HOOVER, Alabama — Cyclists spanning a wide range of ages are expected to hit the road Saturday during a Tour de Cure fundraiser organized by the Alabama/Mississippi chapter of the American Diabetes Association.
There will be a half-mile “family ride” as well as rides covering 20, 37, 64 and 105 miles. Organizers even will have a spinning station with stationary bikes at the launch point at St. Vincent’s One Nineteen Health and Wellness at 7191 Cahaba Valley Road in Hoover.
Participants will include people with diabetes, as well as family and friends riding in honor of loved ones with the disease that affects so many in the state.
The Tour de Cure is designed to raise money for diabetes research, education programs and advocacy initiatives, said Annah Grace Morgan, manager of fundraising and special events for the Alabama-Mississippi chapter.
About 300 people already have signed up for Saturday’s event, the only one scheduled in Alabama this year. Of those 300, there are nearly 40 teens, Morgan said.
A group of about 60 people with diabetes called the Red Riders will be particularly visible with their red jerseys, Morgan said.
Saturday’s event is expected to draw everyone from youngsters in strollers to men in their 60s and 70s, she said. The goal is to raise $150,000 this year, Morgan said. On-site registration starts at 7:30 a.m.
John Fullerton, 64, of Sterrett, who was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, is a co-captain for a Red Rider group called Team Red Alabama.
Saturday will be Fullerton’s fourth Tour de Cure, which includes one in New York state and the last three in Alabama. He called the ride an “inspiring event.”
People with diabetes taking part have unique stories of courage and inspiration of how they work to control their diabetes and not let it control them, he said. Among Saturday’s Red Riders will be a double amputee who will be riding a handcycle, Fullerton said.
At 25 to 26 million, the number of people with the disease is double the number of the often discussed number of unemployed in the country, Fullerton said.
Leanne Steele of Trussville, who is 8½ months pregnant and was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2010 while training for the Mercedes Marathon, will be “spinning” for an hour Saturday as a member of Team Red Alabama.
Steele, who was initially diagnosed with gestational diabetes during a 2007 pregnancy, will be participating for the first time.
“Exercise is one of the best things you can do as a diabetic,” Steele said. “Tour De Cure is great for people living with diabetes because it gives them the opportunity to show their commitment to managing diabetes.”
Alabama, with about 470,000 people living with the disease, is ranked as the state with the highest incidence of diabetes, Morgan said in a news release.
For more information, people can go to the group’s website at www.diabetes.org/touralabama
