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After seven years, Heartland AIDS Ride has called it quits. AIDS Events Minnesota, Wisconsin's AIDS Network, and Illinois' AIDS Cycle, Inc. are amicably splitting with promoter and creator Pallotta Team Works. The decision was solemnly announced at this year's closing ceremonies July 27. The AIDS Ride comes under some intense scrutiny by critics who question the rides costly self promotion and low returns to charities. Last year the Ride’s recipients saw only 35.3 percent of the $5.7 million raised by Heartland donors, the rest drained by event costs and overhead. However, ask any rider who has participated in the AIDS Ride and they probably will confirm that the ride is not only worth doing but is an event that changed their life.

To understand the complexities of the pros and cons of the AIDS Ride, one must understand the nature of a for-profit organization and the large-scale logistics of a tri-state area 500-mile ride. When you use outside folks to produce fund raising events, they shoulder the responsibility for the costs. Their interests may not always be aligned with yours. Midwest AIDS charities are paying Pallotta Team Works to market their event, choose the food and water vendors, not to mention shower trucks, tents, porta-johns, safety instruction, signage, media production costs, administration and staffing. It would be quite impossible to get this amount of services donated for such a large-scale event. Pallotta collects a flat fee each year for their services, one that is quite reasonable, not a percentage of income, according to Janna Sidley, a spokesperson for the AIDS Ride. The riders themselves pay $85.00 non-refundable fee to ride. Of course, they must also provide their own costs for an appropriate bike, proper biking gear, and clothing that can add up to $1,500 or more.

With the results from the 2001 AIDS Rides, the four rides netted $13.5 million to charity, and on an average, over 46% of each dollar raised went to the beneficiaries. To offset this upsetting figure, Stephen Bennett, President of Pallotta Team Works announced in a letter to rider participants in March that major plans would be done to scale back the 2002 ride: Getting rid of brand name snacks for riders, using cheaper caterers, buying water in bulk, consolidating command center operations that will reduce the amount of land lines and trailers, and producing the events in less time with fewer staffs.

The Development of SJA's Team Oz

Our SJA Associate Pastor Jim Cassidy started participating in the ride in 1997 with SJA Associate Music Director Dan Chouinard. "The following year six people [from SJA] formed a team concept and it grew to 28 people by 1999." 2000 saw Team OZ spring to 72 members and a peak reached in 200l with 105 members. This year the team cut back to 60 participants with riders and crew. Cassidy has seen how SJA has supported the ride year after year as well. "All of Team Oz appreciates the parish's grass roots membership of support for the ride."

Cassidy also felt that the public interest for him to continue the ride with Team Oz had sustained substantial donations: "I can't speak for all of them that supported me, but in the past six years, 60% would've willingly donated because they knew me, [it’s like] an inclusionary thing that pulled people in for HIV concerns." Despite successful riding teams like Team OZ, ridership for the rest of the ride had dwindled.

Jim Maurer

To trim corners of the growing budget expense, one significant hurdle the Heartland AIDS Ride had to face was removing the Twin Cities local ride office in 2001. The number of riders peaked in 1998 with 1683. This year's ride showed a scant 1190 in ridership. Cassidy elaborated, "The ridership issue was never clear with whose job it was for recruitment. Pallotta and the beneficiaries never saw it happen. Whose job is it to recruit? Had the ride reached around 2000 memberships, had the fine tuning worked out with the recruitment, had the cost containment thing been more collaborative [between beneficiaries and Pallotta], it could've been a twenty year success." Still with six years involvement, Cassidy honorably concludes, "Pallotta and the beneficiaries have done a marvelous job to part amicably. As for me, all I can say is what a privilege it has been to do the ride."

Jim Maurer, a member of the Clare Housing board of directors, feels "we couldn't get ridership up because of bad press. Critics have jumped on Pallotta but they have a set flat fee. Lack of a decent sponsor also hurt the ride." Pallotta lost its major sponsorship from Tanqueray this past year.

AIDS Foster Care Homes Will Be Hurt

While Fr. Cassidy has challenged beneficiaries who have scrutinized the ride's expenses "to do something to get more involved in the event," John Whalen, Executive Director of AIDS Care Partners--Grace House and Agape House, both Adult Foster Care Homes for people living with AIDS--responded in defense with "we didn't always get permission from Pallotta to build ridership. One year we (adult foster care homes) were given more control with PR and marketing, but it didn't make an impact. We had limited things we could do to bring it around." He added, "to break even on a ride, we need roughly 1000 riders. After fixed and variable expenses, nothing is left over." It’s clear that the ride needed to double that 1000 rider figure to sustain a profit for both the recipients and Pallotta. Enough riders also mean a consistency in the return of these riders. Whalen suggests "there's a problem when it became too many first time riders."

One of the biggest challenges Adult Foster Care Homes will now face is how to replace that lost income. Whalen concedes, "the whole issue of residential care is a big one. Expenses are going up. We're seeking to make our case better but we're competing with many for that dollar. The expansion of us [combining Grace House I & II with Agape Uno/Dos] came from the idea that we could sustain the budget because the ride would continue." Now it seems the ride has become an "unreliable source of income for us-a downward trend we could not rely on." But still, a ride that still kept the house's budgets in the black. "For all the Minnesota beneficiaries, it's our single largest block of money that we get, absolutely," cites Maurer.

AIDS Trek Proves Successful

One ride that is continuing is AIDS Trek Sixteen-the 150 Mile two day bike ride held August 2-4. Though minuscule in size next to the AIDS Ride, the trek is a non-profit organization run completely by volunteers. First created in 1987, the ride is still going strong after 16 years. In 2001, a small dedicated group of around 25 people raised over $5000 in donations; 97% of funds went to Camp Heartland. Kent Linder, director of AIDS Events Minnesota, reported that this year's AIDS Trek boasted a total of 94 riders and raised up to $40,000, with about $30,000 going to aid Open Arms of Minnesota.

Scott Zelon, director of Hope House, feels that "an alternative ride can be done less expensively by changing the amenities. Another way of doing it is to route the ride near college campuses and high schools that are willing to donate services" for rider's food and lodging. "We could see 70% rather than 35% for returns," he suggests. Linder organized a major meeting with the adult foster care homes locally to discuss an alternative ride on August 14th. Stay tuned to see what they produce.

My Personal Experiences with Heartland AIDS Ride

Having participated in the first Heartland AIDS Ride as a crew member in 1996, I came away stunned by the successful efficiency of the ride. The logistics alone are mindboggling. The most memorable aspect was the ever present credo of the event-being kind to one another. This ride was not a competition, but rather a journey we could share together. Promoting HIV awareness and honoring loved ones that had died with AIDS were what we came for. I completed the ride as a rider for the past three years and take home lasting memories of experiencing just what kindness can do: people willing to help each other no matter how insignificant the matter; instead of road rage, impatience and intolerance, people came together to work out their differences.

Is the ride challenging? You bet! Head winds, rain, sleep deprivation, aches and pains, and bodily injury are all part of the experience. What's amazing is what you learn from these adversarial conditions. I learned how to improve my riding technique so I could handle the overbearing rough winds. I learned that it wasn't about getting into camp by a certain time but rather how you could be there to help each other reach the finishing line. I also became just a little bit more humble, and a lot more patient in general. And of course, I laughed and smiled heartily with everyone.

Michael Reinbold is a professional photographer and banquet caterer with an extensive theatre background in acting, writing, and directing. He loves all aspects of the arts, staying fit, and helping and inspiring people. A passionate believer in St. Joan of Arc's mission of social justice, Michael is a continuing AIDS Ride participant, Grace House volunteer cook, mass reader, and Joan of Arc choir member. He looks forward to web reporting and photographing for the website.

Riding as an HIV Positive Peddler gave me the opportunity to unite with other pos peds, to let go of my shame, to overcome fear, and to empower one another. Such transforming memories happen because we believe in the ride. Heartland AIDS Ride may be over, but what we gleaned from the experience will never be forgotten. I can speak as a proud Pos Peddler and SJA Team Oz member and say we've only just begun.

Edie's Thoughts These reflections haven't reached you sooner because they are very painful for me to write, knowing that next year this ride will not go. I want to communicate that I believe this is truly a wonderful ride, with gifted organizers. Every criticism brought to their attention (Pallotta Team Works) after the ride last year, was addressed. We experienced a more modest ride with much less commercialization. They listened, they heard and they acted. How tragic that it is all cut off because of last year's return on donation. I worry that another source of this many dollars to the beneficiaries possibly won't be found. The beneficiaries depended heavily on these dollars to exist. As a biker, I can't think of a ride better supported and safer. The opportunity to go on a 500-mile journey with folks taking care of you brings home a very strong message. The message that none of us are alone in this world. We take care of each other unconditionally. For the three years that I was able to participate, I was safe, my bike was safe, my belongings were safe and I felt welcomed and loved by all along the way. Each day was a challenge bringing home the idea that life isn't always a picnic. But, also letting us know that with help from each other we can and do make it in life. I also remember the support we brought to folks in the towns we passed through, who personally had been touched by AIDS. They came out and showered us with whatever gifts they had, to let us know our ride was important and needed. My daughter was able to go along this year. The experience shared with my daughter is one I'll always treasure. I thank Paul Lipetzky and the others who made that possible for the two of us. I want to thank the folks who put up my tent day after day. In spite of having biked many miles this past year, I'm still slow. Having that tent up was a wonderful gift. My love to you. I'll try to do for others likewise. And my kind tentmate, Rosemary. I know my snoring was pretty bad by the end of the week. My legs were swollen and so was my throat. Rosemary never said a word! Edie Kalweit has been a St. Joan of Arcer for 25 years now. Now that her children are grown, there is time to participate more fully in activities taking place at St. Joan's. I hope Pallotta resumes the ride someday. They are excellent organizers, even if they may have made some mistakes in the past. The beneficiaries serve a necessary need in our community and need lots of support. And bikers are blessed with a ride such as this one. Where else can 70-year-old people display their athleticism or volunteerism without risking their health? This micro-society allows one to do so safely. As Jim Cassidy has already said, I feel I was privileged to have been able to participate.