The Ride Against AIDS 2012 team kicked off their cross-country biking adventure this morning at Ocean Beach in San Francisco! These 19 intrepid riders will journey over 4,000 miles to Boston, raising funds and awareness for the fight against HIV/AIDS. Together, they have already raised $64,000! Check out the photos below from this morning’s launch and look out for posts from the riders throughout the summer!

The full RAA 2012 team at Ocean Beach

Margo presents Gabi Greenberg with "The Climber" award for most dollars raised to date: $7,941!

Margo presents Alice Bremner with "The Sprinter," the award for most dollars raised in the last month: over $4,000!

Margo presenting Manish with "The Mobilizer" award for most individual donors: 83!

Eve and Austin cheer the riders on!

Hello,

Welcome to the first Ride Against AIDS 2011 blog post! We are super happy to have you following us.

We have had a great weekend getting ready for the ride and are just finishing our meeting tonight attempting to memorize the bike route to take us out of San Francisco tomorrow.

First and foremost, we need to send an enormous thank you to our first host family, the Huttons. Tom, Wende, Cam, and Rachel Hutton shared their house with us for 3 nights while we prepped for the ride and they could not have been better hosts. They treated us to our first BBQ, Tom took us on our first team ride up Old La Honda, and then taught us everything we need to know about bike maintenance.

We had a busy day today getting ready for the launch tomorrow. We went on a shopping spree from Mike’s Bikes, REI, Target, back to REI, Safeway, and Jamba Juice (fail). We then crammed all of our newly acquired belongings into the van and surprisingly still have enough room for ourselves.

We finally got to meet each other face-to-face this weekend and here are some memorable events from our team bonding experience:

• Vadim got our first van accident out of the way when he backed into a pole ever-so-slowly. He may have also received our first traffic ticket when the world’s fastest yellow light left our van meandering through a video-monitored intersection.
• We learned that Katie can fit inside of children’s play cars (video to come) but cannot start real ones. She also has a hard time fitting the van into one parking spot.
• Laura shares Katie’s inability to turn on the car and sometimes likes to turn off the headlights while driving at night.
• Tim finally bought his machete for the trip after obsessing for two days.
• Michael has plenty of Chambois Butt’r.

We also want to thank Austin, Julie, Romy, and Nicole, the FACE AIDS team, for organizing and executing this ride. They were tireless in their efforts and we would not all be here without them.

Lastly we want to thank everyone who has supported us in our fundraising efforts so far. We are humbled by the support we have received and are grateful for everyone who has helped our cause in the fight against HIV/AIDS and global health inequity.

Coming attractions:

• Send-off pictures from Half Moon Bay
• First day reactions
• Rider spotlight: Tim Spittle
• Video of Katie Lund in a children’s car being pushed through a Safeway looking for bread

This summer, six riders from around the country will bike 4,000 miles in the 2011 Ride Against AIDS: Meet Lili, Michael, Vadim, Katie, Laura, and Tim!

They can’t wait to meet you, your couch, your grandparents’ floor, or your friend’s former bunk bed…

The Ride Against AIDS is organized by FACE AIDS – a nonprofit organization that fights AIDS by building a global movement of youth dedicated to social justice and global health equity. The 2010 Ride Against AIDS raised over $50,000 for PIH programs in Rwanda.

Help out this year’s riders by offering a place to stay along the route, and forwarding this message to friends and family who are spending their s ummer in the following places. Your help is also welcome in setting up speaking engagements in any of these locations (See the full Ride timetable here):

JUNE – California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado

CA – Fairfield, Folsom, South Lake Tahoe

NV – Carson City, Fallon, Austin, Eureka, Ely, Baker

UT – Delta, Manti, Little Cedar Mountain, Thompson Springs

CO – Palisade

JULY – Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania

CO – Vail, Bailey, Wiggins, Sterling

NE – Ogallala, North Platte, Lexington, Grand Island, Lincoln, Council Bluffs

IA – Casey, Newton, Iowa City, Davenport

IL – Peru, Batavia

IN – South Bend

OH – Bryan, Toledo, Sandusky, Youngstown

PA – Pittsburgh

AUG – Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut

PA – Connellsville

MD – Cumberland, Williamsport

DE – Wilmington

PA – Philadelphia

NJ – Princeton

NY – New York City

CT – Old Lyme

Requirements – Hosts are only required to provide a place for 6 people to sleep (includes couches and floor space). In addition, any of the following is greatly appreciated: 2 meals (dinner and breakfast), shower access, and washing machine access.

For housing offers, speaking event suggestions, and other questions, cont act Ride Against AIDS coordinator Austin Keeley (Austin@faceaids.org).

To learn more about FACE AIDS, the Ride Against AIDS, and how to support the riders, please visit: www.faceaids.org/rideagainstaids.html

By Austin Keeley, Ride Against AIDS 2009 Alum and Ride Against AIDS 2011 Director

In the summer of 2009 my friend Dave Evans and I embarked on the 2^nd annual Ride Against AIDS. We weren’t really sure what we were getting ourselves into, but we were eager to find out. It’s been almost a year and a half since Dave and I first shoved off from Palo Alto, CA on our cross-country journey, but it feels like just yesterday, and I can scarcely believe FACE AIDS is preparing for the 4^th annual Ride Against AIDS this summer! Rider recruitment has begun (applications are available here), and I’m frequently asked, “What is the Ride actually like?” I hope this blog post gives potential riders and supporters a glimpse into the adventures of life on the road.

When I begin to think about the Ride Against AIDS, it is always the roads that come back to me first. One moment I’ll be sitting in class listening to a professor lecture on one topic or another, the next I’m in Kentucky perched on a grassy hill looking over the border into Virginia. I won’t have thought of this particular road in six months, but instantly it’s as if I’m back there. I can sense the rising sun, I can smell the morning dew on the tall blades of grass, and I can anticipate all the adventures that a new state will bring. Not a day goes by without a recollection of this sort.

I think I remember the roads so well because of all the remarkable people to which they led me. I can’t help but associate Nevada with the ever-kind Sue Sevon in her hometown of Fallon. The mountains Colorado pale in comparison to the enormity of generosity that Jack and Donna Seilheimer showed us in Pueblo. Newly weds Sam and Sherry Flaming of Hutchinson, KS are epitome of mid-West hospitality. When Dave and I first rolled into these towns we were greeted by strangers. By the time we left we knew we had made deep and lasting connections with extraordinarily kind and generous people that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

As evidenced by Sue, Jack, Donna, Sam, and Sherry, public response to the Ride was extremely supportive all across the country. The magnitude of the undertaking- “Wait, you’re seriously biking 4,000 miles this summer?”- speaks to the magnitude of the problems we face. Time after time when I told people about the Ride the response was the same: “If you’re willing to spend an entire summer biking for this cause, it must mean a lot to you. Tell me more.” Spreading awareness about the global AIDS pandemic and entering into serious, interesting conversations with people from a variety of backgrounds was perhaps the most rewarding aspect of the summer.

Finally, the Ride made me realize for the first time in a very concrete way how important students are to this movement. I witnessed firsthand how you can plant a seed in someone’s mind and watch it grow. We as students have boundless energy and an unlimited resolve to face the problems that the world faces today. Whether by spreading awareness and affecting change through political channels in the United Sates or by raising funds that directly support life-saving care in Rwanda, we are the impetus for social change in the 21^st century. For me the Ride Against AIDS was an extraordinarily powerful way to get involved in an intensive, hands-on way with these issues that I care so deeply about.

Each year FACE AIDS seeks to grow and improve the Ride Against AIDS, but some things will never change. The roads may be different, but they will still call to you. The route may change, but you will still meet incredible people all over this great country. And one day we will live in world without AIDS and the need will change, but we will still be here to answer the call.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the Ride. My email is austin@faceaids.org and I’m ecstatic to talk to you about whatever questions you may have. I look forward to hearing from you and encourage you to apply for a spot on the 2011 Ride Against AIDS team by December 15!

Ride Against AIDS Application: http://www.faceaids.org/rideagainstaids.html

From Stanford Magazine May / June 2010

Riding for Rwanda

DROPPING OAR: Crew members Evans, Silver, Hegde, Shahriyer Pruisken, ’13, Roberts and Keeley.

STANFORD HELPED PROVE another axiom of life last summer, and the individual who gets the credit more than went the extra mile. One moment, Austin Keeley was bicycling smoothly out of the Colorado Rockies. The next, he was out of control, hurtling over the road’s guardrail. As he flew, a spike-like piece of metal—a mile marker, Keeley thinks— snagged his jersey and carved a bloody line across his chest.

Keeley and bike partner Dave Evans, both ’11, flagged down a car for the 30-minute trip to a hospital in Cañon City, Colo. An inquisitive physician wanted to know quite a bit about who they were, so Keeley explained that they were members of the Stanford rowing team on a cross-country fund-raising ride for the FACE AIDS organization. Obviously intrigued, the doctor picked up a large syringe of pain medication, looked for the right spot to plunge it into Keeley’s chest and then announced he was a former Cal athlete. Theorem proved: Ouch, it really is a small world.

A year later, Keeley’s tumble is a jokingly ghoulish source of entertainment for the three freshman teammates who will take over the Ride Against AIDS this summer. Already inspired by the physical challenge—almost 4,500 miles in 67 days—they banter about the marketing potential they see in Keeley’s scar, thanks to its resemblance to the Nike Swoosh. Underneath those laughs, however, is a much deeper connection. They all share an intense “rowing brothers” camaraderie that defines them as athletes and is driving their effort for FACE AIDS.

Headquartered at Stanford, the organization was started in 2005 by three students—Katie Bollbach, Jonny Dorsey and Lauren Young, all ’07—out of concern for shunned and orphaned HIV/AIDS victims in Africa. FACE AIDS mobilizes students across the United States to take part in fund-raising campaigns, with the proceeds going toward healthcare in Rwanda. Executive director Julie Veroff, ’07, says $125 pays a year’s antiretroviral treatment for one patient.

The crew team’s involvement began in 2007, when a former rower, Jeremy Barton, ’06, initiated the ride with friend Robby Sumpf, ’06. They pioneered a trip that includes scheduled meetings with interested groups but also seizes on happenstance encounters that generate publicity and contributions. That ride raised almost $8,000 for FACE AIDS and resulted in an ongoing partnership with the rowers.

Evans and Keeley raised more than $19,000. Improving on that is up to the cyclists who start pedaling June 14: Shane Hegde, Sanford Roberts and Zane Silver, all ’13, women’s crew member Claire Fisher, ’13, and four students from other universitites. They’re hoping alums around the country will help bring attention to their trek.

The Cardinal riders are conspicuously aware of their good fortune at being Stanford students and say they want to do something substantial to help people in distress. They especially want to do it together. “I expect,” says Silver, “to end up being in contact with these guys for the rest of my life.”