A group of Western Kentucky University students is expected to pedal into Bowling Green on Thursday as part of a 3,600-mile journey across the U.S. to raise money and awareness for Alzheimer’s research.

Tommy Sullivan, a Louisville junior and support driver for the group, said the journey hasn’t always been easy for the four Phi Gamma Delta fraternity brothers biking from San Francisco to Virginia Beach, Va.

“It’s definitely dangerous,” Sullivan said of the journey. “It’s always a risk.”

Earlier this week, the cyclists hit some railroad tracks near Paducah at a bad angle and crashed. None of the cyclists was seriously hurt, but they suffered a few scrapes. Another cyclist, Lexington junior Jonathan Greene, broke his collarbone in Kansas after he was thrown over his handlebars.

Despite the risks, Sullivan said, the group is spurred by the generosity of strangers who have opened their homes for a night or shared Gatorade and other supplies with the group.

“It gives us a lot of drive,” Sullivan said.

Every summer, a group of Phi Gamma Delta brothers sets out on a cross-country trip seeking donations and spreading awareness under the banner of the Bike4Alz organization. The nonprofit, which was founded by students in 2010, began as a way to honor a fraternity brother’s late grandfather.

McGavinn Brown, a WKU graduate, is helping organize a fundraising event for the group from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the SOKY Marketplace pavilion in downtown Bowling Green. It will include an auction, barbecue and live music.

“It’s coming together quite nicely, and it’s my hope that we can show them some local support,” he said.

Along with Greene, this year’s riders include Ethan Brown of Columbia; Logan Carroll and Alex Houlton, both of Louisville; and Conrad Jaconette of Dry Ridge. Adam Moore of Louisville is also a support driver helping haul the team’s gear in a trailer.

Although he was unsure exactly how much money the team has raised this year, Sullivan said it amounts to thousands of dollars. This year is the nonprofit’s fifth trip. The four previous teams have traveled more than 10,000 miles and raised nearly $200,000 for research.

Sullivan said the trip takes about nine weeks and requires about 60 miles of travel each day. The group spent a lot of time training on practice routes in Bowling Green and on stationary bikes, he said.

“Part of it is raising money … and then the other half is actually about awareness,” Sullivan said.

The group’s journey was spotlighted by a Kansas City news station. Their visits to senior living centers have also allowed them to see the disease firsthand.

“It’s a frustrating disease to care for, as you can imagine,” Carroll said.

Carroll said the typical image of an Alzheimer’s victim is someone’s grandparent. People rarely think of them as friends, he said.

Alzheimer’s has no cure, and more than 5 million Americans live with it. As many as one in three seniors die with the disease or another form of dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Carroll doesn’t have a personal connection to Alzheimer’s, but others in his group do. Biking across the country is a small sacrifice to help end a disease that steadily chips away at loved ones, he said.

“The physical pain is nothing compared to the emotional pain” families face, he said.