A day before the Tour of Missouri spins through Kansas City, avid KC bicyclists and newcomers to the bicycling community alike will come together to support a good cause.
The Saturday, Sept. 12 AIDS Bicycle Challenge will offer 11-, 33- and 50-mile rides to raise money for the AIDS Service Foundation. This year — the first year the charity ride has taken to city streets — the short, more casual route will lead bicyclists from the Power & Light District to Historic Northeast via Cliff Drive.
“We are really going to play up the short route for a lot of the new riders that this event is bringing into the cycling community,” said Elizabeth Bejan, co-chair of the event.
Cyclists will exit the east end of Cliff Drive and head toward the Kansas City Museum on Gladstone Boulevard, where there will be a Support and Gear Station. Bejan said the museum would be a good place for spectators to cheer on the cyclists.
The longer rides will lead cyclists north across the Heart of America Bridge and north on Highways 9 and 45 to Farley.
Bejan said this event has attracted 500-600 riders in the past two years.
“It has not had a short route option,” she added. “We felt like any new riders we were bringing in, we wanted to get involved. We know a lot of people will give cycling a try for the first time that are usually involved in the AIDS Walk.”
The ride is the official charity ride of Stage 7 of the Tour of Missouri race, a 72-mile circuit race that will loop around KC, including Columbus Park down Charlotte Street.
Missouri State Senator Jolie Justus will serve as honorary chair of the Bicycle Challenge. Justus said she usually supports the AIDS Service Foundation and that when asked to chair, she got back on a bicycle for the first time in 20 years.
“I’m hoping that it really kind of shines a light on the bicycle community in KC,” Justus said. “I really hope that my participation and just the fact that we’re going to have so many riders this year will help spotlight the healthy exercise side and the alternative transportation. I’m hoping to highlight the need for more bike lanes and trails.”
Justus said AIDS research and patient support is an important issue to her because too many people think the AIDS crisis has passed. She said 5,700 people in the KC metro are living with HIV/AIDS — 700 of whom are between the ages of 13-24. About 10,000 people across the state live with HIV/AIDS.
“We need to continue to fight for funding for the AIDS service organization and for those people looking for a cure for HIV/AIDS,” Justus said.
Event organizers plan to complete the circuit of the short ride through Northeast by sending riders back toward downtown via Benton Boulevard. This route depends on the reopening of the traffic circle at St. John Avenue and Benton and Gladstone boulevards.
Mario Vasquez, project manager for the city Capital Improvements Management Office, said it is possible that the circle could be open for the event. However, the rain has created setbacks in the past two weeks on the project.
“We are going to work hard as hell to get it open,” Vasquez said. “Our enemy is the weather. Right now we’re going to make every effort to make it available for that event.”
To register, set up a fundraising page or learn more about the AIDS Bicycle Challenge, see AIDSBicycleChallenge.org. The cost to participate is $25 in advance, $50 on Sept. 12. Participants are encouraged to attempt to fundraise $80 for the charity.
There are also volunteer opportunities associated with the event.
See firstgiving.com/abckc to contribute to riders’ fundraising efforts and read participants’ stories. |
