Yesterday was one of the more important rides I've been on in a while. It was the World AIDS Day ride-- Nov. 29, 29 miles, for the 29 years of the AIDS pandemic.
More than 100 of us gathered at McLaren Lodge in San Francisco, many of us wearing red. After the usual stretching and safety speech, we joined hands and had a moment of silence to honor and remember those we have lost to this horrible disease. I thought of Jimmy, of Andrew, of Ricardo and many other friends and acquaintances whom we have lost. Some died peacefully, some in terrible pain and anguish. Some surrounded by friends and family; some alone. No one should die alone, and I so look forward to the day when no one dies as a result of HIV and AIDS.
One member of the Positive Pedalers told his story of how the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, through services and support, helped him get sober and healthy. Now he rides and is strong.
Treatment has come a long way in the 29 years since the virus was discovered, but we're not there yet. We have no cure, nor no guarantee that the current drug regimen will continue to work or cause other health problems. And every day, people continue to be infected. Even some people I know, who in their hearts knew better, have become infected in the last few years.
Fewer children are being infected, which is wonderful, but again, through education and medication, we can stop children from being infected. The disease still takes huge tolls in other parts of the world, and it is still killing many many people in the United States.
AIDS can never be an afterthought. It can never be a disease that is forgotten, until there is no more AIDS.
Yesterday's ride was short-- only 29 miles, but next to my 545 mile ride I'll take in June, it's the most important ride I do.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Fairfax and FKV
Well, this post might cause some consternation among some folks, but I feel it's something that I need to say.
What is it with cyclists wearing kits? Do they really think that the Marin bike path is part of the Tour De France? Or that Camino Alto is closed to cars so they can pedal up the hill in a Pelaton?
Jerry named them Full Kit Vermin today. These men and women may be perfectly nice (or not) when off their bicycles, but something must happen to them when they put on their Dolce Vita jerseys and shorts. Or their Fizik jerseys and shorts. Or whatever. They have never uttered the phrase "on your left," and stop signs and red lights are for other riders, or perhaps just cars. And "car back" means pull out in the lane.
The FKV are the riders who give the rest of us a bad name, and I, for one, am sick of it, but there's not a darn thing I can do, really. True, there are a few of them who are polite. They will say good morning on the way by to let us know they are passing and they don't come back over so close that we are afraid our front wheel is going to get clipped.
We have been dissed by FKV, but that just makes me think they are immature brats, and I don't really care about that. What I care about is their unsafe riding, and their endangering our lives and others.
We saw a sign on the road today that said "Same Road, Same Rules," with a picture of cars and bikes. But I think signs like that just goad them into riding even more impolitely and dangerously.
Jerry and I tend to avoid the Golden Gate Bridge to steer clear of the majority of the rental bike riders. We have had some close calls with them and so we tend to join rides at the north parking lot. But there's really no way to avoid the FKV on a beautiful fall day.
Jerry and I will never ride as fast as those riders. Hell, we don't ride as fast as many of the cyclists we train with. We have our own tandem pace which is slow up hill and fast down, though we try to stay safe on our descents. I've got no problem with people riding as fast as they can safely ride, but it doesn't help any of us when they block vehicles that can outrun any of us. And it surely doesn't help us when they come close to running down pedestrians in crosswalks.
So, all that being said, Jerry and I actually did have a lovely ride up to Fairfax today. The return trip for me was better than the way out because Jerry raised my seat a little. My new saddle is a lot slimmer than my old one, so raising it another quarter inch helped. The saddle is leather and very slippery so I found myself pushing myself up and back even after it was moved, so I might have him tip the nose a trifle up to keep me from sliding down it so much.
Next week will be a longer ride that should give me a chance to really see how the saddle is doing. Looking forward to it.
What is it with cyclists wearing kits? Do they really think that the Marin bike path is part of the Tour De France? Or that Camino Alto is closed to cars so they can pedal up the hill in a Pelaton?
Jerry named them Full Kit Vermin today. These men and women may be perfectly nice (or not) when off their bicycles, but something must happen to them when they put on their Dolce Vita jerseys and shorts. Or their Fizik jerseys and shorts. Or whatever. They have never uttered the phrase "on your left," and stop signs and red lights are for other riders, or perhaps just cars. And "car back" means pull out in the lane.
The FKV are the riders who give the rest of us a bad name, and I, for one, am sick of it, but there's not a darn thing I can do, really. True, there are a few of them who are polite. They will say good morning on the way by to let us know they are passing and they don't come back over so close that we are afraid our front wheel is going to get clipped.
We have been dissed by FKV, but that just makes me think they are immature brats, and I don't really care about that. What I care about is their unsafe riding, and their endangering our lives and others.
We saw a sign on the road today that said "Same Road, Same Rules," with a picture of cars and bikes. But I think signs like that just goad them into riding even more impolitely and dangerously.
Jerry and I tend to avoid the Golden Gate Bridge to steer clear of the majority of the rental bike riders. We have had some close calls with them and so we tend to join rides at the north parking lot. But there's really no way to avoid the FKV on a beautiful fall day.
Jerry and I will never ride as fast as those riders. Hell, we don't ride as fast as many of the cyclists we train with. We have our own tandem pace which is slow up hill and fast down, though we try to stay safe on our descents. I've got no problem with people riding as fast as they can safely ride, but it doesn't help any of us when they block vehicles that can outrun any of us. And it surely doesn't help us when they come close to running down pedestrians in crosswalks.
So, all that being said, Jerry and I actually did have a lovely ride up to Fairfax today. The return trip for me was better than the way out because Jerry raised my seat a little. My new saddle is a lot slimmer than my old one, so raising it another quarter inch helped. The saddle is leather and very slippery so I found myself pushing myself up and back even after it was moved, so I might have him tip the nose a trifle up to keep me from sliding down it so much.
Next week will be a longer ride that should give me a chance to really see how the saddle is doing. Looking forward to it.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Tiburon and Pumpkin Muffins
It was a beautiful day, perfect for riding, so Jerry and I loaded up the tandem and headed for the Golden Gate Bridge parking lot to join up with an ALC training ride. We waited but realized we weren't seeing any bicycles come through the lot. Seemed that the west side of the bridge was closed so we weren't going to see any of the ALC riders. We headed down the Sausalito hill and stopped at Mike's Bikes, hoping to run into one of the training ride leaders. We weren't sure what direction they were doing the loop, so we thought we'd wait to find out.
Turns out they weren't actually doing the whole loop and took a route we normally don't take. So the ride was a good bit shorter than we thought it was going to be. Glad we parked at the bridge instead of Mike's. The Sausalito hill was going to be our only real climb of the day.
The ride was very pleasant, though short, and we joined up with riders at Shark's Deli in Tiburon. The odd thing was, we did not know any of the riders. One of the ride leaders was supposed to be our friend Angelo, but he had to back out last minute. It was kind of strange not knowing one single person in the group, but it also means there are new riders and that's a good sign.
I brought some pumpkin cupcakes I had baked for the annual cul de sac Halloween dinner and wait for the kids to come and trick or treat. They were cute, but I think my toffee bars have gone over better in the past. Live and learn. I had bought Halloween cupcake liners and wanted to use them, and thought pumpkin cup cakes would be just the thing.
I actually like them a lot. They are really pumpkin bread I made into cupcakes. Once, quite by accident I left out the eggs when I was making them so they were vegan (the recipe uses oil) and they were quite good. I haven't repeated the no egg method; I'm too afraid it was a fluke. But the pumpkin cupcake/bread is full of walnuts and to me, very satisfying.
After the stop at Shark's we headed onto the loop but took the Trestle Glen shortcut. The entire ride was only about 30 miles, but a pleasant 30 miles. We averaged close to 14 miles per hour, but I think that's due to not many hills.
In some ways, I feel as if our training is going backwards. We seem to be doing shorter, rather than longer, rides. But in reality that's our choice and we can do longer rides if so inspired.
The World AIDS Day 29-mile ride is coming up at the end of the month, and while that's a short ride, it's an important one. I'm working with the Positive Pedalers to see if we can get some media attention for it. And I'll continue to work with them because 2010 is their 15th anniversary. A big deal and I hope I can tell their story to as many people as possible.
Turns out they weren't actually doing the whole loop and took a route we normally don't take. So the ride was a good bit shorter than we thought it was going to be. Glad we parked at the bridge instead of Mike's. The Sausalito hill was going to be our only real climb of the day.
The ride was very pleasant, though short, and we joined up with riders at Shark's Deli in Tiburon. The odd thing was, we did not know any of the riders. One of the ride leaders was supposed to be our friend Angelo, but he had to back out last minute. It was kind of strange not knowing one single person in the group, but it also means there are new riders and that's a good sign.
I brought some pumpkin cupcakes I had baked for the annual cul de sac Halloween dinner and wait for the kids to come and trick or treat. They were cute, but I think my toffee bars have gone over better in the past. Live and learn. I had bought Halloween cupcake liners and wanted to use them, and thought pumpkin cup cakes would be just the thing.
I actually like them a lot. They are really pumpkin bread I made into cupcakes. Once, quite by accident I left out the eggs when I was making them so they were vegan (the recipe uses oil) and they were quite good. I haven't repeated the no egg method; I'm too afraid it was a fluke. But the pumpkin cupcake/bread is full of walnuts and to me, very satisfying.
After the stop at Shark's we headed onto the loop but took the Trestle Glen shortcut. The entire ride was only about 30 miles, but a pleasant 30 miles. We averaged close to 14 miles per hour, but I think that's due to not many hills.
In some ways, I feel as if our training is going backwards. We seem to be doing shorter, rather than longer, rides. But in reality that's our choice and we can do longer rides if so inspired.
The World AIDS Day 29-mile ride is coming up at the end of the month, and while that's a short ride, it's an important one. I'm working with the Positive Pedalers to see if we can get some media attention for it. And I'll continue to work with them because 2010 is their 15th anniversary. A big deal and I hope I can tell their story to as many people as possible.
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