EAST PHARSALIA – More than 67 motorcycles and one car began at Freds Inn in Norwich on August 3 and cruised to a number of various locations before coming to a stop at the Balsam Inn in East Pharsalia for the 6th annual Heidee Peterson Memorial Cruise for Diabetes.

“What a great day it was for a motorcycle ride,” said Nancy MacLaury, mother of the late Heidee Peterson, who lost her battle with Type 1 Diabetes in 2007 at the age of 30.

MacLaury has hopes her diligent work with planning and holding the event each year will foster cognizance about diabetes, serve as a celebration of the life of her daughter, and be a method of raising funds for the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

In the last five years of the memorial ride, MacLaury has been able to raise $11,500 - all of which is donated to the ADA.

“It was a perfect day and I made my goal of $4,000,” stated MacLaury. “It’s all going toward the Step Out Walk in November in Johnson City. Now that I made that goal on a personal level, I’m stepping it up as a team and raising the goal to $5,000.”

MacLaury added her appreciation to the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office for helping the vehicles exit Fred’s Inn and enter Route 12 uniformly. She also extended gratitude to the Norwich City Police Department for its escort through the City of Norwich.

“A huge ‘thank you’ must go out to CZ-USA for donating a shotgun for a raffle,” she added. 1,225 raffle tickets for said rifle were sold which offered a boost in the earnings of the event.

She extended her thanks to Becky Coleman, who helped her out tremendously throughout this year’s cruise.

Stops along the ride included The Roadhouse, Nancy's Ice Cream, Seebers Tavern, and The Bennett.

Once the riders made their way to the Balsam Inn in East Pharsalia, entertainment was provided by Rhett Genung and Chris Piro of Rock Star DJ.

“As always, they did a good job,” MacLaury added.

MacLaury noted and expressed her gratitude toward a woman - a stranger to her - who showed up on a bicycle ready to support the cause, who then realized it was a motorcycle ride.