Members of the Atlanta Rainbow Trout took part in a swim-a-thon on April 13 to raise money for Action Cycling 200, a two-day event in May that supports the Emory Vaccine Center. (By Matt Hennie)
Cycling event pedals with a purpose Some 100 riders expected for two-day trek to raise funds for Emory Vaccine Center
IN THE EFFORT to find an AIDS vaccine, a two-day event next month provides an unusual twist.
Up to 100 cyclists of varying ages and experience will pedal 200 miles over two days to raise money for the Emory Vaccine Center, which develops vaccines for AIDS and other infectious diseases.
And the riders in the 6th Annual Action Cycling 200 not only pay a $75 registration fee to take part in the physically demanding fund-raiser, but are also asked to donate at least an additional $500. Organizers hope to top the $75,000 the event raised last year for the vaccine center.
“I want to be a part of finding a cure for AIDS with my small contribution,” said Todd Wiggins, a co-founder of the event and race director. “I also see how people get inspired by what we’re doing. We’ve created this event that is challenging and it pushes people and shows them what they are capable of.”
Wiggins was among a group of gay friends who cycled their way through Europe in 2002 during a 540-mile ride over seven days to raise funds for the vaccine center and other organizations. When that event returned just 10 percent of the funds raised to its beneficiaries, the Atlantans returned home with the idea of creating their own fund-raiser that would donate all of the proceeds to the vaccine center. Started in 2003, Action Cycling 200 has donated more than $300,000 to the center.
“This is a grassroots event,” said Mignon Crawford, the group’s treasurer and a board member since the event’s inception. “We are very conscious of our expenses and making sure that 100 percent of the money raised goes back to Emory.”
SPONSORSHIPS AND REGISTRATION fees underwrite the costs of staging the event, which kicks off with an early-morning launch at Emory and stretches to the Rock Eagle 4-H Center near Eatonton where participants spend the night. Riders pedal back to campus the next day. Cyclists can choose from a 160-mile trip, the full 200-mile trek or forming a relay team that divides the route among up to five people.
If riding isn’t of interest, Wiggins said the event needs about 50 volunteers to help with logistics throughout the weekend.
“It is a challenge. … You have to fund-raise, you have to be committed in your training. It is very possible and people surprise themselves,” Wiggins said.
The funds raised for the center help feed its vaccine research and fill critical gaps in federal grant funding. The center, created in 1997, is home to one of the largest basic and preclinical vaccine research programs in the U.S. It was the first to put an AIDS vaccine in clinical trials.
JEREMY PLOESSEL, WHO swims with the Atlanta Rainbow Trout and regularly takes part in triathlons, is training for his first attempt at the Action Cycling 200. He’ll join a few friends in the event as part of their training for the Ironman Coeur d’Alene in Idaho this summer, which includes swimming, biking and running. But the motivation to take part in the cycling event also comes from seeing a friend die from AIDS a few years ago.
“It was a difficult thing to watch as a young person seeing that happen and seeing that person deteriorate,” Ploessel said. “It was an eye-opening experience to go through.”
Ploessel organized a handful of teammates from the Trout and formed Fish Out of Water for the cycling event. Last Sunday, they raised nearly $1,200 in an hour-long swim-a-thon and boosted their team’s fund-raising for the cycling event above $3,500. Together, the swimmers logged nearly 20 miles in the pool.
“We’re definitely focused on the training for the Ironman and the training that supports the 200. It’s just getting out on your bike and making sure you are putting your miles on. When it comes to the Action Cycling weekend, you have to have enough miles behind you so you don’t lose steam,” he said.
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