A group of people who usually spend their days cooped up in a science lab are hitting the open road this weekend for a cause.
The researchers, some from Stanford, are shedding their lab coats for bike shorts as they take part in a cross-country rally to bring attention to Alzheimer's Disease.
Currently, 5.3 million people have the disease in the United States and that number is about to blossom as the baby boomer generation begins to hit their senior years.
Alzheimer's advocates say federal funds are lacking for a disease that could cripple medicare in the coming years. Alzheimer's research dollars come in the millions while diseases like cancer and HIV are getting billions.
The ride will take nearly two months, ending in Washington, D.C. in September. All along the way, the riders will be preaching that message.
The Alzheimer's Association has put together a list of ten signs that can be signals that a loved one is suffering from the disease that causes moderate to severe memory loss. Here is the link to the "know the ten signs" list.
NBC Bay Area reporter Joe Rosato Jr. talked to the riders and some of the people they are riding for in the below report.
