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On Saturday, hundreds of cyclists will fill the streets of LaGrange for the annual Bike MS Georgia Peach Ride.

This year will be the fifth year LaGrange has hosted the Peach Ride, which benefits the National MS Society.

The first Bike MS ride was held in Minnesota in 1980 when 200 cyclists rode from Minneapolis to Duluth to raise $33,000. The following year, National MS Society chapters across the country followed suit and began holding their own rides. Since then, the rides have raised over a billion dollars to fight multiple sclerosis.

John McMicken, Development Manager for Bike MS, said the ride is more of a fun ride than a race, although some cyclists do get competitive. He said the ride is designed to allow participants of all skill levels.

“It’s a loop. So we start and end at Wild Leap Brewery in the same place and folks can choose however long they want to ride based on the route,” McMicken said.

The shortest route on Saturday is 22 miles and the longest route is 100 miles, he said.

“In between that, you’ve got a 70-mile route and a 35-mile route. So you just pick the one that’s best for you,  McMicken said.

“It’s not a race, although we do have some riders who are very competitive about it, which we are fine with, as long as they practice safety out on the roads,” McMicken said. “Safety and fun and accessibility are the main things for us when it comes to this event.”

McMicken said fundraising for the event is done by participants, who raise money either individually or as a team. Bike MS recommends that participants form a team, especially for their first year. He said they also have corporate teams like Home Depot, Georgia Power and Duracell.

“Some of our largest teams like Bonnie’s Friends or Slow Riders bring in $40 to $50 thousand annually by themselves,” McMicken said. “Bonnie’s team is going into their fifth year. They’ve raised over $250,000m which is incredible.”

The majority of the funding raised from the ride goes directly to MS research.

 “When MS first came about, there was no treatment for it. There was no cure for it. And then, around 20 years ago or so, there were maybe three treatments if you were diagnosed with MS, and if one of those three didn’t work for you, there was nothing they could really do,” McMicken said. “Fast forward to 2024, now there are over 20 treatments available. We are able to diagnose people much faster than we ever were in the past, and every one of those scientific breakthroughs was directly funded by the MS Society for the last 77 years.”

McMicken said that they are expecting some rain this weekend but noted the Peach Ride is a rain-or-shine event.

“Our riders are still coming down to LaGrange whether it rains or not,” McMicken said.

He also thanked the City of LaGrange for hosting the event, including the Downtown Development Authority, which organized a fall festival the day of the ride.

“The two events are running alongside each other, with the streets around Wild Leap closed down,” McMicken said. “Between that and our riders in the rain, like, you’re going to see a lot of people out there. It’s going to be really something.”