Heavy pedaling for AIDS

A Webster native and a Webster resident are taking part in a

560-mile bicycle trek to raise money for AIDS Rochester.

By AMY CAVALIER - Webster Post

Sue Green is a 53-year-old tax accountant who hates gyms and working out. "I've always been pretty active," she said. "I love to kayak. I used to golf a lot, cross-country ski and hike, but it's always been leisurely, nothing that required training."

Then she met Paula Silvestrone, executive director of AIDS Rochester, Inc. The two women belonged to the Red Hats Society. Silvestrone, a Webster native, told Green about a 560-mile bicycle ride across New York to raise money for four AIDS/HIV service and prevention agencies in the state. AIDS Rochester was one. Green was sold.

"The challenge was so enticing, and on top of that, she told me it was a life-changing experience," said Green. "That grabbed me. I thought 'I could use something to boost me up and make me feel good.'"

On Aug. 14, Green will begin a week-long, 560-mile bike journey from Niagara Falls to New York City's Robert Wagner Park as one of 12 members of the A.R.iders, the Rochester-based cycling team representing AIDS Rochester, Inc. in the Empire State AIDS Ride.

Green is participating even though her daughter is getting married one week later and despite back pain from arthritis. "When you get to be 53, you're gonna have aches and pains whatever you do," she said, "so you might as well suck it up and go for it."

In addition to riding, Green raised $3,200 from sponsors. So far, Silvestrone said, the Rochester team has raised about $45,000. An estimated 90 people will participate. Last year, proceeds totaled $250,000. The money raised this year will be divided among four agencies dedicated to HIV/AIDS service and prevention in Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo and New York City. Last year, about $40,000 went to AIDS Rochester.

Green and Silvestrone both hoped to take part in the Empire State AIDS Ride last year, but a pulled ligament stopped Silvestrone and a brand-new grandson got in Green's way. Now he's the reason she's riding. "Here's this disease out there that they don't have a cure for," she said. "I have a grandson. He's only one, but if I can do anything to make it safer, healthier world for him, I'll do it."

Green began training in December. Riding stationary bikes at a gym wasn't her cup of tea, so she took to walking up flights of stairs at the Chase Building where she works. In April she bought a road bike and started riding. Now she's putting in 250 miles a week and has logged 2,000 miles on the bike since April. She has also increased her average speed from 10 to 13 miles per hour.

Silvestrone will use a recumbent bicycle due to orthopedic problems that prevent her from being on an upright bike for that long. She said she's participating in the race for the hundreds of people she sees affected by AIDS every day.

"It's a personal challenge that takes me beyond my professional boundaries," Silvestrone said. "When I'm struggling up hills, I really try to put it in perspective. We've lost about 550 people to AIDS since the agency began in 1983. It (the bike ride) is nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to the struggles other people endure from this disease every day."

Hills like Empire Boulevard present the biggest challenge to Green, who said "that's a drop in the bucket" compared to the ones she'll be taking in the Catskills. She's nervous and excited, but she's going to do things she can't do.

This is not the Tour de France. "It's not a race, it's a ride, so I'm not afraid to get off the bike and walk it," she said. "I'm not trying to prove anything with my speed. I'm not Lance Armstrong. I'm just trying to get up the hill anyway I can."