AIDS LifeCycle 2012: Ming!

last year we featured a few of our friends who were riding from SF to LA for the AIDS LifeCycle ride, which benefits the SF AIDS Foundation and the LA Gay and Lesbian Center. (full disclosure: i had a family member die of AIDS in the early 90s. f!@k AIDS!)

we have a repeat rider everyone! ming is on his second year of training.

1. hi ming! you now have one aids lifecycle ride under your belt.
congrats! how was it?!
It was intense! I know sometimes that "intense" is used as a euphemism
for "bad," but that's not what I mean. I mean that I had so many
emotions while doing the ride last year. I was of course so hopeful
that this many people cared enough about this issue to volunteer their
time and energy and to fundraise for an end to HIV/AIDS. I also was
inspired and moved by the many HIV-positive people who were doing the
ride. Of course there were many moments when I was (extremely) crabby
about my sore legs, aching back, arms, butt, etc.. There were times
when I was struggling up a hill (or on a seemingly endless flat) by
myself feeling like I wanted to cry, then another rider would come
along and give me encouragement, or someone standing by the side of
the road would be cheering (just for me!) and hand me a little paper
flower or maybe a high five that would get me through. I also learned
a couple of important things. One, now I understand why people make
those faces when they are using the foam rollers. THOSE THINGS HURT.
Two, now when my chain falls off when I'm shifting to a low gear I
just shift back into the highest gear and keep pedaling. That chain
just hooks right back on - no need to stop and painstaking put the
chain on and mess with the derailleur etc.! I'm sure that's a metaphor
for life or something.

2. let's talk training. how has it changed from last year now that you
know what the ride is like? are you doing more or less?
I'm definitely less anxious about training this year, now that I've
done the ride once. However, I'm having a little more back pain this
year, so that's a challenge. I would say I'm doing the same amount of
training as last year, but am less _kan-cheong_ about it, taking my time to enjoy the scenery and rests.

3. fundraising! any fun dinners or parties planned? how can people contact you?
I've been kind of behind on fundraising this year! I'm hoping to do
one midweek dinner next week (Wednesday May 2nd) and maybe a brunch on
Saturday May 12th. They'll both be relatively low-key, I think. Or of
course, feel free to drop by my donation page, make a donation, and
send me a note with your donation that you want to come to the
dinner/brunch! :) [Insert crafty laughter here.]

4. now that this is your second time, how has your reason for doing
this changed? if it hasn't changed, please remind our readers why you
are doing this great ride.
HIV/AIDS is still something that marginalized communities (people and
especially women of color, LGBT people, the poor) are especially hard
hit by, and that's something we should all really be looking at and
working to make right. Doing the ride is just one small thing that I
hope helps to raise awareness and also provide some much needed
services in San Francisco. Also, similar to last year, my birthday
falls during the ride! First official year of my third decade, I will
be somewhere in the middle of California, hopefully going at 12 miles
an hour ;).

a big thanks to ming for sharing and please don't forget to donate to his page. i mean how can you refuse those sock monkey socks?!

Aids LifeCycle Series!! Third up is....

MING!!



ming is a friend of mine from school. we both were into bikes-ish during school, him more so than me, but after school was ovah, we got more into those bike things. go figure. here is his story!

1. This is your first time riding Aids LifeCycle. Why did you want to do
this ride?

Several reasons. The first is about an eerie coincidence - I was born on the very day that the first cases of AIDS were reported. I have never known a world without AIDS, and I would really love to see that happen in my lifetime. I believe it is absolutely possible. Any small part I can play in making that happen is totally worth it. The second is that AIDS is a social justice issue. If you look at the communities most affected by AIDS, it's those people who have been marginalized because of race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and poverty. This is intimately connected to all social justice work - I do not want to live in a world where some people's health and lives are just worth less or not as important as others. Finally, the ride starts on my 30th birthday, and I could not imagine a more meaningful and fun birthday activity than spending a week biking with thousands of other people through this beautiful state that I am completely in love with.

2. Before you started training, did you consider yourself a long-distance
cyclist? Why or why not? If no, what prompted you to start training?

Hah no. I was intimidated by butterlap! In a way, doing butterlap for the first time (with you, dear journalista!) made me realize that all my years of commuter biking had actually already built a good base for me to train for longer distances, which was cool.

3. How is your training going? Do you train by yourself, with friends or
with trainings provided by LifeCycle?

Training is going good. I train with the Lifecycle trainings, but I also occasionally go for rides by myself on the hill behind my house, or on longer errand rides (which I might otherwise BART or rent a car for) during the week. And of course, there's always BIKE PARTY!



4. $3,000 seems like a lot of money to raise in this economy. How has it
been fundraising? Any special events?

No special events so far, but I'm planning a vegan/veggie dinner with k-law for the future! I've raised money so far being the most persistent friend/family member ever. One of my friends who is a kind of struggling musician surprised me by making a really large donation - $150, which I felt like he could barely afford. That was pretty inspiring.


5. Have you met any fun or interesting characters in the course of your
fundraising?

Not really, since I just ask my friends. I do love meeting all the people at training rides, though! It's great to see many generations riding - especially meeting a lot of middle age and older cyclists that might not necessarily come to bike party type events or commute to work on a bike, and that I might not meet otherwise. Makes me rethink using the term "granny gears"! And of course, I met k-law through doing this, and could not be more pleased!

ming has already met his fundraising minimum, but not his goal! go check out his ALC page!

this is the end of our little ALC series. i hope you liked each of the stories and hopefully they provided some inspiration to you as they have each given to me!

AIDS LifeCycle Series: Bad Babysitter

Next up in our AIDS LifeCycle Series is our butterlap friend, David.


foto by melioh hai there.

david, along with his team, bad babysitter, have been holding super fun events around san francisco in order to meet their goal of raising $14,000 (!!!) for ALC.

the following is taken from their ALC web page. 'tis very cute.

Welcome to Team Bad Babysitter.

4 midwestern transplants who moved to San Francisco and fell in love with biking in the amazing surroundings of the Bay Area.

While to my knowledge none of us are actual babysitters (good, bad, or otherwise), for some reason we rally round the somewhat bizarre/funny rap song "Bad Babysitter" when the legs start to hurt many miles into a ride. Just before the point we start seeing double and are compelled to eat another Clif Bar.

What started off as a group of friends riding around town in San Francisco and bike commutes to work, developed over the years into doing rides of 100 miles in Napa and Marin. The AIDS/Lifecycle presents a whole new challenge tho at 545 miles over the course of a week. It is sure to be the ride of a lifetime.

The ride is in June 2011, but there is much to be done before then. We have several training rides planned and as a team have committed to raise over $10,000 towards AIDS support and research initiatives.

While we aren't asking everyone to bike the 545 miles with us ;) you can still be involved in this adventure by supporting the team with a donation. Any amount is greatly apprecaited!

if you live in the bay area, they are having one last group fundraiser TONIGHT (5/20) in north beach at mojito from 7-close. GO THERE ALREADY. or at least stop by on your way out or in for the evening.

for more fotos and fun, go over to their team tumblr page! heh.

UPDATED! FLYER!

AIDS LifeCycle Series!

hey guys, this is the long awaited post. it'll be the first of three that i have planned, maybe some of you will be inspired to send in your stories too.

this post has been delayed because our lovely first person featured, kristen ("klaw"), broke her arm the day before the post was going to go up. she was on her bike and a pedestrian suddenly walked out in front of her.

but she's feeling better now, and we decided that showing that she's ready to get back on the bike might be just as inspirational as her ALC ride! now...on to the post! be sure to check out her "addendum."



This is your first time riding Aids LifeCycle. Why did you want to do this ride?

Yes! It's my first time! I've wanted to do it for a long time but was in graduate school out of state or starting a new job and could not put in the time. The primary reason that I am riding is because there are few opportunities in life to challenge yourself physically and emotionally for purely selfless reasons, I am so excited to be a part of this! Many people believe that HIV/AIDS are no longer an issue. Contrary to popular belief, HIV/AIDS has not gone away. Many continue to die of AIDS related illness and those who are lucky enough to afford antivirals are reminded each day about their communicable disease. HIV/Aids is a social justice issue effecting a disproportionate number of people of color and low-income people. As Stephen Colbert says the vaccine to HIV/AIDS is to be white and rich. I hope that the money I raise and the knowledge people gain because of LifeCycle will foster prevention and treatment for ALL people. Plus how cool is it that I get to spend my 31st bday (June 9) with 3,000 other people riding to end AIDS! Someday I hope we can all ride in celebration of ending AIDS!

photo by joel muller

Before you started training, did you consider yourself a long-distance cyclist? Why or why not? If no, what prompted you to start training?

I've always had pretty good endurance but never considered myself a long distance rider and I NEVER thought I'd be peddling around in spandex. LifeCycle prompted me to cycle more and the support and encouragement from my family and friends has helped a lot!

How is your training going? Do you train by yourself, with friends or with trainings provided by LifeCycle?

My training is pretty mixed. I like to do the training rides supported by LifeCycle. I've done a few rides with friends and will be doing my first long-distance ride alone this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes. I'll be riding from my dad's to Hornitos and back, it's about 60 miles roundtrip. Hornitos is a old mining/ghost town, can't wait to take photos!

Over the course of my training I have seen some amazing parts of the North and East Bay. I am feeling pretty lucky to be able to live here! Oh! And riding around the city is great training. I rode against the wind last night and avoided my "granny gears" to help train my quads. Oh and I do a spin class one to two times a week. My legs are getting HUGE!

$3,000 seems like a lot of money to raise in this economy. How has it been fundraising? Any special events?

I had three fundraising events. The first was at Mission Workshop. Together, Shannon Hinkle and I raised over $2,000! Thanks MWS and everyone who donated raffle/auction prizes and more importantly the people who came to support us! The second fundraiser was a wine pairing dinner party at Dadsky KLAW's house. My dear friend Mary Burroughs killed it with her amazing culinary skills and food donations. Attendees donated $20 a plate and brought wine to pair with an assigned course. This was a ton of fun and I raised $400! The last event I did was bar tending at Tonic Bar in San Francisco. This bar is amazing and so generous - they let us keep all the tips we made. Go there and support them, they support so many charitable causes! I raised close to $300 in three-hours of bar tending. Other than that my friends and family donated generous amounts! It is amazing to me how generous people are, many came out of the woodwork to donate money and others (Gwen Lutz, Alison Barahona, Patty Barahona, Kim Johnson, Darius Pearson and many others) donated time and raffle prizes to help us out! Thank you everyone!!!

Have you met any fun or interesting characters in the course of your fundraising?

MING! Through the lovely Caltexican (ed note: oh hai) I met Ming, my new tentmate and gemini twin! Although this wasn't through fundraising I am super excited about this new friendship, and we will be doing some foodie fundraising soon! I'm really excited to eat cake with him on our birthdays too! I also became closer to Amy Powell who helped me so much! I owe her tons!!! Without her dedication I would not have raised the money I did. Thanks Amy, drinks on me!

photo by volker neumann

Addendum: So it looks like I will not be riding this year. Unfortunately I have fractured the radius in my left arm. It is close to the elbow and not the wrist, which is better. I am still training in spin classes and raising money in the chance that I am healed and my orthopedic doc tells me I can ride. The silver lining is that all of the money I raise can be rolled over to next year when I will be riding with the CYLRAB ladies ;)

I would like to thank everyone for their support! This has been super life changing already. Look for me in the bike lanes in about 2-4 weeks! ding ding

Thanks so much klaw for sharing your story! hope you all enjoyed it! happy friday!

bad babysitter behind the bar!!

hey guys, stay tuned for our upcoming series featuring some SF riders doing their first ever AIDS LifeCycle ride.

in the meantime, go on and support one of the featured riders tonight (4/13)!!

bad babysitters behind the bar!

Elixir Saloon
16th Street and Guerrero (SF)
9pm-2am
All tips benefitting the team!! Go nuts.

good luck and can't wait to hear how bad these babysitters are!