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Local community challenged to fuel the search for effective treatments and cures for ALS at the 14th Annual Napa Valley Ride to Defeat ALS and Walk on Saturday, September 22, 2018.

09/14/2018–Yountville, CA

The ALS Association Golden West Chapter proudly announces the 14th annual Napa Valley Ride to Defeat ALS and Walk on Saturday, September 22, 2018, at the California Veterans Home in Yountville. This one-day community outreach event is open to the public and all of the funds raised will support of the interdependent mission priorities of The ALS Association Golden West Chapter in care services, public policy, and research. Participants are invited to join us for a family-friendly morning of celebration, exercise, education, awareness, music, food, and fun!  

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.  It is better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, for the beloved and world-renown New York Yankee. More recently, it took the lives of 49er Dwight Clark, playwright Sam Shepard, and Stephen Hawking, the internationally celebrated physicist, cosmologist, author, and all-around genius.ALS does not discriminate -- women and men of all ages and backgrounds are at risk.  People with ALS lose their ability to move, speak, swallow, and eventually the ability to breathe, while all five senses continue to function normally. Military veterans are at twice the risk of developing ALS as the general population. Currently, there is no known cure.

Scientists are closer than ever before to effective treatments and cures for this devastating disease,. But the money to fuel their dedicated  research efforts must be raised privately through, and as such ALS is considered to be an underfunded disease. Many researchers believe that unlocking the mysteries about ALS would also help millions of people suffering from other neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s, Huntingon’s, Parkinson’s, frontal-temporal dementia, and more. In addition, the out of pocket costs for families for care and support can be staggering.

“The funds we raise from the Ride to Defeat ALS will allow The ALS Association Golden West Chapter to continue to serve the highest number of people with ALS and their families, which is more than 1,700 this year,” said Miles McConnell, Co-Chair of the Napa Valley Ride, who has been living with ALS since 2015 and was recently featured in this “Spotlight On..” article for the Golden West Chapter’s eNewsletter.

Registration opens at 6:00 am, followed by staggered start times at 6:30am for the 100-mile route, 62-mile route, 38-mile route, 28-mile route, 12-mile route, and walk around the Yountville Veterans Home. Every participant can count on support from start to finish with rest stops, SAG (support and gear) vehicles, and route monitors. Upon completing the tour, riders and walkers will be welcomed back by cheering crowds and finish line festivities that include live musical entertainment, a delicious BBQ lunch, beer sampling courtesy of Lagunitas, wine tasting courtesy of Trinchero Family Estates, pedal-powered smoothies, a fun raffle, and more!

The 2018 Napa Valley Ride to Defeat ALS and Walk is proudly sponsored by The Guzzardo Partnership, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Field Construction, Commercial Casework Cruisers, PUBLIC Bikes, Mike’s Bikes, Naked Nutrition, Hathaway Dinwiddie, Cytokinetics, IBEW 617, SYAR Foundation, Permobil, Able Services, Quantum, and Mobility Works. Special musical guests “Jump to It” will perform live jazzy upbeat swing music for the event’s afternoon festival.   For more information or to register for the Napa Valley Ride to Defeat ALS and Walk, please visit the website at NapaValleyRide.org. For questions please contact Cliff Whitlock, Director of Team Challenge ALS, ride@ridetodefeatALS.org, 510-251-2572.

About the ALS Association Golden West Chapter:

The mission of The ALS Association is to discover treatments and a cure for ALS, and to serve, advocate for, and empower people affected by ALS to live their lives to the fullest. Our vision is to create a world without ALS. The Golden West Chapter serves people with ALS and their families in 31 counties throughout California and in the state of Hawaii.   Everything we do advances the search for effective treatments and cures for ALS. For more information about The ALS Association Golden West Chapter, please visit us at www.alsagoldenwest.org or email us at info@alsagoldenwest.org

Local community challenged to fuel the search for effective treatments and cures for ALS at the 14th Annual Napa Valley Ride to Defeat ALS and Walk on Saturday, September 22, 2018.

09/14/2018–Yountville, CA

The ALS Association Golden West Chapter proudly announces the 14th annual Napa Valley Ride to Defeat ALS and Walk on Saturday, September 22, 2018, at the California Veterans Home in Yountville. This one-day community outreach event is open to the public and all of the funds raised will support of the interdependent mission priorities of The ALS Association Golden West Chapter in care services, public policy, and research. Participants are invited to join us for a family-friendly morning of celebration, exercise, education, awareness, music, food, and fun!  

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.  It is better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, for the beloved and world-renown New York Yankee. More recently, it took the lives of 49er Dwight Clark, playwright Sam Shepard, and Stephen Hawking, the internationally celebrated physicist, cosmologist, author, and all-around genius.ALS does not discriminate -- women and men of all ages and backgrounds are at risk.  People with ALS lose their ability to move, speak, swallow, and eventually the ability to breathe, while all five senses continue to function normally. Military veterans are at twice the risk of developing ALS as the general population. Currently, there is no known cure.

Scientists are closer than ever before to effective treatments and cures for this devastating disease,. But the money to fuel their dedicated  research efforts must be raised privately through, and as such ALS is considered to be an underfunded disease. Many researchers believe that unlocking the mysteries about ALS would also help millions of people suffering from other neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s, Huntingon’s, Parkinson’s, frontal-temporal dementia, and more. In addition, the out of pocket costs for families for care and support can be staggering.

“The funds we raise from the Ride to Defeat ALS will allow The ALS Association Golden West Chapter to continue to serve the highest number of people with ALS and their families, which is more than 1,700 this year,” said Miles McConnell, Co-Chair of the Napa Valley Ride, who has been living with ALS since 2015 and was recently featured in this “Spotlight On..” article for the Golden West Chapter’s eNewsletter.

Registration opens at 6:00 am, followed by staggered start times at 6:30am for the 100-mile route, 62-mile route, 38-mile route, 28-mile route, 12-mile route, and walk around the Yountville Veterans Home. Every participant can count on support from start to finish with rest stops, SAG (support and gear) vehicles, and route monitors. Upon completing the tour, riders and walkers will be welcomed back by cheering crowds and finish line festivities that include live musical entertainment, a delicious BBQ lunch, beer sampling courtesy of Lagunitas, wine tasting courtesy of Trinchero Family Estates, pedal-powered smoothies, a fun raffle, and more!

The 2018 Napa Valley Ride to Defeat ALS and Walk is proudly sponsored by The Guzzardo Partnership, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Field Construction, Commercial Casework Cruisers, PUBLIC Bikes, Mike’s Bikes, Naked Nutrition, Hathaway Dinwiddie, Cytokinetics, IBEW 617, SYAR Foundation, Permobil, Able Services, Quantum, and Mobility Works. Special musical guests “Jump to It” will perform live jazzy upbeat swing music for the event’s afternoon festival.   For more information or to register for the Napa Valley Ride to Defeat ALS and Walk, please visit the website at NapaValleyRide.org. For questions please contact Cliff Whitlock, Director of Team Challenge ALS, ride@ridetodefeatALS.org, 510-251-2572.

About the ALS Association Golden West Chapter:

The mission of The ALS Association is to discover treatments and a cure for ALS, and to serve, advocate for, and empower people affected by ALS to live their lives to the fullest. Our vision is to create a world without ALS. The Golden West Chapter serves people with ALS and their families in 31 counties throughout California and in the state of Hawaii.   Everything we do advances the search for effective treatments and cures for ALS. For more information about The ALS Association Golden West Chapter, please visit us at www.alsagoldenwest.org or email us at info@alsagoldenwest.org