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