What A Team!

Perhaps you navigated to our ARI Breakthrough Riders team page in the past and noticed the picture didn't quite match the names listed to the right. There's a good reason for that.

Being the most geographically diverse team on the Empire State AIDS Ride, our members typically don't have an opportunity to meet in one place until we gather at Niagara Falls. Even then, the hustle and bustle of ride out and various crew responsibilities make it somewhat challenging to herd the cats so to speak causing it to take a little while for us to put faces to the names.

To keep the archives in order, our first ESAR team (the Puget Sound Riders) chose "Washington Wednesday" as our team picture day and we've kept that tradition now for 3 ESARs running. Unfortunately, my camera didn't show up to the event so I had to rely on others for a web-worthy shot. That photo is now finally posted to our ARI Breakthrough Rider team page.

I'm incredibly proud of the team we put together this year. We had 5 new riders to ESAR, 2 more that endured a very scary bike/car accident this spring but stuck it out to join us on the crew which included a large cast of returnees including all 5 second generation ESAR teammates (Mike, Liz, Kyle, Caitlin & Carson)! Our riders were in the front, middle and back of the pack but always made sure no rider was left alone or behind. Our crew is the envy of ESAR and begged to come back year after year. The returnees OWN their jobs and take pride in giving their best effort.

Of the fully participating beneficiary teams, ours was the smallest at 18 members. While only the 7 riders are required to fundraise ($3500 minimum), our entire team considers ending AIDS as its most vital ESAR job and the numbers prove it. The ARI Breakthrough Riders brought in more money per member OR rider than any other team. None were afraid to ask and YOU generously responded. Thanks to that commitment, persistence and generosity, we will deliver approximately $75,000 to the Breakthrough Fund, generating seed grants for the innovative work of researchers of the AIDS Research Institute at UCSF. What a team!

Day 4 - Beasts of Burden

57mi. 5.4hrs. 42mph max. 1vertical mile of climbing

Some do it but you won't find me hauling panniers of equipment on my bike for hundreds of miles and I don't have to either, thanks to our volunteer crew.

On this ride we have the equivalent of 1 volunteer for each rider assigned to a variety of critical teams keeping riders healthy, safe and on the road. Teammates Lisa & Carson begin each day at 4:30am posting signs to mark the way along the route. Another pair of ARI Breakthrough Riders, Liz & Beau, drive the food truck, supplying breakfast and dinner in camp, lunch on the road and the rest stop teams - morning and afternoon. Riders are checked in and out of each daily stop to account for each one. Between stops there are 4 teams of drivers - 2 per car, including Mary & Linda A - who travel back & forth along their assigned section of riders, carrying extra supplies and stopping at critical points to help with traffic, provide encouragement and cheer panting riders at the top of a long, hard climb.

We have a medical crew of 4 who tirelessly wrap, massage and treat ever ache and pain all day long and well into the evening, along with 2 technicians performing similar treatment for our bikes - in camp and mobile.

Unseen during the day but whose work is most appreciated is our camp crew, including Kyle, Caitlin, Michael and Randy from our team. We break down our tents each morning and cart our gear to their truck. The camp crew then takes down all the common area canopies, clears the camp and drives all that gear to the next overnight spot. Then they set it all up again, pitch every one of our 50 tents, putting the luggage inside.

These people voluntarily spend each day serving riders' every need with a gracious heart and never a complaint. People think it's amazing that we riders can cycle so long and hard each day but I never met a rider who didn't think the job of any crewmember was equally difficult if not more so.

Three cheers for the real workhorses of the ESAR!

ESAR Day 4: Chenango to Bear Spring Mountain Campground, Downsville

Shiny Bright at Heart

Something about pulling down the duffel and rummaging for Ziploc bags brings on the urge to polish my steed. So I did. Though unlike years past, it wasn't in preparation for packing. The bike I'll ride from NYC to DC next week is already on the east coast. For the first time in 7 AIDS rides and nearly 20,000 miles, Stellar will stay home.

Under the setting sun, I lovingly scrubbed the season's rainy road grime off her frame and chain, buffed every paint scratch and noted how the mylar decal held long past her shiny new sibling's. All polished and clean, she went to hang next to her California cousin, under Kyle's racing numbers as if they could influence her into faster speeds.

Stellar has plenty more miles left in her but will welcome a break, much like her rider welcomes next week's flatter, shorter ride. She'll be back with a vengeance early next season when there's a chance of rain in the forecast, snow beside the road and the warmth of early spring sun in the air. We may get a bit rusty but there'll be no packing it in for these ol' gals. Not while there's a battle left to be won.

Severe Epidemic HIV Rates in Our Own Backyard

Most AIDS rides are intentionally routed through small towns and rural areas. Rider safety is one, but not the only reason. Most HIV/AIDS services are concentrated in large cities where subway stops, park benches and city buses are frequently plastered with safe-sex messages reminding us that HIV is still alive and deadly.

Stands to reason the greatest need for HIV/AIDS awareness would lie outside these cities. Sunday's Washington Post headline proves HIV rarely stands to reason when it revealed at least 3% of the residents of our national's capitol have HIV or AIDS.

"Our rates are higher than West Africa," said Shannon L. Hader, director of the District's HIV/AIDS Administration, who once led the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's work in Zimbabwe. "They're on par with Uganda and some parts of Kenya."

The DC data is pretty equally spread across all modes of transmission and indicates a smattering of stigma and ignorance compounded by a lag in prioritized attention.

The NYCDC AIDS Research Ride doesn't enter Washington, DC via the scenic, well-travelled route. We ride, and even walk, through some of the more sketchy neighborhoods on our way to Capitol Hill. We'll ride into Washington, DC again on September 13. It's just one day, and a simple message, but one that needs to be heard unceasingly, until there's a cure.

2020 AIDS Vaccine Ride detour

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" but another pandemic can certainly try! As you likely guessed, the 2020 AIDS Vaccine 200 has been cancelled in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. No road training, bike packing or wondering what the weather will throw our way this year. Like the rest of you, our usual paths have been altered by this new deadly virus and I pray you and your loved ones have managed to stay healthy and safe from its grip.

It's been a little scary for those of us with front row seats to the last one but I find comfort in the path we have taken together, bringing hope to the journey of those fighting HIV/AIDS. I knew the nation was in good hands with Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx were on the Coronavirus Task Force. I knew the same science Emory Vaccine Center applied daily in advancing work to find an HIV vaccine could be applied to this Coronavirus just as it did for Ebola and the Hope Clinic stood ready to conduct human trials. One look at the list of COVID-19 research projects underway at the Emory Vaccine Center gave me comfort to see the names of those whose tenacity with HIV/AIDS work is a comforting inspiration every May - Ahmed, Amara, Bosinger, Altman and more.

Several of you make such a habit of giving to this cause that you did so early and even after likely knowing it would be cancelled. I am grateful for your generosity and trust in Action Cycling Atlanta to ensure every penny is still directed to fighting HIV/AIDS whether or not we ride.

This month marks the 10th year that my Puget Sound Rider co-captain, Mary Harding, and I have brought you along on the AV200. This week also marks 25 years since both Mary and I lost our brothers, Peter and Bret, to HIV/AIDS. Sometime over this ride weekend we'll pause our pedaling and raise a toast to making progress on our "appointed rounds".

Cheers!

Those Who Serve

Ours is a team rooted in love and dedication to honoring the lives of 3 brothers lost too soon because of HIV/AIDS. In our 20 years together, we’ve come upon many such siblings, in addition to sons, daughters, spouses and friends but Joshua Campbell was the first to refer to us as “sibling survivors”. Joshua became a survivor in 2007 when his brother Jason lost his life in the line of duty with the Greenville NC Police Department. He’s ridden over 1,500 miles in support of families and especially children, whose parents are killed in the line of duty and is equally dedicated to the mission of Action Cycling Atlanta and the AIDS Vaccine 200 beneficiaries. 

In 2018 Joshua chose to dedicate his AV200 ride to the memory of Donald David Fehrenbach, brother of my teammate, Jon. Last weekend Joshua chose to dedicate his AV200 ride to my brother Bret and didn’t let conflicting family obligations slow his plans. In stepped Mary Harding, long term ride buddy, teammate and fellow sibling survivor to carry out Joshua’s plans. Over the course of 2-days and 200 miles, 4 red cuffs engraved with Joshua’s dedication to Bret were passed from scientist to rider to crew to donor and back again. My words cannot come any closer than the looks on their faces as that bracelet came to symbolize the inspiration for why we ride and give, work and serve to end AIDS.  

Bret Granato - Band of Honor relay 2019 AIDS Vaccine 200 Ride

Joshua made it back in time for closing ceremonies
 and to see everyone who participated in his 2019 AV200

Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can                          -John Wesley

Getting 500 Miles Closer to Ending AIDS

Emory Vaccine Center AV200 research fellows w/young rider astride the
formerly riderless bike, offering hope for a vaccine - photo by Dan Lax

Your gifts to my first 200 miles in Georgia funded a new set of Emory Vaccine Center fellows to lend their fresh ideas and enthusiasm to fighting HIV.

Your donations to the next 300 miles will further fund HIV/AIDS research at EVC and also at the UCLA AIDS Institute, a beneficiary of my first HIV vaccine rides in Alaska and Montana. Please help me keep the momentum going with your extra credit gift to Charity Treks Inc. – another grassroots cycling event, by cyclists, to ensure 100% of every donation goes straight to the cause.

Inspiring progress continues in the world of HIV/AIDS research, especially in its two-way collaboration with cancer-fighting science. When former President Jimmy Carter announced he would fight his cancer with a new drug therapy at Emory, Jonathan Russell from the Emory Vaccine Center shared with the AV200 community…

“President Carter's treatment has been directly supported by friends of the Emory Vaccine Center including everyone involved in the AIDS Vaccine 200 and Charity Treks bike rides.
 People familiar with the EVC should recognize PD-1 therapy as an approach led by Dr. Rafi Ahmed for HIV prevention and treatment for nearly the past decade. All along we've talked about potential PD-1 uses in other conditions like Alzheimer's, autoimmune diseases and cancer.
 Keytruda isn't exactly "brand new" since it received breakthrough drug status nearly a year ago - but it represents a very exciting new direction in cancer immunology. Definitely more to come!”

Charity Treks 2015 begins September 30 from the UVA campus in Charlottesville, VA and winds 300 miles to end at our nation's capital. Please consider making a secure online donation today. 

This road is long. Every mile counts. Thank you for riding it with me and bringing hope to the journey.

Day 2 - A Day at the Beach

82.5mi. 6hrs

Blogging delayed tonight when I happened on a fascinating campside conversation between fellow rider (Barry) and Dr. Wu, our ride beneficiary. For the next hour, Dr. Wu and one of his newest lab assistants, Mark, patiently and enthusiastically answered our many questions about HIV, AIDS, the work currently underway and planned by his lab, accelerated by the proceeds from this ride. I find it outstanding (and unprecedented) that Dr. Wu, his wife, daughter, and entire lab staff are participating on this ride - staffing rest stops, setting up tents & marking the route, with the Wu family personally serving us lunch each day. I have no doubt he'd shake each donor's hand to personally thank you if he could. I look forward to sharing more of what I've learned in future postings.

As for today's ride, it rained all night and we had a puddle in the tent but dawned dry and stayed that way. In fact, it got hot! The terrain was flat though the wind was at our face. The pine barrens gave way to marshlands as we neared the coast. Our PM rest stop was at a butterfly and migratory bird sanctuary but the best part of all came at about 75miles, arriving at Cape May lighthouse and the Atlantic Ocean. Thanks to Theresa's lead and reminder we only had 5 more miles to camp, I plunged into the warm water! All was right with the world.

More pictures from Day 2

Spectacular!

Can't think of a better word to describe yesterday's ride. During the height of training, Friday doesn't arrive without a weekend ride plan, usually determined by the Puget Sound Riders' training schedule emailed by our Fearless Leader and my Breakthrough Rider teammate, Jon.

Jon had planned a Sunday ride along the Seven Hills of Kirkland route with most folks opting for the 11 hill option. Take note of my May 18 entry. True, hills are not my friend & although I should train on them, the threat of rain and my Sunday schedule made it easy to chose a different plan.

The family was gathering at Dad's house on Bainbridge Island to celebrate birthdays. Convinced I could piece together a familiar route, I decided to pedal there. The route was completely flat and not nearly long enough but what fabulous views! It was simply a GREAT bike ride and quite an indulgence on my part.

Maltby-Bainbridge Island Ride May 24, 2008

Enjoy my photo tour from Woodinville's Wilmot Gateway Park entrance to the Sammamish River Trail, connecting to the Burke-Gilman Trail through the Univ. of Washington campus to Gas Works Park. Then across the Fremont drawbridge and through Seattle Pacific Univ. campus to pick up the Terminal 91 bike path connector over the railyards, through Myrtle Edwards Park and along the waterfront to the ferry terminal.


It's a quick half-mile uphill to Dad's to enjoy the rest of the sunny afternoon with friends & family, including my husband who brought the car to take me home!
Happy Birthday, Tammie!

Til AIDS is History

To know me is to know I ooze my passions, especially when hearts are involved. In two weeks, Mary and I, along with Puget Sound Rider teammates, Jon and Lisa, return to the AIDS Vaccine 200 for the 5th time. Today our friend and Ride Director of this year's event, Tina Chang, posted a Facebook #TBT to an interview of Mary and me on our first AV200 in 2011.

Mary and I will spend this weekend training....again....riding for the same reason, til AIDS is history.

The Finish Line

Saturday morning dawned warm and muggy as roughly 150 cyclists left Emory University on the 11^th annual AIDS Vaccine 200. Almost immediately, our Puget Sound Riders team of Jon, Mary and I took an unexpected detour along the narrow winding roads of a nearby neighborhood. Jon powered up a sudden steep hill that stopped Mary when her chain jammed so I was riding solo when I saw it and had to stop. There on a fresh-cut lawn were 3 lounge chairs looking precisely as the scene I often describe of our 3 brothers, Bret, Peter, and Donald David, gathering again in their heavenly perch to watch the annual spectacle of siblings sweating it out to continue their journey to end AIDS.

The worthwhile detour added a few to our 100 mile day but we managed to stay dry and arrive at the Rock Eagle overnight in time for a quick shower before dinner. Tomorrow’s forecast was more ominous.

We got an early morning start to our return trip with foreboding clouds on the horizon. What’s a little rain for a Puget Sound Rider? Most of our training involves rain gear after all but this was no Seattle rain. This was what my Texas roots knew to be a gully-washer! Jon and I pulled into the first rest stop as lightening cracked over the field. We waited out the worst of it in a picnic shelter but soon after pedaling on, the deluge was so fierce cyclists were piled into every available crew vehicle and ferried over washed out roads to the next shelter where Emory grad students handed outfrozen bananas in a nod to the critical role of Yerkes’ primates in the quest for an HIV vaccine.

We rolled on at the next weather gap and passed Dr. Harriet Robinson, world renowned HIV vaccine scientist, standing under an umbrella at the corner, waving and thanking every cyclist passing by. A flat tire and 50 miles later, the storm began to bear down in earnest. My feet were floating in my shoes but I was warm and making progress as I slowed to stop at the intersection across from the afternoon rest stop and was startled by the loud simultaneously thunder clap and lightening flash as my foot hit the ground. Crossing the road to meet my team, I knew this was the end of our cycling day. 

On the long drive to the finish line, sitting on a towel in the back seat of a crew vehicle, I wondered why it’s so hard for me not to finish. An Emory University film crew interviewed our team at the post-ride celebration. When asked if I thought an HIV vaccine would ever become widely available, I blurted out an enthusiastic “yes” without missing a beat. What you won’t see on film is the vision I had at that moment of those 3 chairs and the sudden realization that everyone doesn’t get to reach the finish line. An HIV vaccine and AIDS cure might not happen in my lifetime but the end of AIDS will come, thanks to the contributions of each one traveling this road.

With gratitude for every person who supported the 2013 AIDS Vaccine 200 by contributing $255,000 for HIV vaccine research. And the angels rejoiced.

Stealth Ride to Turn the Tide

Anniversaries present an annual opportunity to pause on the journey forward, look back and remember where we started, placing present conditions in the context of our past.

Breakthrough Riders on Day 4, 2002

This September 10th my kickstand goes up on another cycling challenge calling attention to the 30 year global journey to end AIDS. We call it the Stealth Ride because it’s less an event than a personal challenge in the form of a bicycle ride where participants foot the bill for all costs so 100% of your donation flows directly to the front lines of HIV research, boosting progress forward. If the concept sounds familiar, chances are good you were part of the Breakthrough Ride, my 1000-mile cycling odyssey powered by donated support from Seattle to San Francisco and generating $30,000 for the UCSF AIDS Research Institute exactly 10 years ago.

Stealth Ride Puget Sound Riders

Originally, the Stealth Ride was to follow the former AIDS Research Ride route from NYC to DC but plans changed for several folks and this type of non-event made it easy for our west coast contingent to pocket the airfare, take our challenge closer to home and throw in a little elevation. On the 10th anniversary of the Breakthrough Ride, I’ll set out from Snoqualmie Ridge with fellow Puget Sound Rider and long-time cycling partner, Jon Fehrenbach, to scale 3 mountain passes over 3 days - Snoqualmie Pass (3,022 ft), Blewett Pass (4,102 ft), and Stevens Pass (4,061 ft) -  finishing up in Skykomish, WA on Wednesday, September 12.


The past decade has produced numerous breakthroughs in the fight to end AIDS, to improve and extend the quality of life for those affected by HIV and AIDS. Dr. Yuntao Wu's George Mason University lab made an important discovery that opened the possibility for an immune system to slam the door on HIV and lock it out permanently. When HIV can’t compromise the immune system, it never progresses to AIDS. Money raised in the first 3 NYCDC AIDS Research Rides (2008-2010) helped Dr. Wu secure NIH grants to file for a provisional patent and rapidly advance their research.

Today, there is still no cure for AIDS, HIV infection rates continue to rise disproportionately in diverse segments of the population and AIDS stigma has proven a formidable barrier to prevention and treatment  efforts but let’s use this anniversary to look back, see how far we’ve come and recommit to see this journey over the finish line.

Stealth Ride fundraisers coast-to-coast have set a goal to raise at least $35,000 for this groundbreaking AIDS research but the sky’s the limit and every donation is 100% tax deductible through Day2Inc. Your anniversary contribution will be gratefully accepted and securely processed on my personal online page.  Thanks for your early and generous support!

The Cost of Cuts

Two years ago I traveled to Olympia with my friend and fellow AIDS Rider, Laura, to lobby our state representatives for passage of 4 bills critical to HIV prevention and the health and well-being of those with HIV/AIDS. All 4 bills passed, successfully funding 3 programs.
Today we'll encourage preservation of that funding in light of the inevitable cuts every state is forced to consider under current economic conditions. I get that these times mean sacrifices will have to be made on all fronts though my personal preference is that we not be short-sighted, cutting programs that quickly cause costs to rise in other areas of the budget. It never pays to become complacent is the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Riding for the Same Reason

It was a pivotal AIDS Ride season. Thousands of cyclists drawn to multi-day cycling events throughout the US, into Canada and across Europe raised millions of dollars for local AIDS service organizations and vaccine research in 2001. My Puget Sound Riders fielded its largest event team that summer with more than 30 cyclists and crew on the Montana AIDS Vaccine Ride while several more PSR traveled to Montreal for the Canada-US AIDS Vaccine Ride.

Yet for all its momentum, the AIDSRide infrastructure was crumbling. Ramped up marketing had broadened awareness and increased fundraising for several AIDS service organizations and 3 large HIV vaccine research institutes but event costs skyrocketed; soon more money was funneled to promotion than to the worthy beneficiaries. Mega-ride events came to an abrupt end. Beneficiaries lost a major funding source. Riders also felt the loss and immediately began connecting with each other to find ways to continue their commitment to end AIDS by riding a bike. The following summer several grassroots, all-volunteer ride events sprung up across the country - in New York, Atlanta, Texas, Minnesota and the west coast. That same year, my Ride for a Reason partner and I plotted a course and recruited dozens of volunteers across 3 states to raise $30,000 for the UCSF AIDS Research Institute by cycling the Breakthrough Ride cost-free from Seattle to San Francisco.

It’s hard work to organize enough volunteers and sponsors to run a no- to low-cost event in your spare time. We couldn’t manage a Ride for a Reason repeat so in the years since, our Puget Sound Riders team has sought out and participated in events begun by fellow cyclists in 2001 or 2002 who are equally committed to raising as much money as possible to end AIDS - the Empire State AIDS Ride, NYCDC AIDS Research Ride, AIDS Vaccine 200 and AIDS LifeCycle.

Last summer I rode in the 10th anniversary of the AIDS LifeCycle. This summer I’ll return to honor the 10th anniversary of the AIDS Vaccine 200, supporting HIV vaccine research at the Emory University Vaccine Center, with my Puget Sound Rider co-captains, Mary and Jon. In September I’ll celebrate the 10th anniversary of my and Mary’s thousand mile pedal down the west coast with a grassroots return to the NYC-DC route in a “Stealth Ride”, once again supporting Dr. Yuntao Wu’s research to end AIDS.

The cause of ending HIV/AIDS may no longer have the backing of high profile promoters but the ongoing efforts of many, backed by so many more, will bring the end of AIDS within our grasp and keeps hope alive for the journey.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

My Little AIDS/LifeCycle Team

Puget Sound Rider teammate Jon, his daughter Liz and her boyfriend Luke (lunch crew) and newlyweds Glen and Mei-yen (honeymoon riders) waiting in the first of many Orientation Day lines. We just came from participating in the 30 years of AIDS group photo. Watch for it on Facebook or aidslifecycle.org

Amazing Grace

I spent Memorial Day on my last training ride this season  – the Seven Hills of Kirkland. If you know me, you know how I feel about hills. Several classic team stories involve my expertise at slow-hill climbing. Yes, I can go 3 mph without tipping over! But then, for this ride, a few angels showed up…

They showed up at breakfast in the form of several teammate/friends that crawled out of bed at a crazy hour on a holiday just to send Jon and I off as the Puget Sound Rider ambassadors on AIDS/LifeCycle.  

It didn’t rain. 

The climbs were long and often painful but the downhills were amazing – smooth, clear, fast and long! 

My favorite coping mechanism for getting to the top is to work through all verses of Amazing Grace in my head (cuz Elizabeth Sanders is the only person I know who can get enough air to belt out a tune on a hill climb!). If I needed any more proof of angels on our route, I need look no further than the top of hill # 6 where there stood before me a bagpiper playing, you guessed it, Amazing Grace.

Day 1 - Last One in Doesn't Wait in the Shower Line

107.8 miles. 7.19 hrs

Not dead last but pretty close!

The morning dawned Seattle-cool with threatening skies. The rain held back for opening ceremonies at the Falls where this pic was taken because, as you can see behind me, wind blowing mist our way next to the falls was just as wet and cold but cleared long enough for a quick team pic and we were off! The cool weather was perfect for a long ride until the skies opened and dumped heavy rain sporatically throughout the day. Fortunately I'd carried all the right gear, as did most others, including some that were quite creative, like teammate Jon & Linda in their Maid of the Mist ponchos, knotted at crossbar height or Saran Wrap around feet to keep them warm in wet shoes.

Oh yeah, coming in late...in almost an exact repeat of last year, what began as a flat tire only 1/2mi from the morning rest stop, turned into a long wheel/tire/tube fix that left me as the last rider back on the road, playing catch up into lunch. There, at least I found some company to schlep thru the wet and dry afternoon, finally complete my first century of the season, ending with a lovely dry, scenic pedal along the shores of Lake Ontario into camp.

Caitlin was there to check me in and Kyle brought me snacks and told me about his day - the camp crew chief says they set a record time setting up camp today! Then I was off to my cold shower; but this year there wasn't a line.

Today's ride is dedicated to Annie and Mom who also spent the day working hard, surrounded by water.

ESAR Day 1: Niagara Falls - Rochester

Unfinished Business

We’re late for our plane but have to rush back for the pamphlets. People need to know! – December 1994

Bret put a massive effort into educating everyone he knew and testing every new treatment introduced in those most desperate early days in the fight against HIV/AIDS, though it saddens me to think he’d never realize the difference he made. Instead, Bret died talking about what more he could have done if not for laws or stigma or a simple lack of time. Perhaps why I feel so compelled to keep HIV/AIDS in my sights, why I’m humbly grateful for the lives saved by your donations and why every ride is a victory yet each falls short of the finish line.

Today is the last day of 2017, an important time to look back on what we accomplished together this year to move closer to an AIDS-free world before turning attention to what is yet undone. In May, the AIDS Vaccine 200 was abbreviated by a massive rainstorm that started as I finished the first 100 miles of day one and cancelled day 2. The bus ride back to Atlanta began in the somber way of any unfinished goal until every rider was struck by the realization of a goal had already been achieved. These 100 cyclists raised a record $358,500 to continue HIV/AIDS vaccine research and support. You contributed to that record before a single cyclist had pedaled one mile from Emory University!

The Fred Hutch Obliteride in August had less dramatic weather (for 2-day riders) and more dramatic climbs of every kind with several hundred cyclists stretching themselves to work harder, raise more money and push immunotherapy closer to defeating cancer and HIV/AIDS - $2,800,000 closer!

Ending AIDS is my unfinished business but unlike Bret, I’m blessed by hindsight stretching back many years that involved thousands more people than miles and I can see how every contribution, large and small, has saved lives and is bringing us closer to ending AIDS. Thank you for being there in my rear-view mirror, for reading this message year after year and believing that AIDS will one day be history, like 2017.

Top 10 of ALC10 - It's a Ride, Not a Race

**original posting date June 6, 2011**

#6 - the worst part about being such a slow rider is being too tired to write. So forgive me if I wait til tomorrow to fully answer this question...
Day 2 - Santa Cruz to King City 110 miles