On July 15, Pat McAleer flew from Richmond, VA, to Seattle, WA, dipped his bike in the Pacific Ocean at La Push, WA, and embarked on Ride Pat Ride—a solo, 5,000+ mile, three-month journey to the Atlantic Ocean at Virginia Beach, VA, all to raise money for type 1 diabetes (T1D) cures.
We’ve been checking in with Pat on the road as he pedaled his way across the country, from the great plains of North Dakota to the Empire State Trail from Buffalo to New York City. Recently, he reached Virginia Beach, VA, and the end of his 5,000+ mile journey. We caught up with him after the finish line.
Recharging in NYC, Before the Finish Line
Pat arrived in New York City with 19 friends in tow at the end of September—they had joined him for a group ride all the way from Buffalo, NY.
On Tuesday, September 29, he and his wife Molly made a brief early appearance on the Today show before heading downtown for a lunchtime meeting with Breakthrough T1D’s Chief Executive Officer, Aaron J. Kowalski, Ph.D., at our Lower Manhattan headquarters.
“My conversation with Aaron just recharged my battery to finish the last two weeks of the trip strong—to stay focused and upbeat and, you know, forward moving on the fundraising,” Pat said.
“I didn’t know that’s what I was looking for, but that ended up being what I needed at the time,” he added.
The next day, Pat rode out of the city via the Staten Island Ferry (and Staten Island). Next stops? New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Just south of the capitol, Pat stopped by his mom’s house in Fairfax, VA, for a two-day rest to catch up with some friends and family.
From there, it was on to Fredericksburg and his alma mater, the University of Mary Washington, where he met a few friends for the evening, and then Richmond, for another night of connection with friends and family and a rest in his home bed before the final push to Virginia Beach.
“There was a hurricane coming up the coast that week, so I decided that I wouldn’t bring my camping gear and would just sleep in a hotel to avoid having a limb come down on my head and at night because of the high winds,” Pat said.
Finally, on Sunday, October 11, Pat got on his bike and rode to the finish line—the Cavalier Hotel on Virginia Beach. He says it was an immense feeling of “pride and accomplishment” to reach the finish line, three months and 5,000+ miles from when he started “without any major hiccups.”
“On that Saturday, nearly 24 hours before my finish, we went over the $250,000 raised mark,” Pat said. “I saw it as a really cool kind of goal line, if you will, achievement—two things happening at the same time.”
Physically, Pat was ready to rest—that night, he slept for 11 hours straight, followed by three separate naps the next day.
“I thought it was kind of funny, because I don’t normally do those things!” he said.
Top Takeaways
After three months and 5,000+ miles, Pat’s coming away from his transcontinental ride with three main takeaways. The first?
“You can really accomplish just about anything you set your mind to,” Pat said. “It makes me wonder what would have happened if I had set my goal at $500,000, because I thought it was stretching at $250,000.”
His second takeaway? He met so many nice people throughout his journey, whether it was on the side of a highway in rural Montana or a street just a few minutes from his house in Richmond, and there was lots of interest and support for his cause—funding T1D breakthroughs and cures.
“People were awesome about checking in, like ‘Do you need anything?’ or ‘Can I help you?’” Pat said. “The takeaway was, for me, kind of a self-assessment. Am I doing that enough for other people?”
“It wasn’t like I was, you know, falling on my sword realizing I’m not a good guy—that wasn’t it. It’s just, a lot of people looked out for me. Do I do that as much as I’ve experienced?” he added.
His final takeaway? The things that go according to plan “rarely make the highlight reel” of a journey like this.
“It’s the things that don’t go right—like having a derailer ripped off your bike by a stick six miles in—that tests your strengths to deal with a little bit of a curveball that wasn’t on your mind at all,” Pat said.
Support Pat Your Way
Pat’s transcontinental journey was made possible thanks to Breakthrough T1D Your Way, our DIY fundraising platform that puts you at the controls with your custom campaign idea (it doesn’t have to be a cross-country ride!), while we handle all the tools and support you need to make it happen.
If you’re feeling inspired to get out on your bike but don’t have three months to spare, try Breakthrough T1D Ride! We’ve got five destinations across the country in 2026, or you can join in anywhere, anytime with My Ride.
