Braking the Cycle – Days 1 and 2!!!
So I was bad. I didn’t write yesterday. But I trust you all will understand; I rode 105 miles yesterday! As did 112 others. It was an intense day, with c0ld rain, and lots and lots of puddles and mud. But we all had fun! It was an intense day, of hills, tears and laughter.
Yes, I cried. It’s hard not to. But those tears are better than a Power Bar. Let me explain. As I rode up one of the most difficult terrains I thought imaginable, a cyclist with an orange pennant flag with a plus-sign on it yelled from behind me, “You’ve got this hill! C’mon!” The plus sign on my fellow-cyclist’s pennant means he is HIV-positive. If he can live with HIV and ride every mile, so can I.
Every year a group of self-identified HIV-positive cyclists, called Pos Peds, participate in Braking the Cycle. And this year, as I rode up that hill, feeling entirely overwhelmed and at the breaking point, I was motivated and inspired by a Pos Ped.
I am sore right now. Tired. Still overwhelmed as I think of riding tomorrow’s 96 additional miles with my new 112 friends, I am reminded of that orange pennant. I will not cry because I feel sorry for myself tomorrow, or because I’m exhausted. I will cry because HIV still exists. And I won’t stop until we have put an end to this disease.
