The ninth annual LifeRide for amfAR, a five-day motorcycle charity ride benefiting HIV/AIDS research, will culminate Friday, Aug. 10 at Kiehl’s Westfield UTC, 4545 La Jolla Village Drive, from 1 to 2 p.m.
The ride kicked off in Los Angeles on Aug. 6. It will thread its way down the coast making eight stops at Kiehl’s stores along the way.
At each Kiehl’s stop, the public will greet riders and learn more about amfAR, plus have the opportunity to contribute to the Foundation. Kiehl’s will donate $150,000 during the course of the ride.
AmfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is an international nonprofit dedicated to supporting AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education and AIDS-related advocacy.
This year’s celebrity-studded charity ride championed by various actors and influentials travels more than 310 miles down the Southern California coastline passing through Manhattan Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington, and Laguna before finishing at San Diego Kiehl’s Aug. 10. Following a pit stop at Kiehl’s Fashion Valley at 11 a.m., the ride will conclude in an open-to-the-public finale celebration at Kiehl’s Westfield UTC.
This year CycleBar, the premium indoor cycling brand, is joining the ride, allowing its members to accompany motorcycles. CycleBar will be offering Kiehl’s LifeRide for amfAR classes in select studios nationwide, and Kiehl’s will donate $30 per bike in one of these classes, as part of its overall donation to amfAR.
At the end of the ninth annual LifeRide for amfAR, Kiehl’s will have ridden more than 12,000 miles since 2010, and raised more than $1.9 million in total for amfAR, funding 10 cure-related research projects.
The proceeds from the 2018 Kiehl’s LifeRide for amfAR will fund a specific grant to aid the research of Dr. Gabriel Ozorowski, a scientist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla.
Ozorowski received a grant under the Mathilde Krim Fellowships in Basic Biomedical Research, an annual research initiative created to support bright young scientists seeking innovative solutions to HIV/AIDS. He plans to use an innovative technique called cryo-EM in the search for new antiretroviral drugs in a class called fusion inhibitors.
Cryo-EM is a technique that freezes molecules in action and can reveal exquisite detail about their structure. The technique earned its inventors the 2017 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Attendees at the race wrap-up at Westfield UTC will be treated to culinary delights prepared by chef Lorie Sauer, onsite health skin consultations and hand massages from Kiehl’s, a Liberty Public Market pop-up, an official $150,000 check presentation from Kiehl’s to amfAR and an opportunity to win 25 Kiehl’s gift cards, as well as a chance to meet and greet celebrity riders.
For more information visit www.amfar.org.
