---
title: Alum Treks Cross-Country on Two Wheels and Faith
date: 2021-09-03T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/alum-treks-cross-country-on-two-wheels-and-faith"
section: Articles
---
# Alum Treks Cross-Country on Two Wheels and Faith

*September 3, 2021* — by [Shannon Clark M.Jour. ’22](/author/shannon-clark-m-jour-22)


> Cyclist Raises Awareness and Money for ALS Research Funds to Honor Mentor

*IMG 9111 1920x1080 — Wil Armstrong M.Fin. '21 is set to complete his bike ride from Delaware to Washington on Labor Day. His stops included Logan Pass in Montana and a sunflower field in North Dakota (below).*

Wil Armstrong’s nightly routine likely looks a bit different than the average new alum’s. He often parks his bike in front of a stranger’s house, knocks on the door, self-designed business card in hand, and asks to string up his hammock in their yard for the night.

Armstrong, who graduated in May with a Master’s in Finance from the University of Maryland, isn’t down on his luck or lost—he has traveled nearly 3,700 miles across the United States by bike since June when he set out from Rehoboth Beach, Del., to raise awareness and money for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) research. With the trip scheduled to end in Washington state on Labor Day, he’s been getting along as the spirit moves him, or those he encounters.

An avid cyclist his entire life, he biked the C&O Canal Trail—186 miles—in one day at age 17. He’s since racked up a streak of ultraendurance feats with his fellow Terp Colin McLaughlin ’20, including running a 4x4x48 ultramarathon (four miles every four hours for 48 hours) and running a marathon backward just last year.

While he prepared himself physically and financially for this latest journey, he chose to leave some of the details open-ended, relying on his faith and the kindness of strangers


*Bike with sunflowers*



**Sidebar note:**

Read about Wil Armstrong’s journey on his website, [Against the Wind.](https://sites.google.com/terpmail.umd.edu/againstthewind)





**Topics:** [People](https://today.umd.edu/tags/people)


**Tags:** [Alumni](https://today.umd.edu/topic/alumni)


**Units:** [Robert H. Smith School of Business](https://today.umd.edu/topic/robert-h-smith-school-business)