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# Richmond cyclist completes cross-country bike ride, raising more than $250,000 for Type 1 Diabetes research
- URL: https://www.richmonder.org/richmond-cyclist-completes-cross-country-bike-ride-raising-more-than-250-000-for-type-1-diabetes-research/
- Published: 2026-10-21T09:32:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-21T09:31:59.000Z
- Description: “I really felt restored in my faith in mankind.”
- Author: Payton Kifus
- Tags: Local News, #the-bridge

A Richmond father and cyclist has returned home from a cross-country bike journey, raising more than $250,000 for Type 1 diabetes research and awareness.

This summer, Pat McAleer biked from Washington state to Virginia Beach, totaling 4,361 miles for his Type 1 diabetes fundraising campaign, [Ride Pat Ride](https://www.ridepatride.org/about-pat). Throughout his trek, McAleer had an important person in mind to motivate his efforts, his daughter Mary Kate.

McAleer’s daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 10 years old, in 2009\. Shortly after learning about her diagnosis, McAleer and his family began working with Breakthrough T1D (a nonprofit formerly known as JDRF) to help raise money through organized fundraising walks.

McAleer has enjoyed biking since childhood, and his love for it continued over the years. 

“To me, biking has always meant freedom,” he said.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/2026/10/unnamed--15-.jpg)

His love for traveling via bike grew in 2021, after breaking his toe and having to rent a bicycle to complete the Camino de Santiago, a famed pilgrimage in Spain. 

“That ended up being the catalyst for me. When I came home, I went to Journeyman’s Adventure Co., down in Shockoe Bottom, to buy a bike suitable for this kind of travel, put panniers on it and just started doing these big trips,” said McAleer. “Anywhere from five days, to maybe two weeks.”

In July, McAleer retired and decided that he was going to take his biking and fundraising efforts to the next level.

“I had been thinking about it for about three or four years, about doing a big fundraiser. I like cycling and traveling, so it all just kind of fell into place,” said McAleer.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/2026/10/unnamed--17-.jpg)

McAleer decided to do a self-funded biking route across the country, with the goal of raising $250,000 for Type 1 diabetes research. Collaborating with Breakthrough T1D, McAleer created his campaign, [Ride Pat Ride](https://www.ridepatride.org/support), so that people could follow his progress, donate to the fundraiser, and share stories of their own. 

He completed most of the ride on his own. For a portion of his ride, he met up with 20 other bikers in Buffalo, who were friends of his that were also raising money for two other Richmond-based charities: [Sportable](https://sportable.org/) and the [Fanconi Cancer Foundation](http://fanconi.org/who-we-are/).

McAleer shared that one of the ways that he kept motivated was through remembering who it was all for. He began writing the names of people that he knew that were affected by Type 1 diabetes on pieces of duct tape that he’d stick to his handle bar for the day, keeping a different person and their story on his mind each ride. 

“I took off a piece of tape and wrote my daughter’s name, and put it on my handle bar, right where I’d see it, and that was how I rode that day,” said McAleer. “That was my way of being like, ‘OK, I’m doing this for my daughter and others who live with this disease.’ Towards the end, I probably had about 70 names on my bag.”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/2026/10/unnamed--18--1.jpg)

At the start of the journey.

On Oct. 8, McAleer rode through Innsbrook in the West End, where he was cheered on by friends, family, and his community. McAleer successfully met his original goal of $250,000 on Oct. 10, before completing his journey. 

“I started getting texts from friends and family that we had actually reached the goal,” said McAleer. “It felt like a great sense of accomplishment and pride. That was really an awesome experience.”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/2026/10/unnamed--20--1.jpg)

The journey took a total of 72 days. McAleer said that he received a lot of positive support from people along his route. He noted that the “shining star” of this trip was the kindness of strangers.

“I really felt restored in my faith in mankind,” said McAleer. “Regardless of politics, people were really good to me. I met so many people from so many different walks of life who gave me meals, water on the side of the road, and people would just make sure I was okay.”

As of Oct. 15, McAleer has raised $252,910 and counting.

While McAleer’s ride is over, the fund will still be accepting donations through [RidePatRide](https://www.ridepatride.org/support) for the next few weeks.