Every so often I enjoy a little bike ride on a balmy day
with the sun on my face and the wind at my back, the company of friends and
rural scenery so stunning one can only slow to a coast and marvel at its
majesty. Every so often, though not this weekend. Saturday was a rain or shine training
day – it rained, I rode. A cold, rainy ride is no one’s idea of a fun way to
spend a Saturday and yet it occurred to me while wiping a gloved hand across my
dripping face that no one asks why I ride a bike on a sunny day; they ask why I
ride in the rain.
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| Lab assistants pull weekend duty as rest stop angels |
The answer is simple. AIDS is not over. Next month I’ll once
again haul my bike 3,000 miles to cycle the AIDS Vaccine 200 because there in
Atlanta some astounding work is being done by people committed to the reality
of a world free of AIDS. Remarkable dedication oozes out of Emory University as
another generation of scientists and researchers enthusiastically explore,
challenge, experiment, fail, pick back up and try again because they know it’s
not a matter of if, but when someone will rein in HIV and stop the scourge of
AIDS.
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| Dr. Harriet Robinson has an HIV vaccine in | human trials |
Research funded by your past donations to Action Cycling
Atlanta’s AIDS Vaccine Ride supported the development of the world’s first AIDS
vaccines now in a larger phase of human trials and a separate set of human
trials currently testing another vaccine designed to teach the body to manage
HIV and keep it from destroying the immune system, leading to an AIDS
diagnosis. The aptly named Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center recruits volunteers
nationwide who willingly participate in these human trials.
The commitment of these and every researcher, scientist,
doctor, service organization and volunteer you’ve helped support over the last
18 years of my riding in the rain is contagious. It is the inspiration behind these
outrageous cycling habits that have given me an avenue for sharing an extraordinary
story of declining HIV infection rates and AIDS-related deaths with hundreds of
people like you, people willing to invest in this long-haul journey that will certainly
lead to a day when bicycle rides are reserved for sunnier days and AIDS is
history.
I humbly ask for your fully tax-deductible contribution to
my efforts on the AIDS Vaccine 200 and thank you for your support of all kinds, bringing hope and
progress to this, my journey.
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