ALC5 Cyclist Dusty Klass: It's almost here!!!

Dusty Klass

The basics: My name is Dusty (and yes it’s short for Dustin, and no I am not a guy…and yes, my parents are a little weird.) I’m 20 years old, this will be my second ALC, and I like French toast. A lot. I also like falafel, Thai iced tea, deviled eggs, and this one salad my mom makes with gorgonzola and pears and walnuts. I’m THE average American woman in height and weight and hair color and eye color and blah blah blah…I try to make up for my ‘normalness’ by being…odd. I’m not sure if I ever succeed. But I digress.

Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, I moved to Santa Barbara in the fall of 2004 to begin my first year at UCSB. Sometime during that first quarter, I attended my first and last Red Cross Club meeting, during which someone came to talk about AIDS/Lifecycle. I’d broken up with my boyfriend the summer before due to different college destinations, and I was still reeling a little bit. Call me crazy (and so many did =), but I kind of felt like this would be the perfect way to get over him. It also seemed like a wonderful challenge. Who in their right mind rides a bike 585 miles?? Lastly, AIDS is one of those things that just won’t go away. And it needs to. There are people who will never BE 20 because of AIDS. And that just sucks.

ALC5 Blogs

AIDS/LifeCycle 5 Web Coverage
Daily stories, photos and podcasts
Cyclist Dusty Klass' ALC5 Blog
Dusty is a student at UC Santa Barbara.
Cyclist Gary Cotti's ALC5 Blog
Gary works in reality TV and lives in LA.
Cyclist Jon Garrison's ALC5 Blog
Jon is an HIV positive 2nd year ALC veteran.
Cyclist Tony Eason's ALC5 Blog
Tony is a yoga instructor in SF.
Roadie Midori's ALC5 Blog
Midori is a writer and educator on intimacy in SF.

The AIDS/LifeCycle Podcast

Well, I'm about to (try) and get some sleep before tomorrow...because bright and early (4:30 AM!!!), I'll be heading on down to the Cow Palace for Opening Ceremonies and then...Day 1 begins.

Orientation Day was quicker than expected...last year each line took over an hour, and this year I don't think any of the lines took even a half an hour.
It was so fabulous to be back in the ALC community. It seems so silly to say that - I mean, the "ALC Community" only technically exists for a week...but it's so...the way the world should be.
Last year, near the end of the ride, people began saying "almost time to go back to the real world", and I think that's exactly what I mean. There is a marked difference between the 'real world' and the 'ALC world'. The group of people that decide to participate in this ride create this fantastic atmosphere. Anything goes, anything is accepted, everybody is respected. And it's still fun. You just want to say hi to everyone and bust into people's conversations while you're waiting in line.

I'm so so so excited for tomorrow.

Dusty Klass

ALC5 Blogs

The AIDS/LifeCycle Podcast

Photo Albums

Route Map

Flickr Photostream

It's almost here!!!

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