How Spencer Cline raised nearly $58,000 for FTD by biking 3,500 miles
On Father’s Day this year, Spencer Cline hopped on his Specialized Diverge Bike, and departed Astoria, Oregon.
He brought with him assorted equipment — a tent, flint and steel, a portable pump — future brother-in-law Paul Petras, and a pretty big goal.
Cline, 26, envisioned that his cross-country bike ride would generate between $20,000 and $25,000 for the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration.
Two-and-a-half months, and a broken wrist and collarbone later, Cline completed his adventure.
He raised $57,848 for the organization that supports people who have Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) — people like his dad, who passed away from the disease when Cline was 13 years old.
According to the National Institute on Aging, “Frontotemporal disorders (FTD), sometimes called frontotemporal dementia, are the result of damage to neurons in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain… Roughly 60% of people with FTD are 45 to 64 years old.”
Cline’s father had been deeply caring and attentive — the type of man who took his young son to a Cincinnati Bengals game and, when Cline became sick that night, laid on the bathroom floor, providing care.
Cline’s early memories with his dad include sporting events, a basketball camp. His dad was the one who taught him how to ride his bike.
His dad’s symptoms began manifesting when he was in his early 40s.
“And most of my childhood was watching my father progress with the disease,” Cline wrote on his fundraising page. “I watched it become increasingly difficult for him to show empathy, act appropriately in social settings, and care for himself.”
FTD can cause emotional and communication challenges, and people who have it may struggle with walking and working, and they may act atypically, the National Institute on Aging states.
“It strikes in the prime of life, gradually eroding an individual’s personality: their ability to speak, make sound decisions, control their movements, behave within social norms and relate to those they love,” Cline’s fundraiser page states.
For his dad, this looked like laughing when Cline fell from a kitchen table chair, or continuing to play Solitaire when Cline hurt his chin. It meant he lost interest in working, but remembered the family’s credit card numbers.
“Dementia is not just memory loss and it does not just impact older people,” Cline said.
The process of getting the right diagnosis took seven years.
Cline’s father had been misdiagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, depression, a midlife crisis.
Growing up, Cline didn’t want to invite friends for sleepovers because he didn’t know how his father might react. He stopped bringing his dad to basketball games and school functions, telling people that his father was working, even though he hadn’t done so in years.
“I became more vocal about it and really wanted to share my story in the last five to seven years,” Cline said.
This desire grew as he got older and began grappling with the deep impact that FTD has had on his dad and his family.
Cline’s father had the C9orf72 gene, known as a precursor to FTD or ALS.
“There is a 50% chance that me and [my] siblings will develop symptoms of one of these diseases,” Cline wrote. “It is my goal to raise as much awareness and funding as I can to help find a cure in my lifetime.”
He doesn’t want his family to experience FTD again, and he is doing everything possible to make sure they won’t. Cline is now a Georgia ambassador for AFTD, meaning he connects callers to resources, gives presentations, and seeks funding from his state representatives.
“I think a lot about my family,” he said. “I’m doing it for me and for my siblings and other people impacted by genetic illnesses.”
His bicycle ride was an expression of his passion, and a way to accelerate fundraising and awareness.
“What better way to stay motivated when ascending 9,000+ feet in the Rocky Mountains!” he wrote on his page. “It will be one of the most challenging, emotional, and rewarding summers of my life, but it will be worth it in the end!”
His destination? Charleston, South Carolina.
Cline, who had never identified himself as a “big cyclist,” had completed a 40-mile bike ride prior to the trip, but said his training happened along the way.
During his first two weeks, Cline got used to the elevation and logged lower-mileage days. West coast rides began around 9:00 a.m. local time, and they’d stop around 5:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m.
He logged 400 miles and a combined 19,000 miles in elevation those first seven days.
“We have met some great people along the way who have let us camp on their property, or host us for a night,” Cline wrote in an update. “Let us fill up our water and even help fix and pay for a flat tire and extra tubes.”
In week two, he broke his wrist.
He’d been biking “in the middle of nowhere,” Idaho, when a dog ran into his path, spurring a fall.
“Don’t worry, the dog is okay, and was unharmed,” Cline said in that week’s update.
A 50-mile bike trip and hitched ride later, Cline got an X-ray.
He had surgery and took a week to recover, eager to continue despite the obstacle.
“In my first week back, I made it from Denver, Colorado to Kansas City, Missouri,” he wrote in his update. “...It’s been interesting adjusting to riding a bike with 1.5 wrists since I still can’t put full pressure on my right wrist. But after just over a week I think I have found a new normal with it.”
Once they reached Illinois, Petras and Cline parted ways so Petras could return to teaching, and Cline continued alone.
“It was a little lonely,” he said. “It was kind of peaceful in a way, too, just being able to reflect on our journey together and everything we’d done.”
Just three days before finishing the trip, the unthinkable happened. A truck ran him off the road.
Cline broke his collarbone.
He didn’t let it stop him.
“I need your help to cross the finish line,” he wrote on social media. “Day 47 of raising money and awareness for Frontotemporal Degeneration has brought me so close to the end, but just like with an FTD diagnosis, I can’t do it alone. With 300 miles left to Charleston, I’m calling on you to ride with me – for those who can’t.”
He added, “Just like those battling FTD rely on their community, I’m leaning on mine. Whether you have a bike, a stationary bike, a tricycle, or even a unicycle – every mile counts.”
His followers stepped up, using the hashtag #PedalforSpencer. Nearly 100 people biked on Cline’s behalf, so he could finish the adventure he started.
“This journey has taken over 2 months, 3,500 miles, touched 2 oceans, 17 flats, 2 broken bones, 1 surgery, countless help from strangers, endless support, 1,500 miles bikes from the community and so much more!” he wrote on social media. “Thank you to everyone who followed along and [for] sending your support!”
Cline has since returned home to Atlanta, and is back in the staffing and recruiting job he’d had prior to his trip. One thing that is different, however, is his perspective.
“Life isn’t guaranteed and I really value time with loved ones, and appreciate the little things in life,” he says.
He deeply appreciates the time he spends playing cornhole with his brother, or holding his girlfriend’s hand.
“I have this gift of knowing that life isn’t guaranteed and it can be taken away so quickly and you can still be in your physical body and be stripped of who you are, and it makes me appreciate my health while I have it, and appreciate the little moments.”