By GINNY COOPER / Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO—The Tour de Cure, a fundraiser hosted by the American Diabetes Association, will take place in Montevallo this year, event manager Virginia Fall announced.

Tour de Cure is an annual event hosted by the American Diabetes Association every spring, which was previously held at St. Vincent’s One Nineteen Health and Wellness in Hoover. The ride features a variety of distances to cater to a variety of skill levels.

There will be a five-mile ride, which is “very family friendly, and good for any skill level,” Fall said. There will also be race routes covering 17, 44, 63 and 100 miles for more experienced cyclists.

“We are a ride, not a race,” Fall stressed, and none of the races are timed, though many cyclists keep track of their time for personal purposes.

“We just want people to get out on a bike to promote healthy lifestyles,” she said.

In addition to the race routes, there will also be a kids’ zone with face painting and other kid-friendly activities, live music by The Bill Ledbetter Project and Atticus Avenue, as well as a healthy living vendors fair.

As of March 20, 168 riders had registered for the April 5 event, and almost $70,000 had been raised for diabetes advocacy, research, education and programs. The American Diabetes Association hopes to raise over $200,000 at the event, according to their website.

Fall said that the move has been a “good bit of work,” as new bike routes had to be plotted and plans made, but stressed the support of the community and several big name sponsors such as Walmart and Lockheed Martin.

“We’re really excited about it,” she said.