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Three Arlington men cycling across America for mental health awareness

BOSTON — Three best friends are taking the road less traveled and are soaking in every moment of it.

“Being from Boston it’s like we don’t see these crazy mountains and cactus and desert and some of these animals we’ve seen and stuff like that, so it’s all pretty new to us,” said Hunter Sleeper.

Sleeper and his buddies, Mike English and Luke Tremblay, are on the trip of a trip of a lifetime as they bike across America. They left Jacksonville, Florida on Oct. 17th and plan to finish 2,500 miles later in San Diego sometime before Christmas.

“We set a minimum of 50 miles a day and we’ve stuck to that almost every day,” English said.

Every day there is purpose to their cross-country trek, which they call the ‘Ride For Recovery.’

The 25-year-olds are raising money for suicide prevention and mental health. Both hit close to home for Tremblay. He said he’s had dark moments over the years and even contemplated ending his life, so this ride, for him, has been cathartic.

“This is the time to share my story on mental health and my thoughts of suicide, at points, I just hope it helps one or two people,” said Tremblay while taking a break in Scottsdale, Arizona.

They’ve met a lot of people throughout this journey, all complete strangers. Some have even taken them in as they pedal their message of hope and they’re doing it while seeing parts of the country like few ever will.

They’ve camped under the stars and even rode out Hurricane Zeta while hunkered down in a hotel in Gulfport, Mississippi.

“We were literally like right in the eye of the storm on the Gulf of Mexico, which is a pretty crazy experience,” English said.

The men are raising money for NAMI Massachusetts and the Jed Foundation. The organizations focus on mental health issues and suicide prevention.

Click here to donate or follow their journey.