Ride for AIDS Chicago was created in 2001 in an effort to create a grassroots fundraising event with all money raised going to charity. The event was originally called "Pride Ride". The inaugural event had 14 participants and raised over $20,000. In each of the next years of the event, 99% (or better) of the donations collected by riders were returned back to the beneficiaries.

Initially the volunteers who created the event wanted to create a seperate, legally recognized organization, and Pride Ride NFP was established. There was a lot of energy and excitement in the first year of the ride. The second year of the ride was a little more difficult now that the volunteers had to deal with running an organization as well as coordinate the ride. The second year was not nearly as successful as the first year, so the volunteers decided to disolve their new organization and make the ride one of TPAN's fundraising and outreach events.

This turned out to be a really good decision. In 2003, with a new name: Ride for AIDS Chicago, and the addition of BEHIV as a beneficiary, the volunteers were re-energized and the ride was a huge success! 54 riders raised nearly $70,000 dollars. Because of this, we often refer to 2003 as being the inaugural year of the Ride for AIDS Chicago.

The orginal 2001 founders include: Tamara Alie, Barry Aldridge, Cheryl Lawrence, Randall Leurquin, Brad Tucker, Sara Walz, Fred Walz and Sue Wilde. If you see one them, thank them for their inspiration and hard work.

The ride has expanded greatly since then and requires many more volunteers, so if your interested in helping out with coordinating the ride please get in touch.