AIDS Ride 4: Thousands of bikers race through New Haven for AIDS

AIDS Ride 4 was one of five grueling long-distance bicycle rides sponsored by Tanqueray. The riders left Boston on Thurs., Sept. 17 and finished their 275-mile journey in New York City on Sat., Sept. 19.

This year marked the first time that the four-year-old Boston-New York race passed through New Haven. The community support for the ride-in-progress was outstanding. Prior to the race, several e-mails circulated around Yale urging students to come out and cheer on the riders. Many students who witnessed the bikers passing through campus stopped and applauded once they realized what was happening.

Support from around the country was staggering. Riders told tales of recieving pledges from strangers they sat next to on planes. A team of Connecticut FBI agents known as "Team Fed" rode in the race for the first time after visiting a hospice for people with AIDS. The Boston-New York race alone yielded $6.4 million, benefiting several northeast charities. The approximately 12,000 people who participated in this year's races raised over $25 million. In the four-year history of the AIDS Rides, over $60 million has been raised for AIDS-related charities.

Most races are about victory. AIDS Ride 4 was about hope, raising money for research and care. The sponsors and organizers hope that the AIDS Rides will continue for as long as it takes to find a cure for AIDS.

--Laurie Randell

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