Cross-country cyclist stops in Lake City while raising awareness for ALS

After spending 40 days riding across the country by bicycle, John Cleary rolled into Lake City with more than 2,000 miles behind him and another 1,000 still ahead.

The 65-year-old retired Riverside County deputy sheriff from Palm Desert, California, is riding from La Push, Washington, to Dewey Beach, Delaware, as part of Coast 2 Coast 4 ALS, a fundraising effort supporting ALS research and patient care.

But the ride did not begin with a fundraiser. It began decades ago with a conversation between two friends.

“When I was in my twenties, I talked about possibly doing a ride cross country one day with my best friend Todd,” Cleary said.

Cleary and Todd Olds have been friends since seventh grade. For years, the cross-country ride remained an idea they talked about but never completed.

Then Todd’s wife, Laura Olds, was diagnosed with ALS in 2023.

Laura’s diagnosis and the fundraising effort that followed gave Cleary a reason to finally pursue a goal he had talked about for decades while helping raise money and awareness for a disease that has changed the lives of people close to him.

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurological disease that affects nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement.

“If I think about any suffering that I am doing, people with ALS are suffering way more than that,” Cleary said. “So that gives me motivation.”

As of Tuesday evening, Cleary had raised $10,565, more than doubling his original fundraising goal of $5,000.

Funds raised through the effort support ALS research at Johns Hopkins and patient care programs through the Team Gleason Foundation.

Although Cleary is riding across the country alone, he has not made the entire journey by himself. Todd flew west earlier in the trip and joined him for approximately 150 miles before returning home to continue caring for Laura.

Cleary said watching his longtime friend care for Laura has reinforced the purpose behind the ride. While the miles, weather, and fundraising goals often draw attention, he said the journey is ultimately about supporting families living with ALS and helping others understand the realities of the disease.

Unlike many long-distance cyclists, Cleary is completing the journey unsupported. He carries his gear on his bicycle, arranges his own lodging, and adjusts his plans as conditions change.

“I’ve always been pretty determined,” Cleary said. “That’s why I’m doing this by myself.”

Cleary said staying active has always been important to him.

“When you stop moving your body, your body stops,” he said.

The trip has tested that determination.

Since leaving Washington on May 1, Cleary has ridden through a blizzard, battled days near 100 degrees, and crossed long stretches of Wyoming and Montana, where he often camped in a tent before later mailing some of his gear home to lighten the load.

He originally planned to follow portions of the Great American Rail Trail but eventually switched to more direct roads after encountering difficult gravel sections.

Cleary said he tries to ride about 60 miles per day but will go farther when his body and the weather allow.

At one point, he stopped booking hotel rooms in advance after paying for a room he never used because the weather was good and he wanted to keep riding.

Along the route, Cleary has documented his travels through social media, posting daily updates showing where he rode, the miles completed and the people he met along the way.

He admits there have been a few small regrets.

One of them, he said with a laugh, is not collecting a sticker from each state he passed through.

“It would’ve been a cool keepsake,” he said.

The journey brought Cleary through Calhoun County this week.

On Monday, June 8, he rode from Sioux City to Holstein. On Tuesday, June 9, he rode from Holstein to Lake City with a stop in Lytton, where he visited with farmers at Sparky’s before continuing east. Later, he ate at the Lake City Drive In and enjoyed what he described as his second ice cream of the day.

While waiting to check into his hotel, Cleary spent time talking with local residents and visitors.

Those conversations have become one of his favorite parts of the ride.

During his stop in Lake City, Cleary said people donated about $100 after hearing about the journey and several others told him they planned to donate after hearing about the ride. One man handed him a $20 bill and told him to buy himself some ice cream. Another person gave him a small rubber Jesus, the second one he had received during the ride.

“The people have been my favorite thing,” Cleary said. “Just the experiences I’ve had in meeting people and truly seeing the kindness of people as you go across the country is probably the most special thing.”

After leaving Lake City, Cleary planned to stop in Lohrville and Paton before likely ending the day in Jefferson, though he said he would continue farther if the weather allowed.

He said he was looking forward to having the wind at his back.

Cleary expects to fly home to California after completing the ride in Delaware.

He said he hopes the ride helps bring greater awareness to ALS and the challenges faced by families living with the disease.

“I just hope there is more awareness across the country about ALS and all the people that are suffering from it,” he said. “It hasn't gotten a lot of attention, but when you talk to people, it seems like everybody knows someone who has been affected. If I can ride cross country and raise awareness for ALS, that would be a successful ride.”

Information about Cleary’s fundraising effort, including donation opportunities and updates on his cross-country journey, is available at coast2coast4als.org. Donations supporting Cleary’s ride can be made directly at every.org/coast2coast4als/f/john-cleary-riverside. Readers can also follow his daily updates on Facebook and Instagram @wasthefuzz.

Brittanie Dusenberry contributed to this reporting.