We met in Sausalito Saturday morning, started with stretching and moving on to the expectations of safety- both on this weekends ride, and the Ride in June.
Saturday morning before ride out. I must have been saying something funny because everyone in the picture is laughing..
I also did what I always do about this time (May) each year, before each training ride. I make people remember why it is they are riding. I remind them that it's not about finishing first, or riding fast, or even riding every mile. It's about the Cause. Raising money for the Cause, and raising awareness for the Cause.I remind them that there are those among us who are HIV+ and feel very fortunate to be riding with us, and there are those who are not among us because they are too sick to ride. That for all of us who are healthy, that gnarly uphill has a great down hill, that every cloudy sky clears for us.
But for those who live with AIDS or are HIV+, there is no downhill. There is no sunny clear sky- not yet. And what we are doing is too important to jeopardize the continuation of AIDS Lifecycle. But we will jeopardize it if we are unable in the future to get permits to ride the route because we show that we are selfish riders who cannot ride safely or share the road.
So think about it when you ride in the next 3 weeks, and when you begin your journey to LA.
Practice being a safe, law abiding, "single file ALC rider". The money we raise is too important to lose, don't you agree??
