Uli Schackmann is on a journey from Anchorage, AK to Key West, FL during which she hopes to raise awareness and funds to find a cure for AIDS by 2020.

Between two donation sites, Crowdrise and GoFundMe, she has currently raised over $7,000 in support of amfAR.org, the Foundation for AIDS Research.

"I am compelled to do this because I have witnessed the intimate nature of this disease and the human response to it," says Schackmann.

The Fort Lauderdale resident hopes to complete the 8,200 km trip by Nov. 18 and considers her ride symbolic of the struggle so many people living with HIV will face for the rest of their lives.

"My path across the North American continent will demonstrate that with belief and commitment anything is possible."

While she has never been personally affected by the infection, she has been supporting the aims of amFAR for 18 years and has participated in many of their charity rides to help support local agencies provide services. But as time went on it seemed there was an endless stream of new cases coming forward and so she set her sights on a bigger target. Schackmann also finds it's not a topic of discussion for the younger generation and she is concerned they lack knowledge of the serious nature of the infection.

"Just when you thought you have supported people there's a younger generation of people coming up that are infected by HIV who need services and support. So I thought it was more important to focus on something bigger which is a cure for AIDS."

Her companion on the trip is six-year old Jackson, a 20lb. dog that she pulls behind in a bike carrier behind.

"He's an amazing companion and he's travelling in a dog trailer behind but when we get to the hills he has to get out and start pushing."

She also flies a 5'x3' HIV/AIDS red ribbon flag mounted on her bike that also includes a number of little red flags given to her by friends before her departure.

Schackmann has already faced many challenges in this daunting quest that's taking her through a large segment in Canada for the first time in her life. Fortunately, along the way she has met people willing to lend a hand.

Steve Tocher, of Hinton, was one such person. When her bicycle broke down in Hinton, he took some time off work to get her back on track. His sister in Cochrane also provided accommodations for a few days to give her time to recharge before she departed on June 12.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, an estimated 75,500 were living with HIV in 2014. AIDS first surfaced in Canada in 1982. While the number of cases declined for over a decade, it began to rise again in the late 1990s and now increases at a rate of about 2,500 people annually. Sexual contact between men is the leading cause but the infection is also spread by injection drug use and heterosexual contact. About a quarter of those with HIV are women.

Strides have been made to reduce the number of deaths from HIV/AIDS.