In June 2008, for my 11th Year, I will participate in an event to benefit the S.F. AIDS Foundation called AIDS LifeCycle. Each year, I cycle 575 miles (from S.F to L.A, CA.). And, I complete the ride knowing I did the right thing.

A great summertime ride. For a 14-1/2 mile ascent, start at Echo Lake. This is the highest paved one-way road in the continental US. Easy grade -- averaging about 5% -- so it's not a killer climb, just a relentless one. Great, great views. And of course the ride down is an absolute blast. Best to do it on a weekday; weekend traffic can be heavy. Or get an early weekend start to ride up before car traffic gets bad. (You want to be off the mountain by 1 pm typically anyway, since afternoon thunderstorms are common.) More hardy cyclists can start in Idaho Springs (28 miles to the top, 7,000' of climbing) or Bergen Park (and approach the mountain via the Squaw Pass road).