ed Smart and Rivazfar wore buttons on their bike jerseys of pictures of people who have been murdered or are still missing. One of Smart's buttons was of Susan Powell, the West Valley City mother who has been missing for nine months.