TWO friends will use pedal power to ride 4,300 miles across America to help raise money for a mental health charity.

Albert Thornton, who grew up in Dorset and attended Canford School, and Ben Boddington, are set to ride from Boston to Seattle over 60 days.

They will be raising money for the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), which is dedicated to preventing male suicide - the biggest single killer of men under 45 in the UK.

Albert and Ben, who met at Exeter University, are hoping to cover an average of 70 miles each day.

The route they have chosen begins on the coast in Boston on June 14 and will see them make their way across 13 states along the northern passage, before finishing on the coast in Seattle on August 15.

For the duration of the trip, Albert and Ben will be unsupported, navigating their way with maps and carrying all of their equipment on the bikes.

The journey starts in New England and continues down to Buffalo, across the grasslands of the Great Lake states and through the mountains and Great Plains of the West.

They said: "Our motivations behind the trip are simple; to use adventure as a driving force in creating a positive social impact. It is a once in a life time opportunity to push ourselves both physically and mentally in order to raise money and awareness for a worthwhile cause."

For regular updates about their progress, visit albandbodcoast2coast.wordpress.com and to sponsor them go to uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/AlbandBodCoast2Coast