AIDS/LifeCycle Category Archive
There are 44 entries in this category.
Don't Panic
Saturday, April 26, 2008 Post comment
Just starting to cross the Golden Gate Bridge this morning, two cyclists ahead of me going opposite directions collided. One was a fellow AIDS/LifeCycle rider taking part in today's Day on the Ride, which as the name implies has rest stops and a support crew to give new riders a feel for what seven days of this will be like.
This wasn't the first time I've been at the scene of an accident on the bridge and maybe the bright side to this was that I was there with my friends Dave and Gary to help. We've been training partners for years and became volunteer training ride leaders our second year on AIDS/LifeCycle.
When the riders went down, we jumped to help like it was instinct. As others made sure the injured girl wasn't moved, Gary assigned me to call AIDS/LifeCycle dispatch, Dave began calling Bridge dispatch, while he dialed 911. Medics were there within minutes, but the ambulance took a while longer and I ended up at the scene for 45 minutes until a vehicle arrived to pick up her friends and the bikes.
Since I'd become the contact person for dispatch (it felt strange to be calling an emergency line so often I was starting out with "It's Jamison again,...") and there was no reason for all of us to stay, I told Dave and Gary to ride on ahead.
I ended up the absolute last rider for the next ten miles and about another 45 minutes until I caught up with the tail end of the ride. Soon after I caught up with Dave and Gary who were taking it slow so I could catch up.
I lost any sense of pacing riding hard to catch up, and I'm a lot more exhausted and worn out than I should be for an 85 mile ride just a month away from the ride itself. I feel so un-prepared now, but I hope with a good night of sleep I'll feel fine tomorrow.
And the AIDS/LifeCycle being a seven day fundraiser, I need your donations of support to make this a success. My goal is to raise at least $6,000.
Gaylord of the Dance
Thursday, March 6, 2008 1 comment (by Annie)
Bruising my tailbone snowboarding has had me off mike bike for the last month, and I already felt pretty far behind training for this summer’s AIDS/LifeCycle ride from SF to LA, but I haven’t raised much yet this guy has gone all out with a video which got picked up on SFist today. SFist’s Brock goes a bit negative about the “fundraisers that will litter the city for the next few months or so”, but with a government that places tax cuts over health funding we need to find the money to fight and treat HIV/AIDS somewhere. So why not make a party out of it?
Andrew, the fat one in the video, works for the AIDS/LifeCycle and hand delivered the rider information packets to me and everyone else who knew to so the money for stamps could go to fight HIV/AIDS instead. Please support the fight against AIDS, by supporting me with a donation.
Cold Feet
Wednesday, December 12, 2007 Post comment
OK, while it might not be anywhere near as cold in San Francisco as it is elsewhere in the country, it's still really damn cold to be going on a bike ride first thing in the morning.
That's why I got foot cozies for my cycling shoes last week. The neoprene warmers cover your toes so the cold air can't flow through the ventilating mesh on cycling shoes. At least that's how they work if you remember to bring them with you, when Casey and I got to the meetup spot I couldn't find them. This was Casey's first official training ride for the AIDS/LifeCycle, a 545 mile ride from SF to LA to raise money fight AIDS. And at 23 miles, with a 1.5 mile climb near the start, it's a huge step for him too.
Two years ago, I was a volunteer ride leader for the training ride program. This last ride was a bit like coming home, for one stretch Julie Brown even directed a few first time riders to follow my lead.
I never would have thought I'd be riding a bike 545 miles from SF to LA for the third time, I actually don't feel I can really say that, having spent half of the last ride sick (seriously, as in on an IV drip sick) and I know I can ride every single mile because I did it the first time, but I want to prove I can do it again.
While I've made this a personal challenge, this is not about me, this is a ride to end AIDS and you can help with a donation of support.