Former government minister Jeff Baron has hit the road on a Harley Davidson in the US to raise cash for charity.

Mr Baron’s epic motorbike trip through Texas, Arizona and on to the California coast will cover more than 1,350 miles to support children’s charity Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Mr Baron — riding under the banner of “just me, a Harley and the road” — said on his GoFundMe page: “A penny a mile? A dollar a mile? You decide. Any amount will help kids here in Bermuda find mentors and lifelong friends.”

A post and video on his Facebook page called on donors to join in and “start the new year off by making those less fortunate a little more fortunate”.

Mr Baron, a former One Bermuda Alliance senator and now the party’s MP for Warwick North East, started his trip yesterday in Dallas and travelled almost 800 miles to the Lone Star State’s Fort Hancock.

He is scheduled to head into Arizona today and travel from Phoenix to Yuma before the final leg to San Diego.

The appeal had notched up $3,384 of Mr Baron’s $5,000 goal by noon Texas time yesterday.

The weather in West Texas is cloudy but relatively warm, at least by day, with temperatures above freezing in Fort Hancock — a small community on the border between the US and Mexico.