For most people, $300,000 is a lot of money. But for P.L. and Kristen Meindertsma, it's just the tip of the iceberg as they continue their quest to collect $2.5 million for charities.

The Abbotsford couple plans to collect this massive sum of money by cycling across five continents in five years, with all of the money being divided amongst five charities. 

The first leg of the journey took them from Alberta to New Mexico, traversing 4,300 kilometres and more than 45,000 metres in elevation gains with only as many essentials as the couple could carry on their bikes.

Recently, they've wrapped up the second portion of their Cycle 5 to Survive initiative by riding more than 7,600 km from the northeastern tip of Norway to the south of Portugal. 

The trip took nearly three months and included a lot of wonderful experiences and life lessons, explained the couple.

"Riding to the top of yet another hill into a 13th-century church for the night is totally worth it," Kristen said.

"We ended with no rain and sunny skies, and seeing the ocean scenery was amazing," P.L. added.

However, the journey also had its fair share of challenges as well.

"I started out with a terrible mindset and it was hard to get my mind wrapped around exactly why we were doing this," P.L. said. "But the amount of times that people reached out to us was pretty instrumental in keeping us going. I was actually surprised at how much people care that we're actually doing it."

With their European ride finished, the two cyclists now have three journeys remaining and are one big step closer to achieving their $2.5 million goal.

"We have raised over $300,000 this year on the way to our $500,000 goal for the year," P.L. said.

Whatever money is raised goes to Opportunity International Canada, Himalayan Life, iDE, Hope for Korah, and LCC International University.

Anyone wanting to contribute to the Cycle 5 to Survive campaign or know more about it can visit .