Chicago Tribune
Tuesday, February 11, 2003

Less than a year after the popular Pallotta TeamWorks bicycle trek benefiting AIDS organizations folded, several charities plan to keep the momentum going by sponsoring fundraising rides of their own this summer. Two groups in Illinois, as well as outfits in Wisconsin, Minnesota, California and Washington, D.C., announced recently that they will pick up where Pallotta left off. They also plan to bring the focus back to AIDS awareness and education. "We're going back to basics for more of a grass-roots event," said Kent Linder, an organizer of the four-day, 300-mile Minnesota Red Ribbon Ride to be held in July.

The new events will offer shorter distances and fewer frills than Pallotta's Heartland AIDS Ride from Minnesota to Chicago. Gone are the glossy advertising campaigns, hired staff, and the comforts of portable shower trucks and catered food. The organizers of the upcoming rides are promising that 60 percent to 85 percent of every dollar will go toward disease-related research and social services. To meet that goal, organizers will rely heavily on volunteers and local donors for everything from meals to camping and shower facilities.

Bob Powers, an organizer of a ride benefiting the AIDS Network in Madison, Wis., said that instead of paying caterers, he has lined up food donations from Wisconsin-based grocers. Brad Ogilvie, director of Canticle Ministries and the HOPE Ride in Wheaton, rejects the suggestion that the public has become apathetic about donating to charities focused on AIDS. "The rides are just as popular as ever," he said. "To me they represent a return to health and the transformation of people. All I know is we have healthier people because of AIDS rides, and you don't put a price tag on that."
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