On Saturday, July 30, the Wingmen MC of Fayetteville are holding a benefit run to help fight lupus. “All of the proceeds from this ride will benefit local people suffer-ing from lupus,” said Wingmen MC treasur-er and event spokes-person Robert Mas, who not only enjoys help-ing others but joined the Wingmen “for the friendship and camara-derie it offers.”

The Lupus Foundation of America estimates that 1.5 mil-lion Americans, and at least five million people worldwide, have a form of lupus. Although lupus can strike men and women of all ages, 90 percent of indi-viduals diagnosed with the disease are women. Most people will develop lupus between the ages of 15-44. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report in May 2002 which indicated that deaths attributed to lupus increased over a 20-year period, particularly among African American women ages 45-64. However, it is not clear if the rise is the result of an actual increase in lupus mortality or better identifica-tion and reporting of deaths due to complications of the disease.

The ride starts at Cape Fear Harley Davidson. Registration opens at noon, kickstands up at 1 p.m. Like most poker runs, riders get a card at the starting point and pick up a card at each stop along the way. By the end of the ride, each participant will have five cards. The best hand wins a prize.

“We will also have a 50/50 raffle and prizes for best hand and worst hand,” said Mas. “We are expecting a good turn out and hope to have more than 200 people show up and partici-pate. We’d just like to encourage people to please come out and have a good time.”

Photo: On Saturday, July 30, the Wingmen MC of Fayetteville are holding a benefit run to help fight lupus.