MONROE, Ohio -- A group of local cyclists are going the extra mile to raise money for the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
The 1,800-mile journey starts on Sunday in honor of Cory Powell. He was 25 when he lost his second battle with cancer.
For Linda Bauer, every mile will hold a special meaning.
"He was a very adventurous young man," she said.
Powell was best friends with Bauer's daughter. The two lived together in California and in Northern Kentucky.
When Powell was 21, he set out on another adventure.
"He would lay out this map on the bar downstairs, and he was tracing this route, he was going to ride his bike from his mom's house to his dad's house," Bauer said.
The ride from Monroe to Phoenix, Arizona was 1,800 miles.
"We all thought he was crazy," Bauer said.
It took Powell seven weeks, but he made the whole ride on a bike that he bought at a garage sale.
"I think he grew from a boy to a man during that time," Bauer said.
Soon after, Powell was diagnosed with cancer. He beat cancer once, but died from leukemia in 2013.
Before Powell died, he reached out to his bone marrow donor. Bauer said Powell was amazed someone would do that for him.
"He said, somehow, this will be paid forward," she said.
Powell's mom, Sheyna, along with Bauer and other cyclists will help him accomplish that goal. They're repeating the same route that Powell took years ago to raise money for the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
"We have a journal that he kept, and we will be reading his journal along the way and listening to his story as we see what he saw," Bauer said.
Only Bauer and Powell's mom will make the full 1,800-mile journey. They asked that anyone who wants to donate visit their Facebook page.
"I am so happy Cory, that you got to live the life you wanted to live, in the short period of time," Bauer said.
