BUTLER COUNTY, Pa. -- A 26 day, 100 mile-a-day cycling trip from Pittsburgh to Tallahassee, Fla., and back would be challenging if not impossible for just about anyone, but a Slippery Rock University sophomore from Butler County is defying the odds.

Brian McCandless, 19, has cystic fibrosis, an incurable, life-threatening disease.

The average patient lives to be 36.

But McCandless said he wouldn’t let anything hold him back.

"Thank you everybody," McCandless said to his supporters. "It is finally here. I'm just super psyched to get on the bike."

"I really never told anyone I had cystic fibrosis, because it would only limit me when someone said, 'Oh, you have cystic fibrosis,'" said McCandless. "The only way that it limits me is other people. Not myself."

Among other symptoms, cystic fibrosis limits lung capacity, which makes McCandless' ride even tougher.

"I think anyone who knows Brian isn't all that surprised," said Dr. David Grenstein of the Children's Hospital Cystic Fibrosis Center. "He's a terrific young man and a terrific example for anybody, but especially for someone with CF who feels limited."

McCandless said he got the idea for the journey a few years ago when his doctor asked him to speak to parents of a new born. Their child had just been diagnosed with CF.

"I just wanted to comfort the parents and give them a hug and tell them that it is going to be OK, but I didn't really know how to do that," said McCandless.

McCandless plans to return on June 10, his birthday.

"I have an answer to those parents now, as to 'is my child going to be OK?'" said McCandless. "Their child is going to be amazing."

For mor einformation, visit BriansRide.org.

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