AIDSRide

Karen Klickman's Heartland AIDSRide page

Read my journal - totally uncensored!

I did it!!! The AIDS Ride is over, and it was an incredible experience. I ended up riding 545 miles--I did the whole route except for the last 5.5 miles on Tuesday, when I just ran out of energy. There were a lot of hills and a lot of headwinds, but I was reminded of just how much one can accomplish when one puts one's mind to it.

For six days we lived in our own little world of 1,190 riders and several hundred crew members and staff. We cheered each other on, helped each other up hills, and put up each other's tents. Just about everyone followed the "no whining" rule--although I did come close to breaking that one while riding in the rain on Saturday morning. I feel extremely privileged to have had the chance to meet so many wonderful people and to take part in such an inspiring event.

Friday night, it was announced that this was the last Heartland AIDSRide. It turns out that a long ride like this is just to expensive to produce to be an efficient fund-raiser. But it had a lot of non-monetary benefits as well, including reminding people along the route that AIDS has not gone away--about a million people in the U.S., and 40 million worldwide, are living with HIV. I hope that the organizations that have benefitted from the Heartland AIDSRide are able to come up with other, more efficient means of raising money.

Thanks to everyone who's been thinking about me and praying for me, and thanks to Judy, Wayne and Yvonne, George, Gloria, Doreen, Terry, Karen, Clare, Mary, Mom and Dad K., Pastor Joyce, Joyce R., Gloriana, Emu, Pamela, Lori, Mary Jo, Stacey, Miliska and Terry, Kari, Bob and Carol, Dr. Pena, John and Liz, Mom, Andy and Nancy, Gary and Rose, Chat Noir, Dr. Cheng, Aunt Lorraine and Joanne for your financial contributions--and anyone whose gift was made after I got my most recent list on July 17. I really appreciate all the support and encouragement I've gotten.

Karen

cartoon

P.S. Bicycles are vehicles, too! Click here to see what Illinois Rules of the Road has to say about bicycles. And here's a link to the section of the Illinois vehicle code pertaining to bicycles.

Route and Cheering Stations

How's the training going?

Who are the beneficiaries of the ride?

How can I make a donation?

Who is organizing the ride?

Links to sites about AIDS

Karen on bike

Read my journal - totally uncensored!		I did it!!! The AIDS Ride is over, and it was an incredible experience. I ended up riding 545 miles--I did the whole route except for the last 5.5 miles on Tuesday, when I just ran out of energy. There were a lot of hills and a lot of headwinds, but I was reminded of just how much one can accomplish when one puts one's mind to it. For six days we lived in our own little world of 1,190 riders and several hundred crew members and staff. We cheered each other on, helped each other up hills, and put up each other's tents. Just about everyone followed the "no whining" rule--although I did come close to breaking that one while riding in the rain on Saturday morning. I feel extremely privileged to have had the chance to meet so many wonderful people and to take part in such an inspiring event. Friday night, it was announced that this was the last Heartland AIDSRide. It turns out that a long ride like this is just to expensive to produce to be an efficient fund-raiser. But it had a lot of non-monetary benefits as well, including reminding people along the route that AIDS has not gone away--about a million people in the U.S., and 40 million worldwide, are living with HIV. I hope that the organizations that have benefitted from the Heartland AIDSRide are able to come up with other, more efficient means of raising money. Thanks to everyone who's been thinking about me and praying for me, and thanks to Judy, Wayne and Yvonne, George, Gloria, Doreen, Terry, Karen, Clare, Mary, Mom and Dad K., Pastor Joyce, Joyce R., Gloriana, Emu, Pamela, Lori, Mary Jo, Stacey, Miliska and Terry, Kari, Bob and Carol, Dr. Pena, John and Liz, Mom, Andy and Nancy, Gary and Rose, Chat Noir, Dr. Cheng, Aunt Lorraine and Joanne for your financial contributions--and anyone whose gift was made after I got my most recent list on July 17. I really appreciate all the support and encouragement I've gotten. Karen P.S. Bicycles are vehicles, too! Click here to see what Illinois Rules of the Road has to say about bicycles. And here's a link to the section of the Illinois vehicle code pertaining to bicycles.
Route and Cheering Stations
How's the training going?
Who are the beneficiaries of the ride?
How can I make a donation?
Who is organizing the ride?
Links to sites about AIDS