ALS Therapy Development Institute: More Burrito!







Area Cyclists to Eat Only From Local Taqueria in Preparation for 270 Mile Bike Trek


CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Beginning April 1st, three passionate Boston bicyclists will eat every lunch and every dinner for the next 30 days at the well-known Anna's Taqueria restaurant as part of their training for the 270 mile charity bike ride, Tri-State Trek. Documenting their experiences on the social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, Richard Starry of Allston, Ian Schaefer of Allston, and Mike Rubino of Boston hope to raise global awareness for the Trek's cause, ending ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.


"I'll do whatever I can to let people know about this bike ride and our mission to end ALS," says Richard (Ric) Starry, Service Manager at Eastern Mountain Sports and lead bicycle technician for the Trek. "Besides, their food is delicious and it's easy to make healthy choices," says Starry. "If eating 60 burritos will bring more attention to the disease, more riders to the cause and more money to research then I'll take super chicken, guac, no sour!"


All proceeds from the Tri-State Trek benefit research into treatments for ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects 5,000 Americans each year. For more information on the Trek or to follow Ric, Ian, and Mike on Twitter and Facebook visit the Tri-State Trek's website at www.TriStateTrek.com.


About the Tri-State Trek

The Tri-State Trek is a three-day, 270 mile bicycle ride from Boston to New York that raises money for the ALS Therapy Development Institute. The event started with just 16 riders in 2003 and has grown through word of mouth. In 2008 the group rode 185 strong, raised almost half a million dollars, and brought a six year total to over $1.2 million.


The 7th annual Tri-State Trek takes place this July 24, 25, 26. For more information please visit www.TriStateTrek.com.


About ALS TDI

The mission of the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) is to develop effective therapeutics that stop ALS as soon as possible. Focused on meeting this urgent unmet medical need, ALS TDI executes a robust discovery program, as well as a multi-pronged approach to validate potential therapeutics; including small molecules, protein biologics, gene therapies and cell-based constructs. The Institute's unique, industrial-scale platform allows for the development and testing of dozens of potential therapeutics each year. Built by and for patients, the Institute is the world's only non-profit biotechnology company with more than 30 professional scientists. In addition, the Cambridge, Massachusetts based research Institute collaborates with leaders in both academia and industry. For more information, please visit us online at www.als.net.



CONTACT: Robert Goldstein
ALS TDI
617-441-7295
rgoldstein@als.net