CARDIFF-BY-THE-SEA — Thousands of cyclists will take to the streets of San Diego on April 18 for the annual Tour de Cure ride.
The riders, many of them with diabetes, and all with a reason to ride, will help raise money for the American Diabetes Association.
The 100-mile ride will begin at 6 a.m., followed by 70- and 30-mile rides and a shorter, family fun ride for recreational cyclists. All riders will finish at the campus of MiraCosta College in Cardiff-by-the-Sea.
“Many people will participate in the Tour de Cure for the stimulating competition, camaraderie and physical cycling challenge,” Audra Fleming with the American Diabetes Assocation said. “The San Diego Tour offers magnificent scenery … many cyclists have coined the San Diego Tour as cycling through ‘a slice of San Diego.’”
The cyclists in San Diego will join more than 33,000 other cyclists and volunteers at more than 80 sites throughout the nation this spring, she said.
More than 200 volunteers will line the course from the start to the finish.
“As a type 1 diabetic since I was 10, I know that it takes community support to help me with the 24/7 demands of living with this disease,” Alexis Pollak, a volunteer spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association, said. “As a Red Rider, a tour rider with type
1 or 2 diabetes, the Tour de Cure has provided an outlet for people with diabetes to rally with their supporters as we all ‘ride’ toward the ultimate goal of the American Diabetes Association: to cure diabetes.”
According to information provided by the association, diabetes is the seventh deadliest disease in the United States. In June 2008, the Centers for Disease Control released new statistics for diabetes, which states that nearly 24 million Americans are affected by diabetes, an increase of 3 million in two years. Every 20 seconds someone in the U.S. is now diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes is now outpacing cancer, AIDS and heart disease.
“With diabetes growing at near-epidemic proportions, the need for funds, as well as awareness, has never been so great,” Fleming said.
The Tour de Cure has been one of the biggest fundraisers for the American Diabetes Association in San Diego and is the biggest cycling event for diabetes in the country.
For more information on the ride, contact the American Diabetes Association at (888) 342-2383) or visit www.diabetes.org/tour. Volunteers can show up the day of the event at the volunteer check-in table in the morning at MiraCosta College.
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