Father, son biking entire East Coast to raise ALS awareness passing through Raleigh this weekend

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A father and son are bicycling across the East Coast in hopes of raising awareness of ALS.

Emmet Davitt and his son Pat are traveling 3,000 miles from Maine to Florida on the East Coast Greenway.

They left Maine in early September and have been riding ever since.

It's all to raise awareness and research money for funds for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

The duo will be passing through the Triangle this weekend.

ABC11 talked to them about why this initiative is so important to them.

"I said this was very personal to me because of my family's situation," said Emmet Davitt. "But the number of people who have come to us and told their stories about a spouse, a friend, a friend of a spouse, who have died of ALS, that's very touching."

The Davitts plan on arriving in south Florida in late November.

"We're doing this to raise money, but it's also been a lot of fun for us," Pat Devitt said. "And it's also something to remember that it's for people that aren't able to do anything like this ... not able to get up in the morning and ride their bikes."

If you'd like to help or follow the Davitts on their journey, click here.