3:00 a.m. 4:00 a.m. 5:00 a.m. Those are normal alarm clock times for the six dads from East Tennessee who are preparing for the 11-day, 1,098-mile charity bike ride, Pedal for Alzheimer’s.

None are full time cyclists; they are all entrepreneurs, they manage their families, business, training, fundraising, and each have a reason for pedaling for Alzheimer’s.

By the time the sun is rising and the rest of the world begins to awake, Brandon Bruce, Josh Crisp, Joe Graves, Matt Padgett, Chris West, and Jonathan Williams have had a cup of coffee, pedaled dozens of miles and are already back home showering, eating breakfast, and preparing for the work day.

And that’s only the beginning of a training day.

“Life doesn’t stop just because you’re going to go do something awesome like (Pedal for Alzheimer’s)...the schedule is just that (much) more important,” Matt Padgett said. “You have to do the things on your calendar when you’re supposed to do them and (you) just do as you say you’re gonna do.”

The 1,098-mile Pedal for Alzheimer’s charity ride adds one more piece to the already complicated puzzle, combing work life, family life and spiritual life with an intensive training schedule to be physically, emotionally and mentally ready for eleven back-to-back days in the saddle.

Crisp, who has a nine-year-old son Joel, six-year-old son Judah and four-year-old daughter Lyla, Founder and President of Solinity, and Co-Founder of Pedal for Alzheimer’s, Ltd. reflects on his training, “The hardest part of training on the weekends is leaving my blonde-haired baby girl who looks up and says, ‘Daddy, can I ride bikes with you today?’ I know she doesn’t understand now, but I’m hopeful she will find a passion like I have and work hard at whatever it is.”

Each of the cyclists, at one point or another, has wondered if the commitment to the event is worth the sacrifice.

“It’s more than just work and training; it’s the whole physical, emotional, spiritual balance and then you couple that with family life, work life, being a dad, being a husband, being involved in everything I’m involved in...,” Crisp said. “It’s really easy to make up excuses as to why you don’t have balance, but at the end of the day, we’re all kind of given the same 24 hours.”