NORTH MYRTLE BEACH - Imagine traveling from Florida to Maine. As tiring as that might seem to travel by car, now imagine how tired you'd be if you traveled on a bicycle. How long do you think it would take you?
For one group, it's taking a little less than two months.
"It's definitely tough," says biker Mark Jacobs.
It's tough because they're biking more than 2,000 miles underneath the summer heat. They started their journey on May 27 from Daytona, Florida and plan to finish on July 21 in Portland, Maine.
While the amount of mileage can seem overwhelming, the reason they've hit the road says much more.
"Imani and Consolatta are two women who were rape victims," says Jacobs. "We're letting people know their stories, and just telling their stories is heartbreaking."
"What we go through is nothing compared to what they go through," says biker Marianne Millen. "It really puts things in perspective."
Along with Jacobs and Millen, nine others took the challenge to raise money and awareness for the She's My Sister Initiative, a program that help rape victims in the Congo.
Lewie Briggs, Bryan Dougan, Jon Felker, Shannon Cutlip, Jenna Liew, Gordon Brown, Emily Werkheiser, Jess Ahlum and Andy Clark often bike 100 miles a day with Jacobs and Millen not for themselves but for women like Imani and Consolatta.
A recent study by the American Journal for Public Health showed every hour 48 women in the Congo are raped.
"When you have tough days or you're going a hundred miles and it's hot and your thirsty just think about what these women are going through and just know that you are suffering on their behalf," says Millen. "A few times during the ride people have said on their behalf and it's so true we're riding our bikes this is a blessing."
"The key to keeping going is just realizing it's not about us and about our pains, but it's for these other women's pains," says Jacobs.
The group takes only Sundays off and even travel through the rain.
But when they hit the road again, they'll bring the unspeakable truth to everyone along their journey.
"Being thirsty and hot and a little sun burn who cares compared to what they're going through," says Millen.
"We've been through some hard times but nothing comparably to what these women have been through or any rape victims for that matter," says Jacobs. "So I really can't understand it all."
