BAY MINETTE, Ala. — Next week’s fifth annual RideYellow charity bike ride will feature 750 cyclist peddling for a purpose — to fund cancer research.

The event will take place 7 a.m. Saturday, June 18, at Halliday Park and will feature 6-, 10-, 37- and 62-mile routes, according to an event flier.

Preparations have been made for 750 riders, according to Founder Mary Trufant, and approximately 300 spaces are left.

Registration costs $50 per adult and $25 for riders ages 10-23. Online registration is available at www.rideyellow.org, and proceeds will benefit Livestrong, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital and Camp Rap-A-Hope.

Trufant said, during a telephone interview, she hopes to raise money for cancer research and to bring revenue to the city of Bay Minette as the ride has taken place here since its second year.

“We have a ton of out-of-town guests coming this time, and we’ve put the hotels and restaurants on our website,” she said during Monday’s Bay Minette City Council meeting. “The city has opened its arms to us, and we really appreciate the city’s help, It’s nice to give back when we can.”

During the meeting, Bay Minette Mayor Jamie Tillery presented Trufant with refreshments collected by Minister’s Breakfast Prayer Partners for route-rest stops.

“We thought that cyclists liked healthy food, but we found out they all like junk food,” Tillery said.

Trufant said she cried when she saw the donation because, “this is a need we have not yet met for our rest stops.”

Trufant explained that she chose to begin fundraising in 2005 and to organize this event in 2007 for two reasons.

“Both of my parents passed away from cancer, and few close friends,” she said. “I decided I had to do something. A friend of mine said, ‘Let’s have a bike ride,’ and five years later, we have the biggest charity bike ride on the Gulf Coast.”

The 2007 ride took place in Loxley with 300 riders and raised $30,000 for Livestrong, according to the website. The event grew to 625 riders in 2010 and raised $60,000, in which  $10,000 was distributed to Livestrong and $25,000 each went to USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital, the USS HOPE and Camp Rap-A-Hope.

Cyclists from Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida have already registered for this year’s ride, and Trufant said regular riders may register too late, as registration closes Friday, June 17.

“It’s caught on by word of mouth and by reputation, and we’re over the 400 mark right now,” she said. “More than 43 percent of the 400 are new to the event. We have food, product and T-shirts. If you choose to do the long route, when you get back to the post-ride party, we want there to be enough food.”

For more information, visit www.rideyellow.org.