Rock stars and athletes join forces for weekend ride

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - What do you get when you combine a top-selling country-rock band, a baseball hall-of-famer, more than a thousand motorcycles, and one really great cause?  Easy.  You get the Blackberry Smoke Ride for CURE, happening this weekend.

The Blackberry Smoke Ride for CURE 2019 will take over Metro Atlanta roads this Sunday, August 11th, with more than a thousand bikers expected to take part in the ride from Falcons Fury Harley Davidson in Conyers to The Battery Atlanta in Cobb County. 

Cost to participate is $20 per person, and the money raised goes to CURE Childhood Cancer, an Atlanta-based non-profit dedicated to helping fund research for childhood cancer and provide support to patients and families.  Additional funds will be raised through a special raffle, which for $25 per ticket gives riders a chance to win a custom Harley Davidson Sportster 1200. 

The event is named, of course, for Georgia’s own Blackberry Smoke, and was created after drummer Brit Turner’s daughter, Lana, was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma in late 2009, with cancer discovered in 97 percent of her bone marrow.  Lana successfully fought cancer and is a healthy 12-year-old today, but her family continues raising money and awareness for those families still battling childhood cancer (click here to see our earlier FOX 5 story on Brit and Lana Turner).

This year’s ride is hosted by former Braves pitcher and National Baseball Hall of Fame legend Tom Glavine; riders will meet at Falcons Fury Harley Davidson in Conyers at 11:00 a.m. and will depart on the 38-mile ride at Noon.  Falcons Fury will also host an all-day celebration on Saturday, featuring live music, vendors, and a bike wash.

We spent the morning at The Battery Atlanta, chatting with Brit Turner and getting a special preview of this year’s ride.