Texas Students Stop In St. Cloud As They Bike Their Way To Alaska [AUDIO]

ST. CLOUD - Braving rain, strong winds, and cool temperatures a group of college students from Texas is making their way through Minnesota on bicycles.

The non-profit organization "Texas 4000" has been raising money for cancer research for 11 years now.

They rode from Minneapolis to St. Cloud today (Tuesday) and are spending the night at St. Cloud State University.

Rider Kevin Helgren says there's a lot of preparation that went into getting ready for the 70-day, 4,600 mile ride to Anchorage, Alaska. They're all required to log at least 1,500 miles before they leave.

They also have to raise at least $4,500. The team has raised raised over $580,000 so far this summer. All of them are required to be currently enrolled at the University of Texas.

Helgren says they all have a personal reason for signing-in up for the grueling ride. He says he's doing it for his grandfather, who lost his battle with cancer.

They leave from St. Cloud State University tomorrow (Wednesday) morning and will stop in Aitkin, they stop in Big Fork on Thursday, and in International Falls on Friday, before crossing the border into Canada.

A total of 79 bike riders are taking three routes across the country: The Ozarks route is the one here in St. Cloud, the Sierra route is traveling up the west coast, and the other one is the Rockies route.

The group left Austin on May 31st, they're scheduled to arrive in Anchorage, Alaska on August 8th.