Komulainen, 29, went on the bike ride from Tallahassee to Naples in March with Friends-Together, an HIV and AIDS education organization in Lakeland.
So he signed up.
Komulainen is close to raising the required $5,000 for the cause and paid for the trip himself. The trip costs about $3,800 a person, organization director Cathy Robinson Pickett said.
Komulainen will spend two weeks away from his wife, who is eight months pregnant with their first child.
But Anne Komulainen, 30, is not worried he won't make it back in time.
"Life is short," she said. "You got to do this stuff now. I'm excited for him."
Originally from Finland, he came to Florida in 2000 when he married his wife. He has climbed Halti, a mountain in Finland, but its elevation is close to 10,000 feet, not the 19,340 feet of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. When the group did its first climb in 2004, only one person made it to the summit.
"I hope that we have better luck this time," Komulainen said.
He is worried about altitude sickness on the nearly 50-mile climb.
"I'm getting a little nervous right now, you know," he said.
Since he's become more aware of the effects of HIV and AIDS, he's tried to spread awareness.
"It's a challenge to climb a mountain," he said. "It's for a good cause. The people who I'm going with, they are very good people."
Komulainen is a self- employed handyman. After he finished his education in Finland, he completed mandatory military service for one year and then served as a U.N. peacekeeper in South Lebanon before meeting Anne in Finland.
The money raised by sponsors will fund Friends-Together camps that help families deal with HIV and AIDS and spread awareness.
Komulainen is still raising funds. Donors can still contribute on the group's Web site at friendstogether.org or by mail.
Anne has volunteered for about a year at three of the camps teaching health education classes, and Aki has joined her, she said.
"I'm so proud of him," she said. "I think he's doing a wonderful job."