Raising FTD awareness was a key goal of Spencer Cline’s as he set out from Oregon on a bike ride across America last summer. He got a well-deserved tailwind in that achievement from ABC’s World News Tonight last Friday; he was honored as “Person of the Week,” with anchor David Muir describing his challenges and eventual triumph in finishing a 3,600-mile ride on a beach in South Carolina.

Cline is an AFTD Ambassador who lost his father, Lawrence, in 2012 after a long journey with FTD. Because his father’s FTD was caused by a genetic variant, Spencer and his siblings each have a 50% chance of one day developing symptoms of FTD or ALS.

Cline smashed his goal of raising $50,000—as well as his wrist in one accident and his clavicle in another. The wrist required about a week’s healing time, but the latter mishap took him off the road for good, just 300 miles short of his goal.

He reached the beach via safer transportation, supported by his Instagram followers and other members of the FTD community who collectively rode more than 1,000 miles to make up the 300 miles he could not complete.

See the ABC News segment here.