Success Story

Rey's Charity Ride Across America.

Rey Roy, 46, managing director of financial planning at Edelman Financial has achieved a long-held personal goal: bicycling the entire width of the United States, coast to coast.

Roy, an avid cyclist for 13 years, departed San Francisco on Tuesday, June 17. Thirty-nine days and 3,672 miles later, Roy arrived in Virginia Beach on Friday, July 25.

While the concept of the trip began as a personal quest, it became a major charity fundraiser. Roy raised over $100,000 for two charities: the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

"I'm delighted that I was able to stay on schedule and complete the ride in 39 days, but I'm even more thrilled about the money we raised for charities which benefit both our wounded veterans and our young people in communities across the country," said Roy.

Roy made his remarkable trip during a four-week paid sabbatical leave from Edelman Financial, the company founded by financial author and radio host Ric Edelman. "The sabbatical lets our employees fulfill a dream that normally would not be possible or, at best, delayed until retirement," said Edelman.

The trip took Roy over the Sierra Nevada, the Great Basin in Nevada, and the Rocky Mountains. His biggest challenge was Carson Pass, altitude 8,650 feet, near Lake Tahoe. The most enjoyable moment of the trip for Roy was his conquest of the 11,312-foot Monarch Pass in the beautiful scenery near Telluride, Colorado.