Bay Windows - July 22, 2004
Laura Kiritsy, lkiritsy@baywindows.com.

That's why the 45-year-old Dorchester resident is currently training for the second annual Harbor to the Bay Ride, a one-day AIDS benefit bike ride that will have cyclists pedaling 125 miles from Boston to Provincetown - or a making a shorter 68-mile trek from Bourne to the Tip of the Cape - on Sept. 13.

"My obligation is to give something back," said Pasnick, who is also a volunteer organizer of the ride. "It's very, very important to me."

The fact that Community Research Initiative of New England (CRI) is one of Harbor to the Bay's beneficiaries makes the ride that much more meaningful to Pasnick. With sites in Boston, Provincetown and Springfield, CRI is the area's only nonprofit, community-based organization dedicated solely to HIV clinical research. The organization has produced research and drug testing data that has contributed to FDA approval of nearly half of the available HIV treatments - and Pasnick has taken part in some of those research studies.

"I believe that because of them I'm still here," said Pasnick of CRI. "So it's just a real natural fit for me to ride for them. I'm one of the very lucky ones I would say."

As they did last year, Boston's Fenway Community Health and AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod (ASGCC) will also receive proceeds from the ride. With the addition of CRI to the roster of beneficiaries, Harbor to the Bay can channel funds to three critical areas on the continuum of care for those living with HIV/AIDS. According to ride chairperson Jim Morgrage, Fenway was chosen for its medical care and HIV testing component, ASGCC for its social services - among them transportation to medical appointments, meal programs, supported housing and needle exchange - and CRI "because we really wanted to do a little bit with helping to fund research." Morgrage stressed the importance of giving people hope that advancements are being made in stopping the disease.

Given the state budget cuts to HIV/AIDS programs in recent years, CRI Executive Director Julie Marston welcomed the opportunity to benefit from Harbor to the Bay. "There's never been more of a time when we need to collaborate and develop partnerships than we do now," said Marston, noting that AIDS service organizations have lost 40 percent of their state funds in the past two years.

Like many other organizations, CRI, whose $2.5 million budget is comprised of state and federal dollars and in-kind donations, has seen its budget shrink because of the cuts, and the organization has been forced to diversify its funding sources, said Marston. Benefiting from Harbor to the Bay is a step in that direction.

Harbor to the Bay is a volunteer-driven, grassroots effort; keeping overhead costs as low as possible enables it to be a generous benefactor. A $50.00 rider registration fee covers incidental costs related to the ride, allowing every penny raised - a minimum of $1,500 per rider - to go directly to the beneficiaries. Last year, 70 riders raised a total of $123,500, said Morgrage; unused donations intended to pay for operating costs boosted the fundraising tally to $125,000.

This year's goal is to boost ride participation to 140 - all of last year's riders plus one friend, Morgrage calculates - and double last year's take. About 50 riders have already signed on for this year's event, nearly half of them women, said Pasnick.

Donating 100 percent of the ride's proceeds to charity was a guiding principle in Harbor to the Bay's creation. The organization's founders, led by the late Michael Tye, had grown disenchanted with the now-defunct Pallotta TeamWorks, a group that produced a number of fundraising events around the country, including the three-day Boston to New York AIDS Ride (which later became the Northeast AIDS Ride), when it was discovered that in many cases more than half of the money the events raised paid for the Pallotta's elaborate marketing campaigns and production costs.

Pasnick, a veteran of seven Pallotta events, recalls feeling embarrassed when asking friends to donate money for the rides, knowing that just 50 cents of every dollar he raised actually went to AIDS organizations.

Stephen Coady, a volunteer organizer who will be making his maiden voyage as a Harbor to the Bay rider this year, also emphasizes the benefit of the organization's grassroots approach. "One-hundred percent goes to the beneficiaries; that's what really makes us unique. And also the fact that it's a grassroots effort, it's a very community-based, community-oriented effort."

That community spirit is also reflected in the fact that at 125 miles - or 68 - Harbor to the Bay, unlike the Pallotta rides, is a much shorter trek, making it accessible to a wide spectrum or riders: You don't need to be Lance Armstrong to complete this ride. As a crew member for last year's ride Coady observed "a lot of diversity as far as physical fitness and ability among riders," as well as riders of varying ages.

The ride is challenging, Coady added, "but not to the point where it's exclusive of anybody who really wants to do it. It's important to note it's not a race." Riders are encouraged to train properly prior to the ride and make the 7-10 hour trek from Boston to P-Town at their own pace.

Though the Harbor to the Bay's most important goal is to give badly needed funds to HIV/AIDS organizations, organizers say there's more to the ride than money. With infection rates rising, particularly among young people, Morgrage notes, the ride also serves as a means to talk about HIV/AIDS and to remind people that the disease is still with us.

For Morgrage, the best part of Harbor to the Bay is the people: "[The] bottom line is working with such an amazing community and working with such a very dedicated bunch of volunteers." With the endless of loop of bad news and negativity on TV and in the newspapers, said Morgrage, "it's like a light at the end of the tunnel to see all of these people coming together."

For Pasnick, the ride offers a deep sense of empowerment. He recalls pedaling across the finish line of the California AIDS Ride for the first time and thinking, "If I can do this - riding my bike 500 miles - I can do anything."

For more information or to register for the Harbor to the Bay Ride, visit www.harbortothrbay.org or call (617) 274-4560.

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