Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

A Brighton man will leave Saturday morning on a 1,350-mile "Tour de Mitten" bicycle ride around Michigan's lower peninsula, all to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.

"My mother-in-law (Carol) got diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few years back now. I was like, why don't we tie this in to charity? That's kind of how it got started. We also tied in the charity for suicide awareness and mental health. That's where it kind of got going, and it snowballed from there and gained some steam, which as been pretty cool," Phil Schiller told WHMI News.

Schiller, an avid long distance bicyclist already, is trying to raise at least $2,700 during the weeklong ride, which starts and ends at Detroit's Belle Isle Fountain.

"We head north essentially, out of Detroit, and just hug the coast all the way around the lower peninsula counter-clockwise," he said. "Shoot all the way up to Mackinac, and then head down the western coast and along the state line, and end at Belle Isle."

"We have a live track for our group of riders every day, so you can tune in every day, hey, where are these guys? It has a live read out of speed, location, where we're at, and all that fun stuff."

Anyone wishing to donate can do so at Schiller's Instagram account @der_german87 linked below.

"I just want to shout out to my wife and my parents for helping me on my journey," he added. "I want to thank my sponsors, and my primary sponsor Team Athletic Mentors."

More information is linked below.