Empire State AIDS Ride #5 gets on the road soon...

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Thanks, Sharon...I'll be carrying your good wishes and also, have lots of road angels to go along for the ride on my handlebars...especially, as I can always hear my brother whooping and hollerin' with me on the downhills and his loving encouragement in my ear on the long, hot climbs...
Mary

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Mary, I hope you get to read this before the ride. From what it looks like, Monday will be the day. I was planning on Geneva but my DH thought that the Penfield one would be just as easy (besides- I can go to a bike shop on my way back if I go to Penfield ). SO, I am not sure which stop I will be at but it will be one of those. Probably the Penfield one...looking forward to meeting you..will your team members be riding together for the whole thing or will all of your fellow members go at their own pace? It has been blazing hot here, hopefully you will have a cooler weather week for your ride..Have a safe trip out..shelly

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Hey Shelly - will look for you while pedaling sometime on Monday then...the Penfield stop is actually called Town Hall field and it looks like it's on route 286/Atlantic Ave; do you know the area? Great idea to stop at a LBS, if you get the chance; I would too!
Our PS Breakthrough Rider team actually has riders and volunteer crew from all over; we rode last year as the Puget Sound riders and were all from Washington state, but this year we're riding for the AIDS Research Institute at UC, San Francisco with it's more global approach to vaccine research and cutting edge programs, so we now have folks on our team from the Bay Area, and New York city area too.
We all leave camp each morning together - at about 8AM and don't get strung out on the road until later in the day, so you'll see groups of riders in all sorts of configurations - since we're all either enjoying re-connecting with returning riders, visiting on the road with longtime rider buddies or enjoying getting to know new rider friends!
It'll be great to meet you and I also am looking forward to seeing my cousin at our overnight stop later that day - fun!

Yes, I've been aware of the heatwave there and have been on enough AIDS rides in all sorts of weather and other conditions that I'll hope for the best, but work to enjoy whatever we get during ride week...

OK, time to get to work on packing those 2-gallon Ziplocs - just in case!
Mary

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Our ride team (for the upcoming Empire State AIDS ride) just got this message from our beneficiary, the AIDS Research Institute Breakthrough Fund at the University of California, San Francisco!
ARI Director, Dr. John Greenspan, sent the following message to the PS Breakthrough Riders but it certainly is meant for every rider, volunteer, supporter, and donor committed to reducing and ultimately ending the impact of HIV/AIDS on our world, so I wanted to share with all of you.
Also, I got the news that my bike was safely delivered to the ride hotel in Niagara Falls today...ahhhh, that's always a welcome message!
countdown...4 days till Day 0 - Sat, 8/11...tailwinds to all!
Mary

Dear PS Breakthrough Riders:

In a few days, you will gather in Niagara Falls to begin the ride of a lifetime, the 2007 Empire State AIDS Ride.

Before you begin, I want you to know how important your diligent fundraising efforts are to our work at the AIDS Research Institute at UCSF. Most importantly, thank you for making the ride to benefit our research programs. It is reassuring to know that we share a common goal: a world without AIDS -- whether we are riding to raise money or working in a lab.

UCSF has been fighting AIDS since the first reported case in 1981. We have made incredible advances—from the development of new drugs and promising vaccine candidates to breakthroughs in clinical research and care to establishing groundbreaking prevention and education programs in dozens of countries.

Just as your ride will take you over steep hills and long valleys, we have experienced the highs and lows of medical breakthroughs. Along the way, we have learned that treating HIV/AIDS is tricky. Dr. Abigail Zuger, quoted in a New York Times article, said it best: “Not everyone who is infected gets sick. Not everyone who is treated gets well. Some people progress along the road from initial infection to progressive immune deficiency to life-threatening illness at the expected pace, then with treatment, head right back again to health. Others stall along the way, sick or well, defying our dire predictions and happy reassurances alike.”

So our work continues. With your generous support, the ARI will continue its vigilance in prevention efforts, here in the United States—where African Americans have the highest new-infection rate—and abroad. We pledge to work to develop new treatments, especially for patients who do not respond to current drugs. We will continue efforts to create an effective vaccine by understanding why some individuals infected with HIV never show signs of AIDS. Finally, we will expand training and mentoring programs for the next generation of HIV/AIDS clinicians and investigators.

Thank you for your incredible dedication to the cause. It is a dedication to the cure.

You have our best wishes for a wonderfully fulfilling week on the open roads of New York and our enormous gratitude for your support. Enjoy the ride!

John Greenspan, BDS, PhD, Director, AIDS Research Institute at UCSF