WEST CHESTER TWP. — Three bikers – a father and his two sons – rode into the West Chester McDonald’s parking lot on Wednesday afternoon to see family and friends after one month and 2,500 miles of pedaling from San Diego to Cincinnati.

And they’re not finished yet.

The Leachmans of West Chester – brothers Brian, 20, and Philip, 23, and their father, Ben – are in the middle of their coast-to-coast 3,300 mile bicycle trek ending in Atlantic City to raise awareness and money for the Ronald McDonald House.

The charity gives home-cooked meals and shelter to parents and families who must travel around the country to find appropriate medical care for their children with illnesses, said Tonya Pate, communications manager of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Cincinnati.

The bikers - who call themselves Team Leachman Cycling, or TLC - have raised more than $700 for the Ronald McDonald House so far, Pate said.

Their effort was spurred from Brian’s work as a swing manager at McDonald’s and his love for child pediatrics, said Leslie Holbrook, McDonald’s spokeswoman.

But the trip is also satisfying Ben’s dream to travel cross-country on bike, celebrating Philip’s graduation from the University of Kentucky earlier this year, the family said.

Their blog posts detail days that they’ve sometimes ridden 100 miles in a day to stay on track, and the bikers are scheduled to finish in a week.

“We’ve grown up biking, and we always loved it,” Philip said. “We’d read about what the country was like, and we wanted an opportunity to see it.”

The family has met many who, after seeing the family pedaling through with packs strapped to the backs of their bikes, immediately offered up houses and meals, they said.

“When people help us, we’ve heard numerous times that they’re getting as much out of it as we are,” Brian said.

The athletic accomplishment thus far feels great, Ben said, but the heart of the trip is built from the people they’ve encountered.

“All the people we’ve met - it renews faith,” Ben said.

Contact this reporter at (513)483-5236 or beena.raghavendran@coxinc.com.