July 19,1999:
Now I will give you a brief run down of my week. I will eventually have pictures on my web page. Also if you want to ask me question, as always I am always willing to talk.

The first day was hectic and incredibly organized. I flew to Minneapolis with my bike in a box. I then took my box to Day Zero at the Minneapolis. Had a mechanic make my bike roll again and watched a rather intense safety video.

Day 1. 103 miles. The sun was shining people lined the streets of Minneapolis to cheer us on. I crossed the Mississippi River. And rode and rode and rode. This day I had my first casuality: I lost my glasses. This made the rest of my ride a bit more challenging but I have lived to tell the tale. Camp was this huge grid of tents on a few sports fields. Ahhhh, home sweet home.

Day 2: This is when we started seeing families and kids on the side of the rode cheering us on, handing us ice water, lemonade, apples, etc. There was even a group of kids that made index cards with "You Make a Difference" on them. It amazes me what a varity of people rode in the AIDS Ride. Old, young, athletic, and not so much, everyone has their own stories, their own reasons. It was just amazing.

Day 3: Trail Day. We rode on limestone trails that cover old railroad tracks. We even went through 3, 1/2 mile to mile long tunnels. This day was so beautiful and the towns along the trail were so welcoming. A watermelon stand and a bake sale with melting Rice Krispie Treats were set up for us by people who lived along the trail. And for the last mile of the trail there were posters made by kids encouraging us to ride on, to find the cure, to be hereos. And they did not stop making the posters because they were tired or because they ran out of things to write but because their markers ran out.

Day 4: Hill day. And the scenery I saw was worth every hill I climbed. It was a hot day and I did think "maybe I should just hope on a bus to get to camp, today" then I would see a Positive Pedeler (the openly HIV+ riders) ride by and I would be reminded that I am on the ride to push myself to go further and I can and I did.

Day 5: Corn fields. Really no need to say more.

Day 6: This is it the last day. It poured all day. I was reminded of the Day Zero when I watched the safety video and the National Director of the AIDS Rides stated that we would run into a lot of adversity. We would have to give into it when it stopped raining and started to pour. But this day I ran on adrenaline riding through Chicago, scared of the traffic, annoyed by the ran and ready to be home. Then the closing cermonies started and I didn't want it to end.

We raised 5.8 million dollors, we each rode 500 miles through many towns showing that AIDS affects people of all ages, genders, and sizes. Our power seemed immense to me. Who would have thought that 1700 riders and 500 volunteers would take a week to raise money and push their physical limits to support those who are HIV+ and to help stop the continued growth of HIV/AIDS.

Thank you for making this possable. Thank you for supporting me.

Tia

 Back to Progress Letters