“I’m really excited, slightly nervous, but mostly excited,” Favro said.

He’s raising funds for a cause close to his heart – Autism Speaks.

He describes himself as high-functioning autistic, and recalls the seven-year program waiting list he encountered when he was a child.

He has a goal of $20,000, but with little-to-no publicity for his ride so far, he has raised about $600, while his Gofundme campaign has raised about $900.

He’s optimistic he will raise the funds while also raising awareness. He wants to help those with autism in any way he can, and he hopes the money he raises can be used here and across North America to help deliver programs.

He will cross nine states, encounter some mountains, and will travel light – a couple of changes of clothes and water in one saddle bag, camera and bike equipment and snacks in the other.

He is using a couch surfing app to find accommodations, and everyone he has arranged to stay with has been welcoming and supportive, he said. He will fill in any gaps in his schedule with motel stays.

He’s concerned about weather, but there’s something else that worries him more.

“I’m really concerned about how I’ll feel if I don’t accomplish this,” he said. “This is a huge goal, and I know I set it bigger than myself, but I want to be bigger than myself.”

And he’ll take the train back, after spending a couple of days resting up in California.

As training, he has been riding every day, to both his jobs at Nashville North nightclub in Norval where he is a bar supervisor, and at Torlys warehouse in Mississauga.

He picked San Jose as a destination because of a 2013 leadership event he attended there. The seminar inspired him, so what better place to go than the city where it all started, he said.

While some might think him crazy, he sees it as a challenge and a rare opportunity to be able to take a month off and achieve a goal.

“I always want to strive to do greater things,” he said.

His motto is Follow Your Own Path, also the name of his official Facebook page that will follow his journey.

While he’s expecting “challenges and obstacles” along the way, he said he knows “that I can push through those and accomplish this.”

He has been overwhelmed by the support of his parents, his friends and his employers.

Nashville North manager Kit Andrew bought him a GoPro camera to record his trip.

Torlys Floors, where his dad, Paul Sr., is a manager, is holding a company fundraiser.

And he is sponsored by SPOT, a company that has given him a GPS device with an SOS button, making his mom less nervous about his journey.

He said his friend Scarlet White has been behind him from the start, and other friend Remy Rozo had buttons made that read “Team Favro.”