Hoover cyclist finishes Race Across America

Heat exhaustion and dust storms were only minor bumps in the road for one local resident during his journey to bike across the country.

On June 16, Hoover cyclist Brian Toone set out on a journey to race 3,000 miles from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland in the Race Across America. He finished the race on June 27 with an official time of 10 days, 14 hours and 20 minutes. He finished in seventh place (second American) in the men's solo category with an average speed of 11.81 miles per hour. 

“The race went well despite a lot of unanticipated problems,” Toone said.  “I fell hard in a construction zone on the first night hurting my left hip and picking up a lot of road rash on my face and shoulder.”

Overall, Toone rode an average of 300 miles per day, sleeping around only three hours per night. A crew of 10 people, including his wife, Kristine, supported him throughout the race with a mini van and an RV carrying supplies.

While Toone started off strong as he rode east through California, his media representative Louis Fagelson said once he hit the deserts of Arizona, Toone experienced serious heat exhaustion. In Arizona, he bounced back, hitting almost 50 miles per hour on some of the descents.

"Not only did his riding change, but his attitude was much better and he did a great job of finding his groove," said Fagelson. "He made his way through Colorado with a steady pace and high morale. He kept pushing, even with minimal sleep, and made his way to Kansas."

In Kansas, Toone kept a steady pace despite the 20 mile-per-hour headwinds and dust storms. The next three states were full of reroutes, traffic and narrow shoulders.

 “I never really recovered from these setbacks in terms of reaching my original time goal of eight days,” Toone said. “But I was happy with how things turned out ultimately finishing strong to pass a lot of people in the last few states.”

Toone and his wife, Kristine, raised funds and awareness during the race for an organization they have both served with in Nicaragua, called Nuevas Esperanzas. This organization has been doing long-term community development - building roads, micro-enterprises, water projects and more - in Nicaragua since 2003.

Toone grew up south of Birmingham and began riding mountain bikes at Oak Mountain at young age. He entered his first race in 1993 in Sylacauga and from then on, participated in multiple bike races and road races across the country.

Today, he enjoys exploring the southeast through long endurance bike rides, travelling to places such as Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee regularly. Toone is currently a computer science professor at Samford University, a position he considers his dream job.

For more on Toone, visit toonecycling.com.

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