After months (and months) of planning for Race Across America 2017, our Hope For Gabe/Team Toone RV departed Hoover, Alabama heading westward Wednesday morning!

Jeffrey and I stopped at the Alabama Mississippi line for a quick selfie, meeting two truly amazing gentlemen also snapping memories at the state line.  They were from Florida, heading to Alaska by motorcycle for another adventure.  Flat Stanley was along for the ride from their local school.  Turns out, one of our new friends [see above, right] is also a bicycle enthusiast.  He knew instantly we were RAAM bound, sharing that he’d been invited multiple times to crew since he was friends with one of the RAAM owners.  We chatted about riding a bicycle over 3,000 miles, as if completely oblivious to the fact we were standing in the grass off Interstate 22.

There is something different about cyclists; we never meet a stranger, just another friend that shares the special perspective of seeing the world at a slower pace.  As Jeffrey and I walked back to the RV, we both marveled at the odds of running into fellow RAAM fans at such a random place.  We agreed coincidences aren’t really, then we trekked on feeling even more excited about our Race Across America journey.

Click here to find out more about the Hope for Gabe Foundation at www.h4g.us

Written by Amy White