Your Mind

Think of Others:
Biking to Take Action

by Emily Goligoski

This June, I rode my bike over 550 miles! It was for the AIDS LifeCycle ride, a seven-day ride from San Francisco, California, to Los Angeles. The adventure raises money for charities that help prevent AIDS and educate people around the world. In addition to pedaling my heart out, the event included a rainbow of Gatorade drinks and an eclectic group of 2,300 people who spent a week of their summer riding to raise awareness about a global health issue.

How’d I do it? First, I looked for training groups in San Francisco. Knowing that I rarely rode more than 15 miles on my own, I knew I needed some serious cycling influence. I started asking at bike shops for groups and was told about the AIDS ride. A visit to their website, http://www.aidslifecycle.org, intrigued me—I've lived in California for less than a year and wanted to see the state. And raising money for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation seemed like a great way to do so.

Emily along the California coast.

I spent most weekend mornings putting on tight bike shoes and pairs of the funny-looking bike shorts that can make anyone walk like a duck. But once I was on my bike and pedaling there was little else I wanted to be doing. On rides over the Golden Gate Bridge I met a woman only a little older than me whose mother had received an HIV-infected blood transfusion in the 1980s and passed away. Training rides were important not only to help me ride further distances, but to remind me why I was riding in the first place.

A friend offered to ride to Southern California with me. We each needed to raise at least $2,500 and reached out to friends, co-workers, family, old teachers, you name it. It paid off too: AIDS LifeCycle riders and volunteers raised $11 million for this June's ride.

During the 550 mile ride, we left each morning before 7:30 and returned to our makeshift tent cities just before dinner. One day, as I felt myself fading at the end of a 105-mile ride day, a bearded man rolled down the window to his old Volvo, leaned out and said, "I've had HIV for the past 17 years. I really appreciate what you're doing." He rolled up his window and drove away. It was one of many “Thanks!” we heard as we panted our way down the coast.

	Many miles to go!

We rode through stretches of barren flat land, came across nasty winds that nearly knocked us off our bikes, and went down beautiful hills at forty miles an hour. Although my legs, knees, and neck ached, the truth was, I was glad I'd trained and happy to be a part of an event so much bigger than myself.

By the time we rode into LA, I was relieved to be finished. After all, I have a lot to do…especially getting ready for next year’s ride.