AIDS ride article in UC, San Francisco news

[MM_QFC!]

Hi All,
Thought I'd share the press we got today in the UCSF publication; the AIDS Research Institute at UCSF is our ride beneficiary again this year...
Tailwinds!
Mary


UCSF Today
NEWS



Wednesday, 05 March '08

Two Women Prepare for Empire State AIDS Ride in Memory of their Brothers

By Jeff Sheehy

Many types of events have sprung up over the years to support the fight against HIV/AIDS — walks, marathons, and long distance bike rides.
Two women from Seattle were standing next to each other at the starting line on one of the first AIDS bike rides from Vancouver to Seattle in 1997, when one looked at the photo card hanging from a lanyard around the other’s neck and said, “I know you’re riding for your brother. So am I.”

The two dedicated women from the Seattle area, Tracy Daugherty and Mary Harding, lost their brothers, Bret and Peter, to AIDS in the mid-1990s.

That brief verbal exchange started a lasting friendship and a commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS that not only honored their brothers, but also turned ordinary bicycles and the will of two women into potent weapons against the disease that had robbed them of their beloved siblings.

A decade later, having ridden up and down parts of both coasts and having raised thousands of dollars for a great many worthy beneficiaries, including UCSF’s AIDS Research Institute (ARI), they visualize their brothers up on some cloud giggling at them and wondering just how long these ladies are going to keep this up.

With Mary’s son and Tracy’s daughter and son helping out as support crew members for this year’s ride, not only are they keeping up, but they are inspiring another generation to pick up the torch -- a source of pride, but bittersweet because this fight is tragically still so far from over.

Riding again this August in the 560-mile Empire State AIDS Ride from Niagara Falls to the foot of Manhattan and riding to support UCSF’s AIDS Research Institute’s Breakthrough Fund, Mary and Tracy’s team, the ARI Breakthrough Riders, are looking for a few good folks to join them.

The Empire State AIDS Ride, limited to only 100 riders, is by far the best one that Mary and Tracy have participated in—and they should know, having ridden all over North America on many different rides. Eighty percent of the funds raised go to beneficiaries—a critical point if one knows the somewhat checkered history of AIDS bike rides. The Empire State AIDS Ride was created by a rider for riders, so its safe, comfortable and fun.

“This ride guarantees a week you will never forget,” Harding said. “It is intimate, in part due to the 100-rider limit. They provide all the support you will need along the route, including ‘SAG’ cars to pick you up if you need to quit for the day, great food, lots of liquids, bike mechanics, massage therapists, medics, and friends you will make for life.”

“You will return feeling so incredible in body, spirit, and heart. You will meet amazing people and leave with pride for truly having made a difference,” Daugherty said.

Each rider must raise a minimum of $3,500 and cover the cost of transportation to and from New York.

In addition, organizers are working to secure a gift match for a challenge between the ARI Breakthrough Riders raising money for UCSF and a team raising money for Harvard.

To register or to get more information, go here.

Related Links:

AIDS Research Institute at UCSF

[short cut sally]

Mary, what a nice article..you are an inspiration! keep up the great work!

[MM_QFC!]

Thanks, Shelly!