Jesse Richter was a three-sport athlete at Bethel Park High School. Football and soccer in the fall, baseball in the spring.

More recently, as a student at Johns Hopkins University, he ran a marathon.

An impressive sports background, but hardly the basis for taking a 4,000-mile bike trip across the country.

"I think I'm probably a little naive," said Mr. Richter, a college senior. "Even though I ran a marathon and I mountain bike, I realize it's a whole different training thing."

Twenty-five students will ride from Baltimore to San Francisco with a goal of raising more than $100,000 for cancer research through Hopkins4K for Cancer.

"It's crazy, to me, to think that 25 college students can raise that kind of money," said Mr. Richter, who said each rider raises $4,000 then solicits private and corporate sponsorship. Money pledged to the group has already reached the $50,000 level.

The ride, which began in 2002, starts off May 25 and includes stops along the way to perform various charitable works. The American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge, which has its flagship facility in Baltimore, provides lodging at little cost for patients undergoing cancer treatments and their families.

"We volunteer and stop at different Hope Lodges along the way, including one in Cleveland," Mr. Richter said.

The tour will skirt the Pittsburgh area, stopping briefly in Butler and Greensburg.

As one of the team leaders, Mr. Richter will have the job of planning various service projects and daily activities.

"This is really my major introduction to volunteering and service," said Mr. Richter, who said he has done some service work with his fraternity and as president of his school's chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

There will be two vans to accompany the riders, who get breaks from the road in shifts. Anyone who is really fatigued, or injured, will have the vans as a backup ride.

The riders expect to average between 80 and 120 miles per day.

Mr. Richter said he's been finding time to train here and there, but the real work begins in earnest soon.

"The first day, I have to ride a hundred miles, so it's a little bit of shell shock. They all say the first week is pretty rough."

The tour (www.hopkins 4k.org) is scheduled to reach the Rocky Mountains by the Fourth of July, where there might be snow.

The course changes from year to year. Although Yosemite National Park is no longer on the ride, he said, this year's riders are looking forward to arriving in Lake Tahoe.

"I have wanted to do [this] since my freshman year, but between working and internships and taking classes, I never had the opportunity," Mr. Richter said.

"This seemed to me to be my last chance to do it."