mathew and i woke up at 3:45 this morning. we were at the cow palace by 4:30. there were yummy breakfast foods to greet us and lots of tired but happy faces. there was a nervous, excited energy in the air as 2000 cyclists were getting ready to start day 1 of their ride to LA.
mathew and his training ride buddy, david. david jokingly calls mathew his “straight boyfriend.” he thinks mathew is amazing and is so in awe that heteros like him will train and fundraise to help end AIDS.
waiting for the opening ceremony to start.
as part of the opening ceremony there was a warm-up and stretching session for all of the cyclists. here, mathew and his bike-buddy, steven (they have the same bike!) do a group stretch.
during the ceremony positive pedalers (riders who are HIV positive) walked down the middle of the auditorium carrying banners that all the riders had signed the day before. in between the banners was a bicycle with no rider, symbolizing all the people we have lost to AIDS and the motivation for this fundraising ride, to end HIV/AIDS for good.
it was a teary moment as everyone stood holding hands. soon after, a very exuberant woman came out to change the mood, talking about how excited everyone’s butts were to get on their bikes, and how this will be the last time their butts will be feeling this good for the rest of the week!
i said good bye to mathew and he disappeared into the crowd of cyclists anxious to get on the road.
the first of the riders! in the foreground is our buddy alex in a green roadie t-shirt, he’s volunteering with the ride for the week.
some cyclists are serious athletes, some are newbees and most just want to have fun. can you see the teddy bear on the bike (above right)?
there was a creepy camera drone flying and hovering above the cyclists as they rode out.
in my excitement when i finally glimpsed mathew, i was yelling his name and almost forgot to take a photo! this is the only photo i caught of him on his bike. but he’s got a big smile on his face! i think he could hear me yelling, and i’m sure it feels amazing to start the ride with hundreds of fans cheering you on.
a photo with a couple of my roadie friends, alex and alan. i’ll catch up with everyone again on saturday in los angeles for the closing ceremony.
mathew will spend the morning and early afternoon riding on highway 1 along the coast. the first night’s camp is set up in santa cruz. you can read a description of each day’s route here: http://www.aidslifecycle.org/life-on-the-event/route/
and there are route sheets you can download if you want to see all the stops mathew will be making.
all week mathew has been worrying about the weather because it was forecast to be cold and drizzly leaving santa cruz tomorrow. hopefully it clears up because it’s beautiful and sunny here in san francisco today.
and in case you’re not on facebook, here are training ride photos i’ve been posting up until now.
playing on a little kid’s bike.
a short ride in tahoe wearing the jersey he got for reaching his $5k fundraising goal.
the official training ride the following day turned into “snowpocolypse”! the temp dropped to 32 degrees and it snowed for the last 20 miles of the ride! mathew was one of the few who actually completed the ride and didn’t experience any hypothermia.
i doubt there will be snow during the coming week, but if any rider gets too tired and can’t finish the day’s ride, there are sag cars to pick them up and carry them to camp. that’s what makes this a ride, and not a race.
from one of his last bay area training rides. he’s known for his “bunny ears” those fuzzy things on his helmet straps. they look strange but actually cut down on wind noise, so when other riders are yelling and struggling to hear each other, mathew seems to be able to hear conversations just fine.
i’ll post more photo updates on facebook and on this blog. hope everyone has a good week!