graduate biking across U.S. to benefit cambodian kids

Quincy Briscoe with his bike.

Written by Aaron Burgin
UT San Diego
Jan. 31, 2012

Quincy Briscoe

Age: 18

Education: La Jolla High graduate

Family: Father, Christopher Briscoe, mother, Shona Stargill; siblings: Ayla and Dacoda Stargill.

Quest: To bike across America for Project Enlighten benefiting underprivileged children in Cambodia.

While the average 18-year-old is entering the second semester of college, Quincy Briscoe is on a bicycle somewhere on the Florida Panhandle — and his parents couldn’t be prouder.

For every mile Briscoe rides, he raises money for the impoverished youth of Cambodia.

Briscoe is making the 3,044-mile trek from St. Augustine, Fla., to San Diego for Project Enlighten, a nonprofit that raises money for underprivileged Cambodian children.

At 14, Briscoe witnessed the poverty that many Cambodian children face, when he and his father, Christopher Briscoe, spent two weeks in the Southeast Asian nation.

After graduating from La Jolla High School in 2011, Briscoe decided to take a year off before he starts college to pursue the path of altruism. He hopes to raise more than $3,000 and is set to pedal back into California in six weeks.

Q: So when did your love affair with the bicycle begin?

A: When I was 14, I was in Cambodia with my dad. We stayed in this little village where I met this young boy who couldn’t go to school because it was too far of a walk everyday. So I did the only thing that I, as one 14-year-old kid, could do at the time to make a difference in that boy’s life: I bought him a bicycle so he could go to school. Now at the time I don’t think I realized what kind of an effect that bike actually had on that boy. Now that he could go to school, he could get a better job than working in the rice fields all day, which could lead him to being able to buy a tractor for his village, which would allow the villagers to not have to work all day in the horrible heat. The ripple effects are endless. Being over in Cambodia, I realized that being born in America is like being born on third base. We have so many greater opportunities than other people in other countries. And so doing this bike trip across America I want to help with something that is bigger than just me. I want to help make a dent in the universe, even if it is by helping one boy in Cambodia get to school. Through the efforts of Project Enlighten I think I can, at least, come close to making a dent.

Q: Tell us a little more about Project Enlighten and the cause you’re championing?

A: Project Enlighten is a nonprofit organization that raises money to help build schools and help communities in Cambodia. They donate their time and money to help children in Cambodia that have been the victims of land-mine explosions and other less-fortunate kids so they can have a chance at a better life. What I am trying to do is raise $1 for every mile that I ride — about 3,034 miles in total — so that money can be donated to Project Enlighten so they can use it the best way possible. The way I got involved with PE was through a man name Sao in the village in Cambodia. His son was the boy who I bought the bicycle for. Sao was already connected with PE and introduced my dad and me to the founder of PE. Now with the help of the co-founder, Asad Rahman, I have created a site where people can donate as much or as little as they want.

Q: The site is www.causes.com/causes/649253, right?

A: That’s right. All people have to do is go to www.causes.com and search “Quincy Briscoe Bicycles Across America.” Once on the page, click “donate.” It’s super simple and fast.

Q: How does your trip across U.S.A. compare to your European expedition last fall?

A: Being in the U.S. has been wonderful. The tough thing about riding across France was I didn’t speak French, so it was quite lonely. Also the drivers didn’t seem to be as “biker friendly.” They didn’t give me the room that drivers here in America do. But my ride across France and Spain was more for the scenery. Also, riding across France to Barcelona was totally wild for me. I bought a bike for 130 euros. Then, I went to an old dump pile behind the train station, sifting though trash to find metal scraps, which I zip-tied to an old rack that I had to bend around my bike frame so it would stay on. I then just bungee-corded grocery bags filled with all of my belongings to the side with a spare tire and my tennis racket on top. It was quite funky. Riding across America, I feel it’s more about the different kind of people I meet, from the old farmer on his tractor to the nice lady behind the counter at the local diner. It’s those kind of things that makes my trip so great.

Q: How did your parents react when you told them you’d be taking a year off from your education to pursue this?

A: Yes, I have to admit that I am extremely lucky that my parents are OK with me taking this year off before college. But even though I have taken a year off from college, I don’t believe that I have taken a year off from “education.” I know that I am not the same person who graduated high school seven months ago. Traveling has given me such a broad view of the world, and I think my parents realize that — thankfully. They have been nothing but supportive of me and my adventures. I do have to admit that they weren’t quite sure about my bike ride across America at first, but they have been wonderful and I am nothing but lucky to have such great parents.