LEWISTON, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Reitred FBI Agent Jim Caverly is on the last leg of his cross country bicycling trip from Oregon to Bar Harbor, a route that runs from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.
Nearing his 70th birthday, Caverly is also nearing his 90th day cycling, and the 4,500 mile marker.
He's raising money and awareness about the nonprofit Concerns Of Police Survivors, or COPS, which provides free support programs and grief counseling to families of fallen police officers.
Caverly is hoping to hit the Atlantic Ocean in Bar Harbor on Monday.
Ending at the coast, Lewiston wasn't exactly on the direct route -- and a patch of woods off of River Road certainly wasn't -- but Caverly made a special stop at the site on Wednesday.
Lewiston Police Officers escorted Caverly and his wife, Jeanne, to a memorial site for Lewiston Police Officer David Payne.
"You can't help but feel the pain of this sacred place," said Caverly, visiting for the first time. "I can't really put it in words."
Officer Payne was killed in the line of duty on July 23, 1988.
His father, Rev. Ray Payne, joined COPS and counseled other grieving families in the years after.
"He's been a tremendous influence in the COPS program," said Caverly. "He's impacted so many lives there."
Rev. Payne finally found the strength to visit his son's memorial last July, and he died just a few weeks later.
As he charted his trip to end in Maine, Caverly decided to make a stop in Lewiston to pay his respects to Rev. Payne and his son, giving him a renewed purpose -- and one last push to the finish line.
He has named Sept. 26 "Riding for Ray Day."
Caverly's goal is to raise $30,000 for COPS by the end of his trip.
His wife has kept a blog of his travels from coast to coast.
NEWS CENTER