If a handful of local high schoolers are particularly fidgety these last couple weeks of school, gazing wistfully westward, uncomfortable in their seats as they pine for the Pacific coast, it's easy to understand why.

Ten teens, all members of Boys Scouts Troop 845 and many as young as 15, are soon to embark on a 10-week mission across the United States by bicycle. These youths are going to great lengths -- 3,700 miles -- to raise awareness for cancer research at UNC Lineberger. They'll also raise the bar for everyone assigned an English essay next September on "What I did for Summer Vacation."

The team of two leaders, three experienced guides and 10 students from Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill and Carrboro High Schools will document their trek through photos and blogs throughout the summer at www.cycle20ten.com/.

The team will roll out June 13 from Aberdeen, Md., with the goal of riding their bikes nearly 4,000 miles west to Anacortes, Wash.

Led by Brian Burnham and David Hare, the riders include Zach Jansen, Miles Rosen, Matson Conrad, Mike Ruston, Aidan Kelley, Ty Fenton, Rourke Bauers, Jonah Keyserling, Mark Flournoy, and Brian Stanton, ably assisted by guides Alex Johnson, Sam Ward, and Charles "Lepo" LePrevost.

"We are so deeply grateful to these young men who are sacrificing their summer to raise awareness of and funds for cancer research at UNC Lineberger," Dianne Shaw, Deputy Communications Director for the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. "They are an awesome group."

A similar trip was undertaken in 2007, she noted.

"David Hare's mother had been treated at UNC for breast cancer," she explained. "That was the emotional focus last trip (in 2007). That's how we got connected, and that raised around $18,600."

Full Cirque

The success of both trips hinged on the boundless energy and optimism of leader Burnham, who is no stranger to daunting challenges. He already has made three cross-country bicycle trips. He's also through-hiked the Appalachian and John Muir Trails, climbed Kilimanjaro, and climbed, hiked, scuba dived, or explored on five continents.

When he's not out and about, Burnham lives in Chapel Hill where he owns the multimedia firm, Cirque Productions.

"I'd planned on not doing any more of these," Burnham said, "but then springtime rolls around, and you feel like biking..

He said Flournoy talked him "out of retirement."

"He wanted to go so bad when he was back in seventh grade in 2007, but he was too young," Burnham said. "Since then, he's been counting the days."

In addition to the cancer research cause, some riders are also using the adventure to conduct their own research. LePrevost is interning with UNC's Health Promotion and Disease Prevention program with Alice Ammerman.

"I'm analyzing the bike route along the way," LePrevost said. "I'll compare different bicycle policies and laws in the different states.'

LePrevost is also conducting a nutritional study looking at corner stores in rural areas.

See adventure, see risk

While the young riders will be counting the miles that pass beneath their wheels, anxious sets of parents will be counting the days until their children return.

"Yes, I am nervous," Zach's mother, Jennifer Jansen, said. "If you think about it too much, there's a lot that could go wrong. You just have to have faith that he's going to get there and back in one piece."

"My biggest fear is just crashing," rider Miles Rosen said. "I had a crash on the practice ride (to the coast) that was pretty bad. I face-planted on asphalt. ... I ride more cautiously now."

Three days' journey, mostly downhill, toward the North Carolina coast is hardly a cross-country trip, Burnham pointed out.

"On that practice ride to the beach the kids were complaining about how tough the hills were," he said. "I was like, 'Oh, man, you're complaining about going to the beach, and there are going to be five-mile uphills just in the Appalachians."

The planned route across America will progress at a rate of approximately 70 miles a day, a pace of around 12 miles per hour, along the northern tier states, including the Lewis and Clark Wilderness in Montana.

"We plan the trip with around 10 days off," Hare pointed out. The stops include Cleveland, Minneapolis and in Glacier Monument National Park. Contingency stops also are figured in for things like unexpected bike maintenance.

Riders can expect to begin their days at around 5 a.m. and encounter stifling heat, torrential rains, and relentless prairie headwinds. What may be the toughest to deal with for riders, however, is the stubborn reluctance with which the seemingly endless expanse before them gives up her miles.

"You expect it to get easier as you go along," Hare said, "but it never gets as easy as you expected it to."

"You have to come to grips with the reality," Burnham said. "What's happening is not what you thought would be happening, and it's different for everybody. ... Everyday, your job is simply to get up and ride -- and, after school classrooms and sports, it takes a mental adjustment."

The kindness of strangers

On the other hand, leaders predict that this troop of fresh-faced teens will also enjoy afternoon shades of ancient oak trees, impromptu swims in local pool, an indelible bonding experience, camping out under a summer moon, and a spirit of generosity among Americans as big and wide as the heartland itself.

"We don't know where we're going to stay until we get into a town: nothing's prearranged," Burnham said. "People in smaller towns are so nice, though, and sometimes we'll get to a town, and a preacher will come greet us and say to come over to his house, and folks will bring potluck food for a big dinner, and then we'll camp in his yard. Then we'll get up the next morning and do it all over again."

Showing similar generosity on the local level have been sponsors, including Performance Bike, Cirque Productions, Lineberger Cancer Center, and National Jewelry and Pawn.

"Right now I'm just getting out there and doing it," Jansen said during an equipment check Sunday afternoon.

Burnham said many parents similarly said their teens already had checked out, mentally, and were ready to go.

In the meantime, high school teachers might note that if a certain young athlete is squirming at his classroom desk with that far-off stare, it just might be a rider from among this charitable and ambitious troop.

- chn -