ALC Day 5

Day 5 is the famous “Red Dress Day”. This started out as “Dress in Red Day” when someone put two and two together realizing that this many rides would form a long red ribbon if all wore the same color. Being the fabulous people that we as AIDS/LifeCycle riders are, red dresses quickly became the standard uniform for this very fun day. My partner and I almost decided not to bring a dress, but knew we would regret it in the end. We were so happy we did since it was a blast to do. I usually do not care for men in dresses, but the number of both men and women wearing them was truly a sight to see. 2,333 riders in red dresses will certainly help to fulfill the visibility part of the overall ALC mission. If someone on the street doesn’t notice that, something is wrong.

The most impressive costume I saw today was the craftiness of a man wearing red leather platform knee-high heels with cleats attached to the bottom so that he can clip into his bike. How is that for dedication and ingenuity?!?!? I still cannot believe he was able to make it through the day. We had a couple of tough hills to climb that we were unaware of and I can only imagine how hard they must have been to climb while wearing stilettos. Sure, there was Quadbuster and the Evil Twins, but what about the monsters on today’s route? Lucky for us, and for him, it was our shortest day of the week. The shorter route also allowed for us to sleep in an extra hour. 6 am is much more doable than 5 am.

My mom drove down with our friend Audrey and her daughters, Eva and Estelle, to watch us ride by and to see the spectacle that is “Red Dress Day”. How lucky am I to have these people in my life that would drive over 100 miles to sit on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere to watch us fly by? And we did fly by. David and I expected them to be near camp, but they were about 1-1/2 miles out in a field. David is much more observant than I am and noticed them before we got too far. We then spent a good amount of time in camp playing with Eva and Estelle. Eva, by the way, is such a ham and a flirt. Seeing her run and dance through camp was a lot of fun to see. Not sure if those trying to sleep appreciated it, but you know what, the fact that she and Estelle are having this experience now will have a huge impact on the world during their generation. Their exposure to a world where people are kind to one another and do great things as we are doing will no doubt help them to become amazing and compassionate people. A few less “Z’s” in bed is totally worth that.

Today was team photo day and I had the honor of being a part of the Positive Pedalers’ picture. The Positive Pedalers are a group of HIV+ men and women who ride in numerous bicycle fundraising events whose mission is to put a face on the disease as well as to raise money for HIV/AIDS related services. A philosophy of theirs that I truly admire and have put into practice in my life is to feel no shame in disclosing my status. The most effective way to rid this disease of the stigma it carries is to make the epidemic a human condition, not only a statistical one.

Oh, I almost forgot our second pit stop in Casmalia. A town of maybe 100 people in the center of a small valley who throw a killer dance/BBQ party in front of the General Store. It was like an even gayer version of the Lionel Richey video “All Night Long” with all the dancers wearing red. How we found the energy for dancing no one knows. Perhaps when you are running on Gatorade and Cliff Bars the sound of music triggers that dancing gene in us all.

I have lost count, but I think about 400 miles on the road. Only 2 days left and I am not looking forward to the end of this experience.

The creative man who put cleats on this platforms.

Me dancing like a freak.

My mom, David, and myself.

My mom and Eva.