The California AIDS Ride concluded its seven-day, 575-mile trek Saturday in Santa Monica, ending a tumultuous year for the event. After a 12-month period that saw the loss of a major corporate sponsor and the withdrawal of the two major beneficiaries who then launched a competing ride, the ninth annual AIDS Ride was subdued in comparison with past events.

Last year, more than 2,000 cyclists attended closing ceremonies at the Los Angeles Coliseum. On Saturday, friends and families cheered 715 riders from the bleachers of Santa Monica City College's Corsair Field. For those who rode, many for the first time, the buzz that came from pushing themselves to the limit for seven days straight was not easy to kill. "I wanted to challenge myself," said Jeff Gary. "And I wanted to ride for the cause, to raise money for AIDS research."

Yet the question of how much money raised by riders -- each of whom must contribute or solicit $2,700 in donations -- actually goes to research and AIDS charities has been the source of ongoing controversy for Pallotta TeamWorks, the California AIDS Ride's producer. In 1998, a group of Florida AIDS charities dropped Pallotta after only 11.83 percent of money raised went to charity. Sponsors of the Washington, D.C., AIDS Ride have said they will sever ties with Pallotta after this year's ride, which will begin June 13. And a class-action suit has been filed by participants in four AIDS Vaccine rides, who say that only $8 million of the $28 million raised during those events went to charity.

In California, such criticism meant the splintering of the AIDS ride into two competing events. Last week, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, which created the new AIDS/Life Cycle Ride, issued a joint statement with Pallotta reconciling their differences over the fundraising rides. Both the California AIDS Ride and AIDS/LifeCycle Ride will return next June.

Organizers of the California AIDS Ride said 18 charities across the state, including AIDS Project Los Angeles, will share an estimated $2.7 million raised from this year's event.

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