Sikh motorcyclist joins a cross-country ride against hate: ‘I have to do this’

Gurdeep Singh Saggu sat on the carpet of the Stockton Sikh Temple prayer hall, staring at the photographs of the seven Sikhs killed in a mass shooting in Wisconsin in 2012.

His wife, Ekdeep, and their two sons, 5 and 10, sat across the room, cross-legged, listening to an FBI agent recount how a white supremacist strode into a Sikh temple in Oak Creek in search of victims.

Until that moment, Saggu’s older son, Akaaldeep, didn’t understand why his father was joining his motorcycle club on a 2,700- mile ride to mark the anniversary of the Aug. 5, 2012, massacre.

Saggu, 37, soft-spoken with a wiry beard, had been torn about the trip. The Sikh Motorcycle Club USA had planned the weeklong ride to Oak Creek to raise awareness about their culture and faith. Their route would take them through states like Arizona, where it was unusual to see turbaned bikers with black leather vests emblazoned with the Sikh faith symbol. A state where a Sikh man, mistaken for a Muslim, was killed in a hate crime four days after 9/11.

The ride would end on Aug. 5 in Oak Creek, Wis.

But Saggu hesitated to leave his family, especially his sons. The prospect of violence, that they could be attacked for their religion, meant he was always on guard.

Saggu hadn’t spent a night away from them since the birth of his first child. He drove his boys to school every day and brought them home after class to do their homework. He watched over them while his wife, a schoolteacher, worked.

Earlier that morning his older son had begged him to stay home. But the presentation in the temple turned out to be a turning point. Akaaldeep cried about the deaths and hugged his father, saying, “Daddy, now I want you to go.”

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