Pedal Power for AIDS

On Sunday, more than 2,500 people will hop on bicycles and pedal 565 miles for seven days, starting in San Francisco and ending on Avenue of the Stars in Century City, in the fourth annual California AIDS Ride.

Participants took off last week, right, for their last training ride before the actual event. To participate in the ride, each person has to raise $2,500, which goes to benefit AIDS-related service organizations in California such as the HIV/AIDS services of the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center. Last year, the Ride raised $8.2 million, making it the nation’s highest-grossing AIDS fund-raiser ever.

This one-week journey begins on Highway 1 in San Francisco and passes through Santa Cruz, King City, Paso Robles, Santa Maria, Lake Cachuma, Ventura and finally Los Angeles. Luggage, tents, hot food, showers, toilets and medical facilities will be transported from campsite to campsite, from start to finish.

The people who joined the AIDS ride are as different as the people who are affected by the AIDS virus. Some of them told DEBORAH BELGUM their reasons for riding.