Chuck and Laura Richardson will depart this morning from Yorktown, Va., on an 84-day, 4,500-mile trek to Los Angeles.

"We are really not cyclists," pointed out Laura Richardson. "We don't cycle in our spare time. It's not our favorite thing to do. It's a sacrifice, and that's why we chose to do it."

The Richardsons, who started the hunger advocacy group Altruistic Action, are supporting Pratham USA, a UNICEF group providing education to children in India, and Bread for the World, a U.S.-based hunger-relief lobbying group.

"We were trying to think up a way to get people involved and take actions," Chuck Richardson said.

This is the second time the Richardsons are traveling the back roads for charity. They cycled in 2002 to support Doctors Without Borders.

Chuck Richardson said they want to help address world problems before it is too late and the problems are too large.

"Lance Armstrong didn't do too much for cancer research before he got sick," he said. "You need to get involved beforehand."

"We wanted to do something that was not extraordinary but out of the ordinary," his wife said.

Altruistic Action, the Richardsons' advocacy group, was founded to support two of the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals: eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and achieving universal education. All 191 member-nations of the UN are supposed to be working to achieve the goals by 2015.

The couple will stop at roadside churches to speak about Bread for the World and will attend fund-raisers in several cities.

Everything needed for the trip will be on their bikes: maps, two changes of clothes, one sleeping bag, a tent and gear to fix the bikes. In all, each rider will haul 35 to 40 pounds. "This time we have to take a lot of publicity supplies," joked Chuck Richardson, who is leaving his job at Child Care Services Association.

Most food will be bought along the route, but the two will stay stocked with one thing.

"Peanut butter and jelly will be our staple," said Laura Richardson, who has been a receptionist for a local insurance agency.

For most of the trip, no one will be guiding the couple or following them in case of a problem. The Richardsons have maps on which they've plotted in detail their trek through the country's back roads.

"We have a relatively good idea where we're going to be night to night," said Chuck Richardson. The couple will usually camp in city parks, which are free in nearly every community.

Riding 80 miles per day takes a lot of energy, but it is something that both say they enjoy.

"When you are going 10 miles an hour, the country is so beautiful," Laura Richardson said. "You don't need a TV, you don't need a phone. It's just an amazing experience."

The time on the road is also time together for the couple, both said.

"It's definitely a bonding experience. We lean on each other quite a bit," Chuck Richardson said. "Plus, when she rides away, it gives me something to catch up to."

When the Richardsons reach California, as planned, on Aug. 13, they will participate in an India independence celebration.

After their charitable work is done, the riding is not. The two are planning to take a pleasure ride up the California coast -- an extra distance of nearly 500 miles.

Eventually, the Richardsons will return home to North Carolina, but not by riding.

"No way I'm going to do that!" Chuck Richardson exclaimed.