The American Diabetes Association is challenging riders to take part in the annual Tour de Cure, a cycling event set for June 5-6 at the Hampton Inn & Suites.

The event helps raise funds to change the future of diabetes and help stop this devastating disease.

Cyclists from around the Sandhills and Triangle communities will gather on one of six routes to participate in this event. They will join more than 40,000 other cyclists and volunteers from across the country and 500 cyclists, 75 volunteers from North Carolina.

Individuals and teams composed of co-workers, family and friends are taking the ride of their life by helping raise funds for the nearly 24 million Americans with diabetes. Tour de Cure is designed for anyone from the occasional to the experienced cyclist with routes from 10-mile family rides to 100-mile century rides. The route will feature rest stops with food to fuel the journey and volunteers to cheer riders on.

"Many people will participate in the Tour de Cure for the stimulating competition, camaraderie and physical cycling challenge," said Amanda Law, associate director of the American Diabetes Association's Eastern Carolinas office. "But the real reward comes in knowing that every mile they ride and every dollar they raise brings us that much closer to stopping this disease that affects more than 634,000 diagnosed North Carolinians. With diabetes growing at near-epidemic proportions, the need for funds has never been so great."

The Tour de Cure raises funds through registration fees and pledges collected by the cyclists. To register, cyclists or volunteers can call the American Diabetes Association toll-free at (888)-DIABETES or visit the website at www.diabetes.org/tour.

It is sponsored nationally by Gold's Gym, Performance Bicycles, Splenda and Sun Crystals and locally by HensonFuerst law firm, Quintiles Transnational Corp., Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Ellis and Winters law firm, PHE Inc., Gugenheim Law Offices, McCollum & Law, Wells Fargo Advisors, Qualcomm, Two Men and a Truck, PODS, Rainbow Cycles and Trek Bicycles of Raleigh.

The Tour de Cure features a variety of routes.

For the Sandhills area, participants can ride either 25 or 50 miles out of the Southern Pines Hampton Inn & Suites on Sunday, June 6. For intermediate cyclists, 75- and 100-mile options are also available leading out of Cary at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre on Saturday, June 5, and out of Southern Pines at the Hampton Inn & Suites on Sunday, June 6.

On June 5, an overnight celebration will be held at the Hampton Inn & Suites for cyclists, volunteers, family members and sponsors. Dinner and a presentation will be offered from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and live entertainment will follow.

Packet pick-up for the Sunday rides will also take place at this location during the listed hours.

This ride brings more than 150 room nights to Southern Pines as cyclists ride 75 and 100 miles each day during the Tour de Cure, according to a news release.

The overall impact of the ride is more than $220,000 raised for diabetes research, advocacy and education, the news release said.