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May 11, 1998

UCSC bike ride will draw attention to California AIDS Ride

By Francine Tyler

Starting May 31, a group of UCSC students, alumni, faculty, and staff will ride their bicycles from San Francisco to Los Angeles for the California AIDS Ride.

On the seven-day ride, they'll cover 560 miles to raise money for AIDS prevention and research. To call attention to the cause and raise additional funds, the seven bicyclists plan two far shorter dry runs on Bike-to-Work/School Day, Thursday, May 21.

The group invites other members of the campus community to join them as they bike from East Side Santa Cruz to UCSC in the morning and take a spin around campus in the afternoon.

"We want to give visibility to the fact that the campus has all these people who are taking part in the AIDS ride--a really great event," said Kim Tyler, manager of the Economics Department, who won't ride but will provide support services during the seven-day event.

"It's also the obvious thing to do--to have fun bicycling as a group on Bike to Work Day," she added.

The riders will meet at the Lucky's parking lot on Soquel Avenue and leave there at approximately 6:30 a.m., Tyler said. Riders can join the group as it continues toward campus via Soquel and Walnut Avenues and King and Bay Streets. The group plans to reach the main entrance of campus by 7 a.m. and bicycle up Hagar Drive. People will leave the group as they reach their respective offices, labs, and classrooms.

At noon on the same day, the riders will lead another ride around campus. The group will meet at the upper level of College Eight at 12:10 p.m. and bike to Porter and Kresge Colleges, to the science buildings at the center of campus, to the Cowell Student Health Center, and to Crown, Merrill, Stevenson, and Cowell Colleges. The ride will end at McHenry Library at 12:45 p.m.

At McHenry, the California AIDS Ride participants will speak briefly about their upcoming participation in the weeklong ride.

Members of the UCSC community who are participating in the California AIDS Ride include alumni April Frederick, Chris O'Donnell, and Krista Peterson; Mike Goebel, a graduate student in biology; Daniella Woolf, humanities development staff member; Mary Zavanelli, lecturer in biology; and Amy Weaver, a lecturer at Stevenson College.

Pledge forms to support these participants are available from the riders directly or at the Bike-to-Work/School Day event. For more information about the California AIDS Ride, go to the ride's Web site.

For more information about Bike-to-Work/School Day events, go to an earlier article.


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