The sound of about 300 bikes whizzing along Cayuga Lake indicated it was no ordinary day in Ithaca. Beginning early Saturday morning, approximately 300 cyclists participated in the 11th Annual Ride For Life in hopes of raising money to combat AIDS. 

Billed as a ride, not a race, riders had the option of biking 50, 85 or 100 miles. The website of the organizer, Southern Tier AIDS Program, Inc., states that each returning rider commits to raising $500 in the fight against HIV/AIDS. First-year riders and those under 18 must raise $300. Riders could raise the funds through a variety of ways; many riders chose to create a website to solicit funds.