NorCal AIDS Cycle wraps up for 2016

On Sunday, May 15th, cyclists and crew made their way from Auburn to the State Capitol, to wrap up another season of NorCal AIDS Cycle. On the heels of a shoulder injury, and feeling severely under-trained, I was still able to ride 200 of the 300 miles of the ride. And I was very happy to have ridden the entire last day from Auburn to Sacramento.

I first want to thank my River City Roadies teammates Gayle Monroe and Joan Purser for their companionship and support. And all of the other cyclists and crew who were a part of this amazing event, you are the reason that I return year after year. Thanks also to our team sponsor, the River City Food Bank, for the fabulous jerseys and team support.

And a hearty thank you to everyone who supported us with their pocketbooks. This year (so far), we have raised over a quarter-of-a-million dollars to benefits agencies in our community, providing support to those suffering from HIV/AIDS, and who provide prevention and testing services. Every contribution makes a difference the in the life of someone you may never know.

Now, you might be thinking… “oh bother… I never got around to making a contribution.” Never fear… we can still take donations until June 14th! Just click the link below, and help me hit my goal of $5,000 for 2016!

Click here to donate to NCAC 2016!

The River City Roadies

NCAC 2016… down to the wire!

Looking at the calendar today, I came to the shocking realization that NorCal AIDS Cycle begins in just ten days! Due to my shoulder injury in a crash last January, I have not trained nearly enough, and I’m still having a fair amount of shoulder pain. It is my intention that I will ride all three-hundred miles this year, but my body may other ideas. We shall see!

For 2016, there is a whole new route in store for us. Next Thursday, we will gather at Raley Field in West Sacramento to begin the long ride through Davis, Winters, and Woodland, all the way to Auburn. We will be “base-camping” at the Gold Country Fairgrounds for the next few days. And then on Sunday, we will have a short mostly downhill ride to the State Capitol for the closing ceremony.

Fund-raising has gone very well though. My annual benefit organ recital at Trinity Cathedral brought in $1,500 which I shared with my two River City Roadies teammates. I have met my fund raising goal, and am now helping my teammates to reach their goals too. My teammate Joan could really use a boost in her fund-raising right now. If you have not yet made a contribution to NCAC for 2016, just click the link below to support us!

I want to express my deepest thanks to everyone who has contributed to NCAC for 2016. Your donations really make a difference to someone in our community, suffering from HIV/AIDS. And who knows…. maybe this terrible disease will be eliminated once and for all, and I can just ride my bike for fun!

Click here to donate to NCAC 2016!

NCAC April update

It is only a few weeks until I take off on my sixth edition of NorCal AIDS Cycle. Whew…. where did the time go??

As part of my fund-raising efforts, I presented a benefit organ concert at Trinity Cathedral last weekend, and it was a great success both musically and monetarily. We had a great turnout, and raised nearly $1,500 for NCAC. I was assisted by my two team-mates from The River City Roadies cycling team, and the proceeds from the concert are being shared with them.

 

My training is way behind what I had hoped it would be. The shoulder injury I sustained in a crash back on a January ride, is still giving me trouble, so I have not been riding as much as I would like. But I seem to be getting in an increasing number of rides in these days, so hope to be ready with the ride begins in just a few short weeks.

The ride starts at Raley Field on Thursday morning, May 12th, and will make our way up to Auburn. The next three days we will be basecamping at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn, and on the final day we will ride back down to Sacramento for our triumphant finish at the State Capitol.

I want to thank everyone for their support in this endeavor. Your support really makes a difference to people in our communities, suffering from HIV/AIDS! If you haven’t yet contributed for 2016, just click the link below to make a tax-deductible donation. And I would ask you to support my two River City Roadies team-mates Joan Purser and Gayle Monroe, so that all of our team will be able to ride on May 12th!

Click here to make a donation to NCAC!

Benefit Organ Concert coming up!

David Link’s benefit organ concert for NorCal AIDS Cycle

Sunday, April 17th at 4:00 pm

Please join Canon David Link for the Fourth Annual NorCal AIDS Cycle benefit organ concert at Trinity Cathedral. NorCal AIDS Cycle is Northern California’s premier fund-raising event for local agencies providing services to those in our community suffering from HIV/AIDS. To raise funds for NCAC, Canon Link will be working both the organ pedals and the bicycle pedals! The program will include:

Toccata & Fugue in d minor (BWV 565) – J. S. Bach
Three chorale settings for Eastertide – J. S. Bach
Two short pieces – Samuel Wesley
Tuba Tune in D – C. S. Lang
Cantilena (Sonata 11, opus 148) – Josef Rheinberger
Fantasia on “Tonus Peregrinus” (opus 98 #1) – Josef Rheinberger
Berceuse (24 Pieces en Style Libre, opus 31) – Louis Vierne
Pim’s Toccata (1982) – Alan Wilson

The concert is played on the Cathedral’s twenty-nine rank Reuter Pipe organ, which has recently undergone a thorough restoration and enlargement. The antiphonal “Processional” division has just been completed by Schoenstein and Co organ builders, and is stunning!

The suggested minimum donation is $10, but donations of any size, large or small will be gratefully accepted, and will make a big impact in our community.

Trinity Cathedral is located at 2620 Capitol Avenue at 27th Street in mid-town Sacramento. Parking is usually available on the street (FREE on Sunday), or in the Sutter Garage at 27th and N Streets ($5 flat rate on weekends).

NCAC March update

With dry weather prevailing for most of February, it seemed a good time to jump-start my training for NorCal AIDS Cycle… now just ten weeks away. I had worked out a nice thirty-four mile loop ride, using the new Cosumnes Boulevard extension, heading down to the town of Franklin, and then heading back on River Road along the Sacramento River. Unfortunately, fate had other ideas. There is a spot where Franklin Boulevard crosses some S P railroad tracks at a pretty sharp angle. I tried to get perpendicular to make a safe crossing, but my front wheel slid into the gap next to the track, and I came down on the pavement pretty hard.

The result was a lot of shoulder and neck pain, but nothing broken it appears. But a month later I’m still pretty sore. So it has cramped my training a little bit. But two weeks later, with a multi-day bike tour on the horizon, I nervously got back on the bike, and started training again.

Fund-raising has been in full swing, and donations are starting to come in. For the previous five years, I have been one of the top fundraisers for NCAC. I really don’t want to be competitive about it, but I really can’t help it! My biggest fund-raising event each Spring is a benefit pipe organ recital at Trinity Cathedral. This year it will be on Sunday, April 17th at 4:00 pm. More details can be found here: NCAC benefit organ recital  I hope you will be able to come for an afternoon of great music on our newly restored Cathedral organ, and also to support this excellent cause.

Once again, I am asking you to help me make my goal of raising eight-thousand dollars for NorCal AIDS Cycle. This worthy organization supports organizations who support our neighbors suffering from HIV/AIDS, and helping to prevent new infections. Thank you for your support!

Click here to support NorCal AIDS Cycle

Will pedal for cash!

Sunday, April 17th at 4:00 pm

Please join Canon David Link for the Fourth Annual NorCal AIDS Cycle benefit organ concert at Trinity Cathedral. NorCal AIDS Cycle is Northern California’s premier fund-raising event for local agencies providing services to those in our community suffering from HIV/AIDS. To raise funds for NCAC, Canon Link will be working both the organ pedals and the bicycle pedals! And a surprise or two may happen as well.

The program will include:
Toccata and Fugue in d minor (BWV  565) – J. S. Bach
Three chorale settings for Eastertide – J. S. Bach
Two short pieces – Samuel Wesley
Tuba Tune in D – C. S. Lang
Cantilena (Sonata 11, opus 148) – Josef Rheinberger
Fantasia on “Tonus Peregrinus” (Sonata 4, opus 98) – Josef Rheinberger
Canzona (Sonata for Organ, 1936) – Percy Whitlock
Pim’s Toccata – Alan Wilson

The recital is played on the Cathedral’s Reuter/Schoenstein pipe organ, which has recently undergone a thorough restoration. The suggested minimum donation is $10, but donations of any size, large or small will be gratefully accepted, and will make a big impact in our community.

Trinity Cathedral is located at 2620 Capitol Avenue at 27th Street in mid-town Sacramento. Parking is available in the Sutter Community garage for a weekend flat-rate of $5.

 

Canon Link and The Red Baron, ride again!

Yes, in 2016 I will once again participate in NorCal AIDS Cycle… a three-hundred mile/four day bike ride, in support of agencies in Northern California, providing urgently needed services to those suffering from HIV/AIDS. This is my sixth year riding NCAC, and once again, I lead the “River City Roadies” cycling team, sponsored by the River City Food Bank, and long time beneficiary of the ride.

Once again, I am asking for your support. Thanks to the generosity of so many people, I was able to raise over eight-thousand dollars last year, and hope to do the same again this year. The agencies who receive our grants provide badly needed services to those suffering from this disease. Most of them receive little public funding, so NCAC is crucial to keeping them operating.

Most of you know that I ride in memory of Ken Piercy, a long-time member of my Cathedral Choir, who fought AIDS for nearly twenty years, and who died just prior to my first NCAC ride in 2010.

Every donation you make, whether large or small, makes a big difference in our community.  I promise to ride every one of the three-hundred miles, but I will need your help!  Won’t you join me in supporting this important cause??

NCAC 2016 departs Sacramento for Auburn on Thursday, May 12… please click the link below to make a fast and easy tax-deductible contribution.

And thank you, as always for your support!

David

Click here to donate to NCAC 2016

Click here to learn more about NorCal AIDS Cycle