Citing declining participation and diminishing financial returns, the beneficiaries of the Heartland AIDS Ride have announced that the 2002 trek from Minneapolis to Chicago would be the last. The six-day bicycle ride through heat, wind and rain concluded at Montrose Harbor Saturday, a day after the AIDS charities that benefit from the event announced they were splitting with its promoter and creator, Pallotta Teamworks. Although the annual ride has netted more than $15 million for AIDS causes in the last seven years, last year the charities saw only 35.3 percent of the $5.7 million raised by donors. The rest was drained by event costs ranging from water bottles to foot masseuses to Pallotta promotional posters.

Pallotta, based in Los Angeles, has come under intense fire in the past for what critics call costly self-promotion and low returns to charities -- as low as 21.4 percent for its four 2001 AIDS Vaccines Rides, according to the company. Those events, which take place around the globe, have been canceled for next year. With the decision, Illinois' AIDS Cycle Inc., Wisconsin's AIDS Network and AIDS Events Minnesota join a growing list of corporate and philanthropic sponsors that have broken with Pallotta, some more amicably than others.

However, in response to the controversy, Pallotta did try to lower expenses and end self-promotion for this year's Heartland AIDS Ride, said spokesperson Janna Sidley. Although financial information is not yet available for the ride, Courtney Reid, president of AIDS Cycle, said a high return is unlikely even though most cyclists raised well over the minimum of $2,500 in donations. That's because participation is down almost 500 riders from a peak of 1,600 cyclists three years ago. Still, Reid said the charities had no choice but to make a break. "We have an obligation to our clients, our donors and even our states' attorneys general to have a solid return on every fundraising dollar we spend," she said.

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