She’s hiked and camped around the world by herself.
Now Laura Killingbeck is biking across Michigan raising awareness about domestic violence.
“You just basically have your home on the bike and just pedal forward,” Laura said from her tent.
From the UP to Detroit, Laura has spent eight weeks talking to survivors and domestic violence shelters.
“It’s been a very intense journey in a lot of ways because I’m traveling alone and I’m camping out by myself and I am hearing these really deep stories about gender-based violence and also economic abuse,” Laura said.
The 41-year-old says people will often ask if she’s afraid of traveling alone as a woman, which is part of the reason .she jumped on her bike.
“I think part of this is the juxtaposition of being a solo female traveler who feels very safe in the world right now, camping in my tent alone. And I’m also interviewing all of these women who are not safe in their own homes. And that’s the juctaposition that I think we need to understand,” Laura said.
When she’s not advocating for survivors, Laura is focused on the basics.
“I have a water filter so if I need water, I can go to a stream or a lake and I can filter water. I carry food with me. I cook over a little fire stove. So each night I gather twigs from the forest and I build a little fire and cook over the fire!” she said showing off her camping essentials.
Experts say domestic violence often involves financial control.
Michigan-based ORSA credit union is funding Laura’s journey to help end economic abuse.
Laura will finally reach Detroit on Monday.
She hopes her ride will raise money and spark important conversations.
“It is absolutely a solvable problem. It is an ongoing civil rights movement. I want to be part of that civil rights movement because I believe it will move forward and we will solve these problems, Laura said.