Three friends in Omaha, Nebraska, are setting off on an epic 850-mile bicycle trip from Nebraska to Tennessee to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Andy Tweedy came up with the wild idea to cycle from Omaha to Memphis and recruited his buddies Clay Christian and Paul McCoy to join him. So now, the three friends will pedal through Iowa and Missouri, catch a ferry across the Mississippi River, and carry hand-written letters from local school kids directly to young patients in Memphis.

They've already raised $3000 for St. Jude and have a goal of raising $25,000 this year —with this ride generating the most buzz for attention and donations to the cause.