Ride for a Reason - my first AIDS ride...

...way back in 1997, I heard that my employer was going to sponsor an AIDS fundraising ride to benefit some AIDS Service Organizations in the Northwest.

Having been very grateful for the caring support and services that Peter had received from his community AIDS resources, I was interested in helping out, kind of assuming that I could coordinate the employee volunteer involvement as I had done on some previous AIDS walks and such.

The ride was planned for August, 1997; to be a 4-day, 50 miles/day ride starting in Vancouver, British Columbia and ending on the Seattle waterfront. No way/no how did I even consider that I'd be a rider!!! Although I did have a bike, it spent most of it's time relaxing inside, venturing out only once or twice a year when I'd go for a short ride with friends to the brewpub via a local trail. Then the question was: 'how're we getting the bikes back?', as a few miles followed by pizza and a few beers with friends was the max for this very recreational rider ;)

The idea started to grow in me though...just a fleeting consideration at first (what if I did do the ride?), then finding myself pulling the pretty blue Peugeot hybrid bike out for a ride around my neighborhood - gasping on the mild inclines on the return ride and wondering what in the world was I thinking?! I kept going out for a ride though, a few times a week...each a bit longer than the last, but still only on the trail or in the parking lots of local office parks on the weekends (no roads or traffic for me!).

It was about 4 months prior to the ride when I came to a decision, based on wanting to face this physical challenge and do the ride to honor Peter in a unique way that would be very hard as well as very meaningful for me.

So, I found myself on the start line of my first AIDS ride - with Peter's picture worn over my heart, in August, 1997, in Vancouver, B.C., about 1200 other riders milling about - VERY nervous about whether I'd really be able to do this!

I noticed the woman next to me leaning closer to look at Peter's picture and when she stood up, she said, "I know that's your brother; I was looking at the date, as my brother Bret died a week before Peter". That's when I met my best ride buddy ever - Tracy! Tracy and her sister Tammie were both riding in their first AIDS ride too, plus, she lived in the Seattle area also!

Since then Tracy and I have pedaled thousands of miles together in training as well as the AIDS rides themselves along with raising - with your generous help - thousand$ to support AIDS research, education and services too.

Tracy and I agree that our brothers must find our partnership quite amusing as neither one of us had ever attempted anything like this before; we noted the 10th anniversary of our meeting while on last year's Empire State AIDS ride...here's to the love and devotion of sisters.
Tailwinds!
Mary