This week, a group of 23 local teens will embark the 10thGear Jett Ride, a bike-riding trip across country. They will pedal 3,800 miles over nine weeks with the goal of raising money and awareness to help combat Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Flying from Providence, R.I., to Portland, Ore., on Thursday, to get ready for the transcontinental bicycle ride, the group will begin cycling home from Seaside, Ore., on June 23.

Planning to finish their trip arriving at Plimouth Rock on Aug. 25, the group will ride for about 67 days, riding an average of 70 miles per day, taking a day off every five days, said Arlen Hall, program director of the 10thGear Christian Youth Cyclists.

"What I'm most looking forward to is that we have something to really work for this year," said Andrew Rice, 14, of Sutton, who has been participating in cycling trips with 10thGear for four years. "Most years its fun, but this year we get to help somebody out, and it really feels good."

Along with the enjoyment of experiencing the United States through the cross-country trek, the teens are cycling to raise money for boys who cannot bike for themselves.

According to the Jett Ride's Web site, jettride.org, there are more than 20,000 boys in the United States whose muscles are failing due to Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Since there is no known treatment for this disease, the boys face decline and mortality, usually by the age of 20, according to the Web site.

The transcontinental 10thGear Jett Ride to benefit Duchenne muscular dystrophy research is the creation of the efforts of two groups the 10thGear Christian Youth Cyclists and the Jett Foundation.

The 10thGear Christian Youth Cyclists, a group affiliated with the Village Congregational Church in Whitinsville and the Boy Scouts of America, has sponsored youth cycling trips in the Blackstone Valley for more than 10 years.

"It just so happens that the Jett Foundation was looking for something to help them get national exposure," said Arlen Hall, program director of the 10thGear Christian Youth Cyclists, who decided to join with the Jett Foundation as the cyclists' community service project.

The Jett Foundation was founded by Christine McSherry of Pembroke, the mother of 11-year-old Jett, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, after whom the foundation was named.

The Jett Foundation was looking for a national voice to get the word out about their cause after having raised nearly $1 million in the past year for Project Catalyst, an effort to research and develop effective drug therapies to treat and even cure Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

"It's very heartwarming to have this group join forces with us," said McSherry. "It's a fascinating partnership working out in a very good way."

"Now they have a bigger purpose than themselves," Hall said of the young cyclists. "It's a match made in heaven, as far as I'm concerned," he said.

Camping, staying in churches and an occasional hotel as they ride cross-country, the group will see what each individual community they stop in is willing to do to help their cause, said Hall.

"People are very hospitable," said Hall. "When you're out there cycling, you see so many different people willing to help you it contrasts with the negative views we always see in the news."

"The neatest thing is the welcomes they receive in the towns," said Chris Rice, mother of Andrew, who is riding on the trip. "You can't even believe the outpouring of welcome they receive."

With cyclists participating from Upton, Uxbridge, Northbridge, Sutton and Pembroke, 18 of the teens were originally associated with the 10thGear Youth Cyclists, and five became involved through the Jett Foundation.

Accompanying them part of the way will be Jordan McSherry, 14, the sister of 11-year-old Jett, for whom the foundation is named and Jordan and Jett's mother, Christine, president of the Jett Foundation, who will join them for the last leg of the journey.

With fundraising efforts ranging from kids enlisting people to make donations per mile, to fundraising dinners in various cities across country, to a kite-flying competition in Minneapolis, to distributing donation envelopes throughout their travels, each cyclist decides their own fund-raising goal, said Hall.

One of their goals throughout the trip is to create a video of the kids' experiences as they ride across the country, so that Jett and others could share their experiences riding across country from their homes, said Hall.

"Symbolically, we are riding with them," Hall said of Jett and other boys with muscular dystrophy.

Fundraising efforts will be tracked on the Web site jettride.org, where people can compare the fundraising efforts of the cyclists on the trip with the funds raised through the donations of those following their efforts, and follow the trip through videos posted on the Web.

"I had never heard of muscular dystrophy, but when I heard how severe it is, I decided to do whatever I can to help out," said Andrew Rice.

According to the Web site, Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most common and lethal childhood genetic disorder in the world affecting one in every 3,500 male births.

The Jett Foundation is working to raise an additional $1 million before year's end to help accelerate the pace of this research and get more viable treatment options to all boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and potentially others that are afflicted with neuromuscular disorders.