Registration for 2009 is now open.

Congratulations, Dr. Yuntao Wu and team!

In his long-awaited study, published in the Sept. 5 issue of the scientific journal Cell, Dr. Wu and his research team at George Mason University show how the HIV virus breaks a protective barrier to get inside a T cell, eventually causing the cell to die. That CD4 T-cell death leads to full-blown AIDS.

With this understanding, Wu believes someday that a therapy targeted at short-circuiting that process -- a short-term drug treatment of several weeks or months -- could stop T cell death. This means that an infected person would still test positive for the HIV virus but would no longer suffer from a compromised immune system.

"This study really opened avenues for us and we hope to use this information as a foundation for more detailed studies that could lead to the development of new therapeutic tools," said Wu, a virologist who is an assistant professor in George Mason University's Department of Molecular and Microbiology.

Click HERE to download a 2009 donation form.

We're riding from New York City to Washington, DC, September 10-13, 2009 to support this thrilling new AIDS research with the potential to block the virus and its devastating effect on the human immune system.

We’re supporting Dr. Yuntao Wu and his research lab by raising $200,000 to accelerate their work to decode how the AIDS virus destroys T cells. Dr. Wu has just completed a six-year study that breaks new ground in the race to defeat HIV and save lives.

Your donation can help us defeat AIDS in our lifetime.

The NYCDC Ride is limited to an intimate group of 100 cyclists of all skill and experience levels. We welcome beginners and A level racers! Ride at your own speed and comfort level with the full support of our experienced road crew.

(And Dr. Wu and his entire staff are supporting us! They will be volunteering on the ride!)

The ride begins at 8 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 10th at Pier 11 in lower Manhattan with a ferry ride across New York's harbor to Atlantic Highlands, NJ, where we'll begin a meandering 85-mile route through horse country and into the pine barrens, wide, flat straightaways with little to no traffic. Our lunch stop is at a pristine reservoir, far from the crowds. You won't believe you're in New Jersey!

Our second day's route of 88 miles continues along the Wading River into the lush farmlands of cranberry bogs and blueberry fields. We'll stop at a migratory bird sanctuary, then ride along the gorgeous Delaware Bay to the resort town of Cape May. You can opt for an addition 12 mile loop to the Cape May Lighthouse and beaches to round out your day with a century.

We'll begin Day 3 with an exhilarating ride on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry to Delaware. You'll ride another 85 miles across flat farmland and through charming seaside towns, ending the route at the Fisherman's Crab Deck, where we'll have a blue crab feast.

We'll ferry you by private yacht over Chesapeake Bay Sunday morning to historic Annapolis for a final ride into Washington, DC.

Check out our sister ride, the Empire State AIDS Ride, at www.empirestateaidsride.org. In the past five years we’ve raised almost $2-million for AIDS research and services. We’ve created a successful and transparent ride model that keeps overhead low and guarantees that 82 percent of the money you raise will reach our beneficiary.

Each NYCDC rider pledges to raise a minimum of $2,500. It’s a big commitment and it means lots of training time, but we believe it’s worth the effort if we can accelerate the search for a cure.

“As a researcher, it is a great encouragement to realize that our research work is important for a lot of people who care. With their support, we can only work harder and harder to make great contributions so that the disease can be cured one day.”
--Dr. Yuntao Wu

2008 Riders, click HERE to log-in to your 2008 donation site.