RALEIGH, N.C., May 27, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Continental Crusade, a bicycle journey across the U.S., will begin on Sat., June 5 to raise awareness and funds for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
The Continental Crusade will be held in cooperation with The ALS Association, the recipient of the funds raised. This event was founded by Jason Oberholtzer as a way to honor his father and all of the families touched by ALS. The journey will begin exactly 10 years after Oberholtzer's father passed away from ALS.
The Continental Crusade will begin in Emerald Isle, N.C.; continue through Raleigh, N.C., the home of The Jim "Catfish" Hunter Chapter; and end in Los Angeles, C.A., the home of The National ALS Association.
ALS, a neurodegenerative muscular disorder, affects as many as 30,000 people in the U.S. at any given time, with 5,600 new cases diagnosed annually. With no known cause or cure, The Association strives to provide the needed resources to make living with ALS easier.
The Jim "Catfish" Hunter Chapter was named in honor of the late Jim "Catfish" Hunter, a North Carolinian, major league pitcher and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Hunter succumbed to complications of ALS in September 1999, after being diagnosed in 1998. The Jim "Catfish" Hunter Chapter serves both N.C. and S.C., and is one of 39 chapters of The Association; the only national not-for-profit voluntary health organization dedicated solely to the fight against ALS through research, patient support, information dissemination, and public awareness.