Local Bicyclist Takes To The Road In The Fight Against AIDS

By Steve Bigham

Shari Burton is back in town this week after an inspiring 350-mile bike ride from New York to Boston. Shari, a 1985 NHS graduate, called the grueling trip one of the best experiences of her life.

Shari was one of 1,859 riders who made the four-day trek to help raise money for AIDS research. Millions of dollars were raised from the event, not to mention enough memories to last a lifetime.

“It was just an amazing experience. There was a lot of fundraising and training involved, but it was all worth it,” said Shari, who was inspired by the event’s motto, “human kind: be both.”

Pedaling from Bear Mountain, N.Y., to Boston is not for the faint of heart and long lines for dinner and showers often followed 100-mile days. But there were no complaints. No one seemed to mind the heat and humidity. Riders shrugged off the blood, sweat, and tears and met each approaching hill with smiles and laughter. These were after all special people who took part in the event simply for love of life.

The annual bicycle trip has been called a sort of pilgrimage with a very serious cause. Adults of all ages and different shapes and sizes come together for the cause. For some of them, it is a life or death cause.

“You gain an appreciation for human life and human kindness,” said Shari (aka Rider 1708), who pedaled her Cannondale R-400 from start to finish.

Shari and her fellow riders made their way through Newtown 53 miles into their first day. They stopped at St Rose Church for a break. There, Shari was greeted by her family and friends who wished her well the rest of the way.

From there, the group made its way to Yale University in New Haven where it set up camp for the night. Day 2 was a 100-mile ride to the University of Connecticut in Storrs. The riders then pushed there way to Dudley, Mass., before making the final leg into Boston.

In Boston, Shari was greeted by a throng of supporters, which included her husband Michael and kids Kelly, 10, and Mikey, 6. Also there was her mother, Barbara Bradley, best friend Laurie Mathison, her sister Christine Bailey and her husband, Richard.

Shari said she met a lot of friends along the way, people she will remember for a lifetime.

“The whole thing inspires you to be a better person,” she said.

The first AIDS ride was launched May 1, 1994, when 478 bicyclists left San Francisco for a 525-mile, seven-day journey to Los Angeles.