Race Across America
In June 2022, Rhonda founded Aligned Alliance, lead, and rode on an 8-person team for Race Across America (RAAM). RAAM is a nonstop, 3070 mile bicycle race from Oceanside, California, to Annapolis, Maryland. Open to professional and amateur athletes alike, Race Across America is one of the most respected and longest running ultra-endurance events in the world.
RAAM is seen as a pinnacle of athletic achievement not only in cycling circles but in the sporting community at large. Cyclists begin the nonstop, 3070 mile race in Oceanside, California and end in Annapolis, Maryland. They ride under the banner of support of ending of our nation’s veteran and first responder suicide epidemic. Unlike the three great European Grand Tours, RAAM is not a stage race, but a continual stage with the clock running until the finish line. It is the world’s longest time trial.
Rhonda’s athletic journey of supporting veterans through sport began at the 2021 Navy SEAL Swim in the Hudson River with the GI Go Fund. Wanting to make an even greater impact she decided to show her dedicated support by both organizing and riding on an 8 person team in RAAM 2022.
As one of 8 riders on the team, Rhonda rode through states across the country — California, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
Each rider was on the road for 15 minute intervals during 12 hour shifts, every day for 8 days. Rhonda was on the 3 pm to 3 am crew, riding through the afternoon until the early morning hours when the next shift exchange occurred.
Team A² partnered with Guardian Revival, a New York State 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization chartered to revive and preserve the mental health and wellbeing of veterans and first responders. Guardian Revival’s programs are offered at no cost to participants and include Boots & Paws (providing service & companion dogs), Another Summit (outdoor adventures & hikes), and Encore (music).
With stigmas and other barriers to getting help, mental illness is disproportionately high among veterans, first responders, and federal agents in comparison to the general population:
•Since 2018, military veteran suicides have increased to nearly 2x the rate of nonveterans.
•Veterans ages 18 - 34 are 3x more likely to die by suicide than nonveteran counterparts.
•An average of 18 military veterans die by suicide every day. (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2020)
•More first responders die by suicide than in the line of duty every year. (CDC, 2021)
