On April 19, for the third consecutive year, the Elvis Rock ‘n’ Roll Ride for Life will hit the streets in the fight against diabetes.  The 100-mile motorcycle ride will begin at Elvis’s Graceland Mansion and end at Memphis Motorsports Park.

The ride day will begin at 6:30 a.m. with on-site registration, check-in, and a pancake breakfast. Riders will begin staging for departure at 8:00 a.m. and will depart Graceland at 9:00 a.m. and head South into Desoto County. Rider escort will be provided by officers from the Memphis Police Department and personnel from the Desoto County Sheriff’s Department.

As riders end the 100-mile route at Memphis Motorsports Park, they will have the opportunity to take a couple of laps on the facility’s ¾-mile banked oval track.  Afternoon activities will continue with a cookout, including entertainment by the Def Tonz and piano legend Jason D. Williams.  Members of the Memphis Grizzlies dance team also will be on hand.

Registration fees for April 19 activities begin at $35. Those who are interested should visit www.elvisride.com or call the American Diabetes Association at 901-682-8232.

After registering, riders can set up individual event pages through which they can raise funds for the Elvis Ride and the American Diabetes Association.

For bikers who would like to make a weekend of it, there are additional levels of participation that include more riding, parties, and perks.  Some of these are a welcome party at Southern Thunder Haley-Davidson, Elvis-themed rides with destinations including Elvis sites in Tupelo and Memphis, a VIP party at Harrah’s Tunica, special event clothing, and a commemorative photo taken on the steps of Graceland.

“We have two primary goals for this ride,” says John Carroll with the American Diabetes Association.  “We want the event participants to have a good time, and we want to raise as much a possible to prevent, treat, and cure diabetes.”

More than twenty-four million Americans currently have diabetes, and the number continues to grow every day.  For children born in 2000, one in three will develop diabetes.  For African Americans, the rate is one in two.  And although treatment for diabetes has improved, the disease can still result in kidney failure, cardiovascular difficulties, amputations, blindness, and death.

The American Diabetes Association provides community and professional education, information and referral, materials for newly diagnosed patients, advocacy, and vital research.  In fact, the American Diabetes Association is currently funding two local studies at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.