The fundraiser mailed 200 proposals to corporations for a bike ride to raise money for AIDS organizations. Tanqueray was the only corporation at that time to respond to the mailing. It began as a single ride in California in 1993 and drew 478 bicyclists who raised $1.5 million to benefit AIDS-related services at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Community Center. Three years later, the ride expanded to five states with more than 12,000 participants. Tanqueray sponsored the Boston/New York AIDS ride. Seventeen rides during the 1990s contributed over $55 million directly to AIDS charities.