Gold's Gang...priceless

Today would have been Bret's 49th birthday. In his honor, I chose to spend the day focused on gratitude for what is, rather than dwell on what might have been.

Today's post is dedicated to the early weekday morning gang at the Santa Clara Gold's gym who encourage by their own dedication, make you smile through the sweat and hoot through the pain even when your eyes aren't yet fully open. They're the reason you refrain from hitting the snooze (cuz they won't), the ones who save you a bike (when they shouldn't), work you hard (when you don't want to) and check on you if you're a no-show (or is that give you a hard time?). It's not exaggeration to say that if it weren't for these hearty souls holding me to year-round training these past 3 years, this old body could never meet the pedaling challenges that have motivated YOU to contribute over $25,000 to the Empire State AIDS Ride beneficiaries alone!

So here's to the critical component of my California training plan - my chubby little friends (who clean up good!),
spin instructors, "Wednesday is abs day" reminder, locker room sisters & road warriors at Gold's who, to me and the cause to which my fitness is committed, are PRICELESS!

Life is Better When You Ride Bikes

The body, stronger.
The mind, sharper.
The air, cleaner.
The grass,
greener.
The pretzels, crisper.
The beer, colder.
The weekday,
shorter.
The weekend, longer.
The sun, brighter.
The sky, bluer.
Life is better when you ride bikes...
- Gary Fisher
Thanks to Mike for the personal escort up Mt. Hamilton Saturday. What a great ride!

*****SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT***** aka if I'm over the hill, the finish line must be in sight

Repeat supporters are familiar with my habit to kick up the cycling challenge a notch or two each year to stay mindful of how hard it is to live with HIV/AIDS and why it’s so important to defeat it. This year I’m doubly challenged by a desire to thumb my nose at what I’ll call my AARP birthday rapidly approaching in a few short weeks. A previous “birthday” posting mentioned that my brother had already given me a gift – the vehicle for meeting both these challenges – and now you have a chance to help me make this a very special birthday indeed!

First you should know that I love Washington DC. Our family moved to the DC burbs when I was 10 and stayed into my 20s. From the late 60s to early 80s, DC was a hotbed of civil outcry and outrage, men in suits and protesters in the streets, the converging point of a rapidly evolving democracy – a powerful place indeed that made a lasting impression. After we’d each migrated to the west coast, Bret and I longed to return and managed to make one last visit there, ironically over World AIDS Day only a few months before AIDS took his life. It was 1996 news coverage of an AIDS ride finish line on the Capitol lawn that first inspired me to dust off a bike and prepare for the day I could do the same in his honor and memory. Finally, 13 years later, that day has arrived.

This September, 3 weeks after arriving in NYC at the end of the Empire State AIDS Ride, I’ll leave NYC for the 4-day NYCDC AIDS Ride for Research. As excited as I am to meet the challenge of my first back-to-back multi-day event and finally crossing a finish line in my adopted hometown, I’m ecstatic about the research we’ll be funding.

I’m gifted by this chance to go the extra mile to fund the most promising research available and invite you to be inspired to do the same. Please consider making an extra mile donation today.
Besides, it’s been a long climb up that hill and if turning 50 means I’m over it, why not relish in the wind on my face all the way to the AIDS-is-finished line! Thanks for the push.

Time to Double Down

Day 2, Inc., non-profit producer of the Empire State AIDS Ride, is contracted to distribute 82% of donated funds directly to their beneficiaries. That's a phenomenal return for any fundraising event! It's important to me that you get the highest return on your investment which is why I so strongly support the Day 2 Inc. AIDS rides.

Because I ride on a beneficiary team, the ARI Breakthrough Riders, 82% of your donation is guaranteed to be delivered straight to the Breakthrough Fund of the AIDS Research Institute at UCSF. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! Your donation to the ARI Breakthrough Riders could actually be worth more than double the $$ out of your pocket!

Double your donation right away by taking advantage of your company matching program - Motorola, Microsoft, Nintendo, AT&T and many more are happy to chip in when you do!

Next, encourage your friends to donate because the more $$ raised by our team, the more our team total is worth to the ARI. Watch our team total climb over $38,500 and the ARI also gets a share of $$ raised by riders not affiliated with any beneficiary team. If our total reaches $60,000, the ARI gets an even larger share! In the end, your donation could be worth double or even triple to the breakthrough science going on in San Francisco right now! Read about just one of the projects your 2007 donations helped fund.

Now make a donation, check for a company match, then invite your friends to get in on the fun. ACT NOW and I'll throw in all the pedaling!

A Weekend Waterway Adventure

In an attempt to get in some extra miles and escape the heat, I decided to piece together a route to my sister's house on a Gig Harbor lake. I didn't get the miles I wanted, did manage to beat the Saturday heat on my bike and enjoy it from a lake floaty, but hit the heat like a wall on my way back home Sunday. All together, my journey along the Puget Sound waterways by bike & ferry was quite an adventure, particularly when Tammie sent the following color commentary to her emailed directions part-way into my journey south:

"You will pass the place where the guy got attacked by the bear on his bike, Banner Park on your right, you will see a parking lot where cars park and walkers walk in. Just look, no stopping."

Uh...no problem, Tam!