Last year, 23-year-old Bethany Gray took up cycling as a way to relieve stress.
"I was kind of in a rough place about a year ago," Gray said. "Just meeting a lot of walls in my personal and professional life."
She quickly fell in love with the sport and began racing in different competitions.
Now she's gearing up for a ride that will help others.
"2019 is a pretty crazy year," Gray said. "I'm going to be doing Ironman Texas in April and I'm taking on a project called the 4K for Cancer."
During the summer, she'll ride from coast to coast. The 70-day trip will raise money and awareness for the Ulman Foundation, an organization that supports young adults in their fight against cancer.
"We're going to ride from Baltimore to San Francisco, about 4,000 miles, 4,500 with all the excursions and everything taken into account," Gray said. "We're going to camp and stay at volunteers homes and things like that along the way. Then we're going to stop along the route to volunteer in hospitals and give out scholarships, which is really exciting!"
Gray will ride thousands of miles over the next few months as she trains for the journey.
The ride will take her through the Appalachian Mountains, Rocky Mountain National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Lake Tahoe and the Iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
She's hoping to raise $4,500, a dollar for each mile of the trip.
"It's important to give back and if I can do that by doing something that I love, why on Earth would I not sign up and apply?" Gray said.
No part of this will be easy, but Gray said the view from the finish line will make it all worth it.
"I'm really looking forward to the way this ride will impact other people's lives and mine and I really love that I don't know what that looks like yet," Gray said.
Gray will begin her ride with other college-aged students in early June.
She plans on starting graduate school once she returns in August.
To support Gray's ride, you can make a donation here.
To learn more about the Ulman 4K for Cancer, click here.
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