Day 2: Roadies Just Rock

Today was ten times easier than Day 1. I think it mainly has to do with knowing what to expect. The bags were still insanely heavy, mind you, but I was bracing for them, and I started using a handy back brace.

The day for the Gear and Tent team went off without any major hitch. As we were unloading bags at the camp site in King City, it was that sun-beating-down-on-you hot. Other roadies kept circling around reminding us to drink water and put on sunscreen. I love how we get so wrapped up with our job we need people to remind us to pee.

So I think ya’ll have a good idea so far about what the Gear and Tent team is doing, but there are hundreds of other roadies responsible for setting this event in motion. What the heck are they doing here, and why are they here?

Well, I took a little stroll around the campground to find out.

I saw John sitting on the lawn with a roadie T-shirt and a sling carrying his left arm. What HAPPENED to him? John’s a positive pedelar and was ready to bike for his second year, but two weeks before the ride, he found out he needed shoulder surgery. His boyfriend was still going to bike, so he decided to roadie for Food Service.

John decided to do the AIDS/LifeCycle ride last year after he found out his drug regimen was not working and his numbers were low.

“It was a time I needed a challenge in my life. I needed to prove to myself that I was more than just numbers. So I did all the training in SF, and rode the whole way last year,” John said.

He admitted he was bummed not to ride this year, but was happy to support his boyfriend who cheered him on last year as a roadie.

“It’s good to see it from the other side. Now my boyfriend’s riding, and I’m the roadie. Next time we’ll get it together,” he said.

Food Service has about 30 people who get up at 3:45 a.m. to feed hungry breakfast to cyclists and roadies and usually finish up for dinner around 9 at night.

I met up with Sean, a first-year roadie, outside the Medical Tent. As the cyclists make their way along the route, there are about five rest stops on the way, and Sean’s set up on Rest Stop 2.

He helps cyclists that need medication or those who have gotten dehydrated or have taken a nasty spill down a hill going 20 mph. While the medical tent closes at the camp site at 9 at night, there’s always someone available 24-7 because you never know who’s going to need help.

“Cyclists can only prepare so much; stuff happens,” he said.

He said he’s amazed by the organization of the logistics for the ride from SF to LA.

“It’s an all-inclusive package. Some of these riders are getting the best medical care they’ve ever had with the medical team, the sports medicine and chiropractor group, and the massage team,” he said.

Sean, who works as an EMT for his day job, admitted he’s gotten a few peculiar requests.

“I’ve gotten hit on a number of times. Sometimes they ask me to give them mouth-to-mouth,” he laughed.

Guys, girls or both?

“They’ve mainly been guys, which is fine with me,” he said.

Lyn just finished setting up her tent, trying to keep it from blowing away and ending up in the trees on this windy evening. She’s a roadie vet, and has been volunteering her time for the last decade, doing Traffic, Security and this year, Information Services, which helps cyclists and roadies with a range of requests, like finding hotels if they need them or issuing guest passes for friends and family who want to visit the participants on the camp site.

“I’ve always been a roadie, and this year I have a good group,” she said.

Lyn said she had to get involved after watching a number of her friends die from AIDS. Some got sick during the 1980s when no one knew what people were falling sick from. Lyn said she watched her young friend, John, die at the age of 32, and said his death was harder to get over than when her mother passed.

“This is something I can give to the community without feeling so sad and depressed,” she said.

I caught Alex, who is on Moto Safety for the second year in a row, right before he headed off to the Shower Mobile. He said the 23 Moto roadies try to make sure cyclists are safe along the route, while trying to ensure they don’t aggravate traffic or upset the cops.

“That’s a juggling act right there, but it’s very rewarding,” he said. “It’s so nice to be appreciated. They appreciate me more than my wife of 27 years.”

Now that’s love, my friends.

Lyn recalled one year when a cyclist hailed her for working as a roadie, and she told him he was the one who deserved the praise.

“But he told me the cyclists were doing something they love to do. Roadies are just working hard – and that’s not necessarily a passion,” she said.

Comments

[Jean Terheyden]

Go Erin

Love Jean T.

[maureen (auntie)]

Go Erin -
this is funny! hope your sense of humor continues!