I started cycling in 1997, for my first AIDS ride: the Ride for a Reason, from Vancouver, B.C to Seattle. There were a lot of riders from PDX there too, supporting the local AIDS service agency, CAP.

Since then, I've focused on training for, then riding in a long distance, multi-day AIDS fundraising ride each year; all over the NW, Alaska, Montana, Seattle to UCSF, and the past 3 years doing the Empire State AIDS ride in NY - from Niagara Falls to NYC.

I'm planning to ride in a shorter ride for AIDS this year - the NYC - DC ride in September, about 350 miles instead of several hundred more. That being said, I am also not bound to the same event in the same location each year, as I ride for the same reason and hope to someday ride for the pure joy of it, when AIDS is finally defeated.

I know that there are so many worthy causes and am a consistent donor for many other events, in order to support just the cause itself or someone's participation.