Cindy Moore has inspired Hecla Mining Company to enter the ring as a heavyweight in the fight against Lou Gehrig's disease.

When Moore was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2010 at the age of 50, the mining engineer retired from Hecla. Her retirement didn't stop the company from supporting her in her fight against the neurodegenerative disease.

"It's a labor of love; we love Cindy dearly," said Barry Nelson, director of human resources at Hecla. "She's our passion and she is just an absolute inspiration to all of us. I'm just so grateful that Hecla has opened its heart and pocketbook to provide support at the highest level for Cindy."

Hecla has even hired an employee whose primary function is to provide direct support for Moore on behalf of the company, Nelson added. On June 28, Hecla's support for Moore and the battle against ALS will be on display at the Silver Valley Ride to Defeat ALS.

"It's incredible, the support I've gotten from the company and from my coworkers throughout the years," Moore said. "They've been supportive in many ways through the walks and helping me out around the house. For them to underwrite the ride has just been an incredible display of generosity."

Moore said the inspiration for the Silver Valley Ride to Defeat ALS came two years ago, when her stepson found out about a similar ride, the Double Day Ride, in Washington.

"He said he wanted to go and do a ride for me," Moore said. "I think he talked about it in June and by July we had a team of eight people to go over and participate in the ride."

Last year, the group of riders supporting Moore grew to 11 and, after the race, Moore said she was approached by the ALS Association about doing a ride in the Silver Valley.

"We knew that we wanted to be fully involved, in fact we wanted to be the primary underwriter of the event," Nelson said. "We approached Cindy about becoming involved to the fullest possible extent."

"We also are encouraging and getting great response for riders from the Hecla family to participate and be engaged," said Luke Russell, vice president of external affairs at Hecla. "We're going to be actively participating in the ride itself."

The ride kicks off at the Snake Pit Resort in Enaville, where after an hour-long registration period beginning at 8:30 a.m., cyclists will begin the ride on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes in groups.

Riders will have the option of either making a 27-mile round trip, or going farther for a complete 43-mile ride on the trail. Multiple refreshment stations will be set up along the trail and Moore said riders are free to turn around and head back to Enaville at any time.

The majority of the proceeds, according to Moore, will come from donations to the riders. Donations big and small are welcome and are not based on the amount of miles a rider completes.

"I'm going to be reaching out to PALS (People with ALS) in this area and asking them how they feel the money would be best spent," Moore said. "Then we will go back to the ALS Association and ask them that it be spent in that manner."

For Moore, Hecla has gone "above and beyond" the call of duty in their support of her and the ALS community. She said she has many people hear her story and simply shake their heads, and say no other company would do that for its employees.

"And I think that's true," Moore said. "It takes an exceptional company to do something this exceptional."

To register for the ride or make a donation, visit www.rideals.org. Moore said those interested in riding are able to either form their own teams, join an existing one or ride as an individual.

"We've got to find a cure," Nelson said. "At the end of the day we've got to stop this thing."