MELBOURNE, Fla. -- Call it a divine bike ride across the Sunshine State.

• Franciscan friar on 1,000-mile bike ride across Florida for charity
• Brother Shamus McGrenra passed through Brevard on Thursday
• He's raising money for center that helps those in poverty

Brother Shamus McGrenra is a Franciscan friar is a stage 4 colon cancer survivor, who is in the middle of a 1,000-mile charity ride through Florida.

He passed through the Space Coast on his ride Thursday.

The 71-year-old's goal is to raise $50,000 for the Dorothy Day Outreach Center at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania. The charity provides food and items for those in poverty.

McGrenra's goal is to encourage people suffering from cancer to press on.

"If they have cancer, there is hope. And there's hope in terms of cycling 1,000 miles," McGrenra said.

In the past seven years, McGrenra has raised more than $250,000 and rode 4,000 miles for the Dorothy Day Center.

For more information about McGrenra's ride and the center, go to francis.edu/charityride.