Like a beautiful cloth woven in many colors, so many FUSIT members contributed in ways large and small. There were 37 riders on the “Mark Rides On” team, who raised more than $30,000 in Mark’s name for the Southern Tier Aids Prevention program. They rode in jerseys designed by Margaret Weis, and Susan Weis was ‘captain’ and ‘cheerleader’ through all of their many practice rides. More than 30 volunteers supported riders at the King Ferry Pit Stop, many waving inspirational posters made at the summer BBQ and Unirondack. And over all the pit stop hours, songs of love and kindness (the theme for this year) played through the system brought by Russ Chariff. And at the Stewart Park celebratory dinner that concludes every Ride, scores of FUSIT members, fiends and family ate together, hearing person after person speak of the extraordinary man Mark was and how our lives have been enriched forever by his presence among us. Many tears were shed throughout the long day and the weeks of preparation, but we were together in our heartache, just the way Mark taught us to be .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"