> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Santa Monica students ride 575 miles for AIDS - URL: https://www.smdp.com/santa-monica-students-ride-575-miles-for-aids/ - Published: 2002-06-15T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T00:20:04.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Samohi juniors make trek on mountain bike; beach cruiser* *By JONATHAN PERSKY Special to the Daily Press* Santa Monica residents Max Dean Goldstein and Mark Hunter rode their bicycles onto Corsair Field at Santa Monica College last Saturday after six days on the road. The two 17-year-olds, who are juniors at Santa Monica High School, had just completed the last part of a 575-mile week-long bicycle journey that started at Fort Mason in San Francisco. They were among the five youngest riders, out of the 715 people who participated in the California AIDS Ride, which was organized to raise funds for AIDS, increase awareness and educate people about AIDS and AIDS prevention. Both teens had their own reasons for riding. “I like bike riding and I am involved in AIDS awareness and peer education programs at school,” Hunter said. “I wondered if I could put those things together. When I found out about the California AIDS Ride, I thought it would be a great thing to do.” > “I like bike riding and I am involved in AIDS awareness and peer education programs at school... When I found out about the California AIDS Ride, I thought it would be a great thing to do.” — — MAX DEAN GOLDSTEIN Santa Monica High School student Goldstein did it because he thought it was a good cause. “It’s not often that this much money gets donated to charities like AIDS Project Los Angeles,” Goldstein said. “I thought it would be a challenge in many ways... not just to raise the money.” Goldstein raised almost $3,000\. It was last December when Goldstein told his mother he wanted to ride. His mom, “thought it was a wonderful idea,” Goldstein said. “She even let me use her credit card to pay the registration fee.” Hunter, who just learned to ride a bike a year and half ago, committed himself to the ride two months before it was scheduled to start. “I don’t know if I can ride the distance but I am going to try,” he said at the time. Hunter put a majority of the suggested fund-raising amount of $2,700 on his credit card. He decided he would be able to re-pay himself by raising the money during and after the ride. Hunter ended up raising about $1,600 during the week. He hopes his friends will help him to raise an additional $2,000. Goldstein made the trek on a regular 21-speed mountain bike. “I put on road tires which cost about $20,” he said. “While some people got as many as two flats a day, neither Hunter nor I got one flat tire during the entire ride.” Hunter rode a seven-gear beach cruiser. The goal, set by the organizers of the event, was to ride anywhere from 55 miles to a little less then 100 miles a day. The two would wake up about 5:30 a.m. and be on the road by 7 a.m. The two didn’t ride together always as their paces were different. They often would connect with each other at rest stops about every 15 to 20 miles along the route. Bicyclists could get water, a snack and any medical attention, if needed. They would talk with people for a few minutes and swap encouraging words. “The second day was super hot and was a 102-mile day,” Goldstein said. “By the end of the day … my knees started to hurt and I was like ‘what is going on?’ I kept pushing myself. You need to keep going, pedal after pedal. You may be tired and sore but you will feel great when you get to base camp.” Hunter spent a lot of time reflecting while on the road. “While riding I would be thinking about school because it ends in two weeks,” he said. “I was also thinking about people living with AIDS and how they are dealing with it and what I can do to do my share.” By the fifth day, “I had done so much that there was no way I was going to give up. I had gained a lot of confidence by then just by doing so many miles,” Goldstein said, adding quitting wasn’t an option. “I did not want to get off my bike at any time, even to walk it up a hill,” he said. “I wanted to push myself and ride every single mile.” On the last day with only five miles left to ride, Goldstein was pleased to be in the familiar setting of Santa Monica. “I saw a friend of mine who was holding up a sign that said ‘Santa Monica Supports AIDS Riders’ and that was really cool,” he said. “When we were riding on 20th Street and turning right onto Pearl seeing the whole street filled with all the bicyclists, family and friends hooting and hollering, blowing whistles as I did the last couple yards … it was like boom — I made it. I did not give up. I was excited to do the ride. I did it all and it just felt great.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/061502-04_01.jpg) stein and Mark Hunter after the ride at SMC. (Photo: Photo courtesy Max Dean Gold-) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/061502-04_02.jpg) stein and Mark Hunter after the ride at SMC. (Photo: Photo courtesy Max Dean Gold-) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 15, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/061502.pdf?ref=smdp.com)