Love is the Cure

"Because the AIDS disease is caused by a virus but the AIDS epidemic is not."

 Sir Elton John, flamboyant rock star of my youth and song writer extraordinaire, touched by an ostracized teenage hemophiliac, Ryan White, to become champion of all those affected by HIV/AIDS and founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation still writes a compelling love song.

In his keynote address at a special session of the 19th International AIDS Conference, Sir Elton reminds us of the human responsibility each bears in this battle that can save millions, because "AIDS is fueled by stigma, by hate, by misinformation, by ignorance, by indifference," and "no matter who you are or who you love; no matter where you live or how you live; no matter what you have or haven't done, everyone deserves compassion, everyone deserves dignity, everyone, everyone, everyone deserves love."

Sir Elton's keynote address begins about 10 minutes into this webcast but the entire session is worthy of a listen.

Captain Fantastic indeed.

Faces of Love

Last weekend I found myself with several unplanned hours in San Francisco between a busy work week and an international flight so I slept in late, grabbed a latte and headed up California Street to ground myself with some desperately needed meditation time at the Grace Cathedral outdoor labyrinth. I entered its winding path with intentional focus on gratitude and praise for the joy found in this very moment of warm sunshine, the sweet smell of jasmine, clanging trolleys full of tourists winding through a city festooned with rainbow flags and storefronts, gratitude for a city that so embraces its diversity. Upon reaching the labyrinth center, I paused, and then asked for more. What more could I hear, see, say or do to heighten the level of joy in this world? Opening my heart and mind for the answer, I stepped back out on the winding return path outward and listened.

Listening in silence is not an easy task for my busy mind. I’d hoped the monotony of a labyrinth walk would help tune out all competing thought but a song broke the silence and played endlessly over in my mind. I tried to dismiss it along with my shopping list and the reminder to check in for my flight but the song kept coming back. 

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His Glory and Grace.”

TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS

Words and Music by Helen H. Lemmel, 1922

This was not a song I’d recently heard or even one I particularly love and it took several turns for me to consider that maybe I should pay attention; maybe this was the message I was asking to hear so I let its simple words flow through my mind as I twisted around the labyrinth and soon new images appeared – faces from the AIDS Vaccine 200.

 First I saw my teammates - two cyclists who’ve traveled this road with me each of the past 15 years. We aren’t getting any younger and it showed on this hard, early season ride but we won’t tolerate the thought of not doing something to stop others from enduring the pain we witnessed in each brother’s lost battle with AIDS.

Then came three loving faces of Atlanta family and friends who dropped busy schedules to offer on-site support by spending time and a meal with us. Their gestures of friendship and encouragement put a tangible face on our many donors who express compassionate commitment by contributing when we ask, with many also motivated to actions of their own choosing.

  Next I saw the face of Dr. Mark Mulligan, head of The Hope Clinic where Emory Vaccine Center conducts its clinical trials. I met Dr. Mark on the 2011 AV200 when he handed me water at the first rest stop, asked why I was riding and listened with genuine interest to my answer. I watched him repeat that gesture with nearly every participant on that weekend’s ride. Dr. Mark approached me on registration night this May with the biggest grin, bursting to tell me how he had trained and raised money to ride all 214 miles right along with us this year (and he did!).

Finally, there was Joe. Our team had reached that last lunch stop with a well-timed plan: bathroom, sunscreen, food, water, go! At our pace under a hot sun, we calculated 20 minutes to accomplish this lunch plan if we hoped to arrive at the finish line in time. I was anxious sitting on that folding chair cramming in food I needed but didn’t want when my eyes caught sight of an outrageous pair of polyester apricot pants and shocking orange vest above which shone a glittering jewel over the widest smile I’d seen all day. Placing an icy cold bottle of water in my hand, he simply said “what else can I get you right now?” I instantly relaxed. This was Joe’s first AIDS ride experience. He’d been hustling in full theme costume all day in that searing heat but was still smiling as he served the last group of riders through his stop.

Each face held my answer by their reminder of the most important reason I ride – to be the face of love and acceptance that says above all else that every life is worthy of joy.  The prevalence of HIV/AIDS stigma around the world remains a formidable barrier to prevention and treatment. The money we raise will eventually result in the scientific means for ending HIV/AIDS but the key to accessing it is the love we extend through compassionate concern for every infected person. I believe each of us is called to be the face of love and acceptance to all humanity, so for me the song that burst in my head is simple acknowledgement that the unconditional love expressed in each new face brought to that cause is exactly, and all we really need to access and extend life’s joy.

Thank you for helping the Puget Sound Riders smash our goal by raising $11,016 for HIV/AIDS  research at the Emory Vaccine Center but even more importantly, thanks for showing your face of compassionate love to each one affected by HIV/AIDS.

Click into more faces of the AIDS Vaccine 200

2012 AIDS Vaccine 200

Working Hard to End AIDS

“If you’re feeling good now, you’re not working hard enough”

Words uttered by my indoor cycling instructor midway through this morning’s torturous pre-dawn cycling drill. At 5:45am every Monday and Thursday, I don’t think. I follow instructions, and I work hard. As a result, I am stronger. It’s precisely the mantra required at this stage of the war on AIDS. We cannot afford to allow life-extending treatments, broadly available in the developed world, to leave us blinded to the devastation this pandemic continues to wreak on humanity worldwide.

Researchers at the Emory Vaccine Center have made extraordinary progress on preventive and therapeutic HIV vaccines. Every minute of every day, the scientists, doctors and researchers of the Emory Vaccine Center work hard to develop a viable HIV vaccine. The least I can do is sweat it out to cycle 200+ miles in return for your contribution – large or small – to support these vital efforts.  100% of the amount raised will be used to fund groundbreaking work such as:

•  Developing vaccines that prevent an HIV negative person from acquiring the disease, and at the same time help an HIV positive person fight the infection without anti-viral drugs.

•  The LifeForward clinical trial, at Emory Vaccine Center's Hope Clinic, is designed to test efficacy in a vaccine to prevent transmission of HIV.  The Hope Clinic is currently one of the top three enrolling centers nationally in the LifeForward clinical trial.

 •  Working to reinvigorate the body's immune system to fight chronic infections like HIV and reduce dependence on anti-viral drugs.

I feel good about our progress toward ending AIDS but I know that by digging deep to work harder we’ll gain the strength necessary to carry that progress over the final mile. Are you ready to dig deep and donate a few bucks to support this hard work by sponsoring the 200 miles I'll ride next month on the AIDS Vaccine 200?

Riding for the Same Reason

It was a pivotal AIDS Ride season. Thousands of cyclists drawn to multi-day cycling events throughout the US, into Canada and across Europe raised millions of dollars for local AIDS service organizations and vaccine research in 2001. My Puget Sound Riders fielded its largest event team that summer with more than 30 cyclists and crew on the Montana AIDS Vaccine Ride while several more PSR traveled to Montreal for the Canada-US AIDS Vaccine Ride.

Yet for all its momentum, the AIDSRide infrastructure was crumbling. Ramped up marketing had broadened awareness and increased fundraising for several AIDS service organizations and 3 large HIV vaccine research institutes but event costs skyrocketed; soon more money was funneled to promotion than to the worthy beneficiaries. Mega-ride events came to an abrupt end. Beneficiaries lost a major funding source. Riders also felt the loss and immediately began connecting with each other to find ways to continue their commitment to end AIDS by riding a bike. The following summer several grassroots, all-volunteer ride events sprung up across the country - in New York, Atlanta, Texas, Minnesota and the west coast. That same year, my Ride for a Reason partner and I plotted a course and recruited dozens of volunteers across 3 states to raise $30,000 for the UCSF AIDS Research Institute by cycling the Breakthrough Ride cost-free from Seattle to San Francisco.

It’s hard work to organize enough volunteers and sponsors to run a no- to low-cost event in your spare time. We couldn’t manage a Ride for a Reason repeat so in the years since, our Puget Sound Riders team has sought out and participated in events begun by fellow cyclists in 2001 or 2002 who are equally committed to raising as much money as possible to end AIDS - the Empire State AIDS Ride, NYCDC AIDS Research Ride, AIDS Vaccine 200 and AIDS LifeCycle.

Last summer I rode in the 10th anniversary of the AIDS LifeCycle. This summer I’ll return to honor the 10th anniversary of the AIDS Vaccine 200, supporting HIV vaccine research at the Emory University Vaccine Center, with my Puget Sound Rider co-captains, Mary and Jon. In September I’ll celebrate the 10th anniversary of my and Mary’s thousand mile pedal down the west coast with a grassroots return to the NYC-DC route in a “Stealth Ride”, once again supporting Dr. Yuntao Wu’s research to end AIDS.

The cause of ending HIV/AIDS may no longer have the backing of high profile promoters but the ongoing efforts of many, backed by so many more, will bring the end of AIDS within our grasp and keeps hope alive for the journey.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

Risk Takers

My spin class recently ventured outdoors on a crisp, fall Saturday when halfway around the lake, Paul asked about the AIDS reference on my jersey. Then began to tell his story…

Pedaling and listening, I was finally able to answer the long awaited # 1 question in my ALC Top 10. The question I’m most frequently asked about riding is what keeps me going. My off the cuff answer tends to reflect my last ride – the sunny day, the camaraderie of my ride buddies, the scenery, etc. – but I struggled to find the common denominator in the many inspirations that keep me coming back for more, year after year.

Paul’s story began in a familiar way. This Midwest bike shop owner was ready to jump in and make a difference. He could have chosen to lend his bike mechanic skills to any number of charity events but Paul wanted to better understand his anxiety over this disease and the people affected by HIV/AIDS so he signed up to crew the world’s largest AIDS ride.

I took on that very ride for the first time this summer – the AIDS LifeCycle. Listening to Paul, my mind flashed back to the evening of Day 3. We’d arrived at our Paso Robles fairgrounds camp early enough for the sun to dry our wet towels hung over the tents before packing them away at nightfall. Our small team met early for dinner and enjoyed relaxing in the large hall with about 2000 other riders and crew waiting for the evening program to begin. Promptly at 7:30p, after our nightly update on the next day’s route and weather, the program began with remarks from a fellow ALC10 cyclist who spoke of his personal experience as an HIV+ man fighting AIDS in the early days, some 20-30 years ago. His description of those early struggles was meant to highlight how far we’d come by the efforts of such a diverse community of committed, caring individuals undeterred by the stigma of AIDS. The talk ended by recognizing today's community in this room of 2000+ cyclists and roadies – gay, lesbian, HIV+, young, old, transgender, gender-neutral and their “straight allies.” 

Paul knew the AIDS rides attracted a gay and lesbian community so he arrived in San Francisco with an open mind, withheld judgment and, over 7 days and hundreds of miles of flat tires and broken part replacements, was bold enough to admit his ignorance and accept their guidance to navigate this unfamiliar culture in a positive and caring way. Because Paul took a risk he soon no longer saw diseased homosexuals, he saw hurting friends. And Paul returned to help them, year after year.

Navigating the stigma of HIV/AIDS has challenged every prevention and treatment approach, worldwide, since the pandemic was first identified. Thirty years of HIV education programs have explained that HIV can spread by such acceptable activities as married heterosexual sex, a blood transfusion or a medical professional’s accidental finger prick yet the belief persists that the scourge of AIDS is due consequence for engaging in illicit or risky behavior. Hard to imagine it has been less than one year since Uganda considered a “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” giving government license to execute a homosexual infected with HIV.

Ironically, risk takers have been the driving force behind rapid progress to slow both the spread of HIV and its progression to AIDS: the San Francisco gay community exposing itself to call worldwide attention to a new, deadly pandemic; Ugandan midwives dispensing HIV treatments to every birthing mother in order to protect the newborn without exposing the HIV+ status of any one mother; the mayor who risks reelection to advocate for a clean needle exchange program; the teenage hemophiliac who went to court to overturn his expulsion from an Indiana public school; research scientists who reach a dead end only to test yet another theory. Fitting right in with these risk takers who make the most meaningful impression to keep me involved in these events are the unemployed woman taking time away from her lengthy job hunt to arise at 4am and serve breakfast to 3000 ride participants, the novice cyclist completing his first 100-mile day, the HIV+ peddler closely tracking his heart rate and hygiene, the elderly couple who empties their wallet to make a donation to a passing cyclist and especially those who risk opening their minds and their hearts to extend compassion without boundaries or qualifications.

This World AIDS Day, I invite you to take a risk. Take just one step further than you’ve gone before toward ending the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS. Learn more about HIV/AIDS - how it spreads, who it affects, how it is treated. Teach a child. Volunteer. Reach out to someone affected by the disease and offer your support. You have an open invitation to join me on any AIDS ride. If I'm not already registered, I'll sign up to keep you company or simply help you prepare. Extend compassion without boundaries or qualifications and AIDS doesn't stand a chance.

Some favorite World AIDS Day resources:

Light to Unite

WorldAIDSDay.org 

"Sex and the Church"

"40 Days of Prayer for Persons Living with and Affected by HIV and AIDS"

History of HIV & AIDS

UNAIDS

AIDS.gov

Emory Vaccine Center