TE AIDS Lifecycle Team

[Bike Goddess]

I think you all have probably heard a lot about this ride from TREK, so I won't go into the many details of the everyday parts. Suffice to say, I was glad I wasn't at camp the night of the sprinkler incident as I have a down bag. The next day, when I put the tent up, we had to literally drain all of the puddles of water out of it which meant turning the tent upside down and watching the shower!

I was deeply moved by the support we received both on the road and on the internet. Every town we passed always had people cheering us on often with signs and candy. On our 1st day towards the end of the ride, we were even treated to free coffee, ice cream, etc. by a local coffee shop. And then later on (Day 3) homemade cookies (she starts a couple of months before the ride), and then in Santa Barbara free ice cream and strawberries. (Food was a major incentive on this journey ). And, of course, the children were something else again. I've got some pictures of one group I'll put on this forum for all of you to see.

I can't tell you how much I appreciated your comments and support. Although I didn't look at the computer every night, when I did, I felt so honored.

Now for the fun part! For me, a lot of the ride became a mystery to solve. On all but one day we had 4 rest stops and a lunch stop plus sometimes water stops inbetween. I would check my odometer to see how far it was to the next stop and then see how fast I could get there! And what a reward that turned out to be! They set the stops up with the same team at the same number each day. Turned out, each stop had a theme with costumes and music galore! Sometimes, I could figure it out, other times I asked. One of the funniest ones was on day 3 (I think). Women were dressed in high heels, and different outfits- Monica (white on her navy dress), Cleopatra, Peggy Bundy (doing her Bundy dance), Courtney Love, and a Hooter girl. How could we be grumpy with all this humor around! Pretty hard!

The Rest Stop 4 gang has evidently done this ride many times. They were off the charts! When you approached their stop, you were often greeted with the Burma Shave signs. One day, they did a CIA mock up - the signs warned you that you were being watched. Evidently at one point during the day they had a fake bomb scare which meant massive porta potty evacuation and than a check of everyone's bikes with mirrors. They all had on black suits, white shirts, and ties! They had a hard time keeping a straight face as we laughed our way through the food and beverage line.

The same group treated us to a puppet show on the Sound of Music theme. They had matching outfits made from fake rags as they danced their puppets behind the homemade theatre.

As the days wore on and we all got pretty tired, the rest stops became one happy spot to lift our spirits. If you knew there was a rest stop at the top of a hill or just beyond, it made that hill so much easier to do.

On some of the longer hills, there were groups of riders cheering you on as you got toward the top often with musical accompaniment! Often some of the stronger riders would ride back down and push people up! What a team!

The emotional parts of this ride were memorable as well. Seeing the HIV POS Pedalers with their flags identifying them riding along with the best of us, really touched my heart. When the going got tough (and it certainly did)' I found myself reaching deeply into my body and literally willing it to get beyond that next hill, or next rest stop. I kept reminding myself that what I was doing was temporary, I was fortuneate, I got to go home at the end of 7 days.

It was a caring community, an example of a possiblity of living in a world where its not about you OR me, but about you AND me. We became a moving spirit and what we looked like or what our beliefs were didn't matter. I am proud to have been a member of this special community. It was an experience of a lifetime that I shan't ever forget!