Funds go to the two sponsoring organizations, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. This is, of course, after the marketing, planning, and execution costs are taken out of the budget. Tip: if you don't want/can't raise funds, think about joining as a volunteer - it's the same amount of fun, but no money to raise.

The event has been running for over a decade, by now. It used to be called simply the Tanqueray AIDS Ride (after the main and only sponsor), but then somehow changed its name. It used to have a terrible reputation because so little of the money raised actually went to the sponsoring organizations - that's all fixed, now.

You can join online (at http://tofighthiv.org) or using one of the many fliers available everywhere. Volunteers swarm to parties and cycling clubs to attract more participants, and in the course of the runup, it's hard not to get in touch with a sign-up form.

You start up by filling in the details of your participation: who are you, how much are you pledging. Tip: you can always RAISE the pledge amount later, so start as low as you can.