A seven-day, 545-mile event that began in San Francisco and ended, on June 7, in Los Angeles, the AIDS/LifeCycle bike-a-thon raised more than $11.6 million for HIV/AIDS research, the Ventura County Star reports (venturacountystar.com 6/7).

Each bicyclist raised at least $2,500; the proceeds of the seventh-annual event  benefited the San Francisco AIDS Foundation or the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center.

One of the 2,500 pedalers was Marla Weiss, a health and biology teacher at Beverly Hills High School, in California, who said AIDS awareness must be taught early on.

 “Kids don’t think about AIDS, and there is a lot of misinformation,” Weiss said. “They’re concerned about getting pregnant and don’t even think about STDs.”