A mountain blizzard in Washington State, sizzling 113-degree heat in Death Valley, powerful prairie winds — these were just some of the extremes that Elliott Segal encountered on his 45-day, cross-country motorcycle ride. For Segal, the almost 10,000-mile trip and fundraiser for Meir Panim and IDF soldiers was a meaningful way to honor the memory of his beloved wife, Linda.

The idea to ride across the United States on his bike first occurred to Segal shortly after Linda’s passing, in May 2023. “I was destroyed and wanted to get away for as long as I could.” But after a nine-day motorcycle trip from his home in Atlanta, Georgia, to his sister in San Francisco, he realized that his grief was still too raw and that he needed time to process.

The plan resurfaced this past February. After making a generous donation to Meir Panim on behalf of IDF soldiers, it occurred to him that he could do better than that. So, he contacted the organization and outlined his initiative to circumnavigate the U.S. and encourage donors to sponsor him by the mile. Meir Panim set up a website, and Segal began to solicit donations, raising a tidy sum even before the ride began.

“I knew it was going to be tough for me emotionally because Linda and I had ridden in a lot of the places I would be passing through. But I felt that it had meaning and worth and value — to honor my wife and raise money for the IDF,” Segal said.

A Love for Israel

In their 44 years together, Elliott and Linda raised two beautiful daughters and had three grandchildren. They shared a passion for helping others — Elliott through his chiropractic practice and Linda as a devoted midwife who brought thousands of babies into the world. They fulfilled their love of the great outdoors through biking and camping all over the country.

After her family, Linda’s greatest love was Israel, and she demonstrated that love repeatedly through her generous giving to her favorite charity in Israel, Meir Panim. “Her inspiration and example made the ride a reality,” Segal said.

He faced a few setbacks before starting. First, two of his buddies, with whom he’d originally planned to make the ride, dropped out due to medical and logistical reasons. As a retired chiropractor, Segal understood the importance of a motorcycle with good suspension to avoid aches and stiffness. Just four days before leaving, he traded in his old bike and bought a brand-new Harley Davidson, which would become his trusted companion, taking him through tree-canopied mountain passes, dusty side roads and interstate highways with 18-wheelers whizzing past him.

Segal started Linda’s Ride on May 20, the day after his wife’s unveiling following her first yahrzeit. He took a journal with him, logging his location, thoughts and experiences, and he also kept a gratitude journal. “I took some pictures here and there, but not too much. When you’re on a motorcycle, you can’t just snap pictures like a Japanese tourist,” he said with a grin.

Segal trained for almost three months prior to the ride, working out, swimming and lifting weights. During the ride, he kept himself in shape with a daily stretching-calisthenics regimen. His plan was to get off the bike every so often to take a 10-minute walk to regain circulation, and on most days, he was able to do that whenever he stopped for gas or to buy something to eat.

But there were times when he needed to make progress and had to keep riding for several hours at a stretch. Driving home eastward through the southern states of Arizona, New Mexico and across Texas and Oklahoma, it was so hot that he had to get up at 3 a.m. He’d start when it was still relatively cool and ride until 10 a.m. when, after several hours of one-handed riding (his other hand was shielding his eyes from the sun), he would check into a hotel to catch up on his sleep.

“When I was really tired and getting sick of the ride, I’d remember what I was doing it all for Meir Panim, Israel’s soldiers and honoring my wife,” he said.

Meir Panim is a leading Israeli charity organization dedicated to alleviating poverty and hunger throughout the country. Established in 2000, Meir Panim operates a network of free restaurants, food distribution centers and social welfare programs that provide essential support to thousands of Israelis in need. With the outbreak of war last October, the organization has expanded its core mission to include Israel’s soldiers and displaced families from the north and south, providing them with meals, food packages and other necessary items.

Stops on the Way

With a passion for American history as well as being a U.S. Army veteran, Segal made a stop at the Virginia Military Academy in Lexington. Moving north, he came to Gettysburg, where he walked the infamous battlefield of Pickett’s Charge. His next stop was West Point in New York, where he met an Israeli couple, both IDF soldiers.

Dressed as he was in his motorcycle boots and jacket, Segal described himself as “not having the appearance of your typical American Jew.”

He was delighted to surprise the Israelis with the fact of his Jewish identity, along with his fundraiser for the IDF.

Since Segal observes Shabbat, he had planned to stop every Friday in a different community, where he hoped to receive permission to address the congregation about his ride and mission. He spent his first Shabbat of the ride in Fairfax, Virginia. He was put up by the local Chabad rabbi and invited to speak at the Shabbat morning kiddush, where he was well-received.

The following Friday, in Maine, he made his rounds to all the shuls in the vicinity but was disappointed to find that they were all on vacation. “That was essentially the situation I encountered across the country,” Segal said, with the exception of the Chabad rabbi in Olympia, Washington. “The rabbi apologized, saying that the congregation was so small, they wouldn’t be holding a service, but he invited me over anyway, saying he’d love to meet me.”