Annual Ride for Life set to begin Tuesday
Participants of the annual ALS Ride for Life event, which raises funds and awareness for the illness also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, are expected to start their ride in Southold Tuesday.
Chris Pendergast, a 1966 Mercy High School graduate who suffers from ALS and launched the first Ride for Life in 1998, is again participating in the ride. He visited the Cutchogue East Elementary School last week and talked to students about his experiences living with ALS and how he overcame adversity.
Students are fundraising for ALS research and creating banners to hold as riders pass the school Monday afternoon, officials said. Day Two of the Ride begins in Riverhead Tuesday.
ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, attacks the cells connecting the brain to various muscles by way of the spinal cord leading to paralysis. There is no cure.
The disease became well-known when it ended the career, and eventually the life, of New York Yankees star Lou Gehrig in 1941.
Learn more about the ride on the organization’s website.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that the ride will begin on Monday.
