2024 Will Be My Silver Anniversary of Riding a Bike to Fight HIV and AIDS!

Starting in 1995 friends had been suggesting I participate in what was then called the California AIDS Ride; I'd scoffed and told them they were insane. No way, I said, was I going to attempt to ride a bicycle something like 600 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles. How could anyone possibly do that?

I tested positive for HIV in 1985 (when the virus was still being called HTLV-3!). I later discovered I'd been infected no later than the spring of 1981. I turned 47 in May 1998; not long after that I came down with a serious case of pneumonia. It wasn't related to HIV; my numbers were good so getting an AIDS-related illness was not likely. Still it served as a wake-up call. I added myself to the Positive Pedalers mailing list at a pool party in September and during the 1998 Folsom Street Fair I signed up for my first ride, California AIDS Ride 6. On my second training ride I was informed that the guy who'd been nagging me to get involved in the ride had passed away. At that point I knew I was committed to riding on his behalf. Eight months later I finished my first ride. Despite having two significant crashes during the training season and after spending thousands of dollars on cycling gear I arrived in LA having ridden every single one of the ride's 533 miles.

From that time, with one year off in 2002, I've participated in every ride to the extent feasible. In 2020 there was no actual ride due to the COVID lockdown. In 2021 we had TogetheRide, a substitute event that involved a solo mileage goal to be accomplished either on my own or on social rides. And when ALC came back in 2022 there I was.

When I began training for my first ride it never occurred to me that I'd still be training, riding and raising money for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation 25 years later. But that's been my reality.

When we begin AIDS/LifeCycle 2024 I will be 73 years old and will have been living with HIV for 43 years. My friends began receiving AIDS diagnoses near the end of 1981 and began passing away in 1983. My partner Mario Luna passed away in 1992, my previous partner, Bob Framo, passed away the following April. In addition I lost well over 150 friends, neighbors and colleagues to HIV/AIDS between 1983 and the early 2000s when truly effective treatments were developed to slow disease progression. Despite all of the advances in treatment and prevention I lost friends, even fellow-riders, during the time of those early rides.  I consider it little short of miraculous that I'm still alive and well and contemplating yet another ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. My experiences of living with HIV over all these years and my experience of losses both personal and in my communities are my principle motivations for continuing to ride and to raise money and awareness. 

The minimum I need to participate in next year's ride is $3,500, but I've set my goal far higher than that. Since my first ride I've raised a cumulative total of over $207,000. In 2023 I raised $17,607 and was among the top 50 fundraisers (a situation I would never have foreseen!). I have set my 2024 goal at $17,000. Raising that amount of money will help the Foundation to continue its mission of providing services to those who are at risk of contracting HIV in order to keep them uninfected, and to those who live with HIV in order to keep them healthy, productive, and undetectable. Advocating for health care access to historically marginalized groups is an integral part of the Foundation's mission; the money I raise will contribute to that goal as well. 

Here are some of the tangible ways your donation can make a difference.

$25,000 provides an entire year of meals for the participants of the Latino Programs which help prevent new HIV infections in the Latino community.

$20,000 supports the expansion of our hepatitis C treatment efforts, as people living with HIV are at a higher risk of contracting Hepatitis C.

$15,000 creates access to PrEP for 75 people.

$15,000 will help us achieve our goal of reducing new HIV diagnoses to fewer than 100 per year in San Francisco.

$10,000 enables five people to be cured of Hepatitis C.

$5,000 provides one year of substance use treatment services for one program participant.

$5,000 provides our sexual health team with the supplies needed to offer HIV and STI screenings for 560 people.

$3,000 creates access to health and wellness services for 50 queer and trans people of color.

$3,000 helps us reduce HIV transmission among people who inject drugs by providing sterile syringes and disposing of them properly.

$2,000 provides a scholarship for one community member to go to Washington, D.C., and advocate for HIV funding and services.

$1,000 links one person living with HIV to housing.

$1,000 could provide rapid HIV antibody test kits for 40 individuals at any one of our multiple testing sites.

$500 sponsors one night of social programming for long-term survivors of HIV.

$500 could provide funding for up to 50 members for the Elizabeth Taylor 50-plus Network to come together twice a month in order to offer support for individuals working through anxiety, depression, and isolation.

$250 supports one overdose prevention training.

$250 could provide for necessary funding for our weekly TransLife Support Group to discuss health and wellness issues and build community to give people the support they need and the family they long for.

$150 allows us to check hormone levels for folks who are taking gender-affirming hormones.

$100 covers the cost of one HIV test.

$50 helps us provide free hep C testing, treatment, and support.

Please support my journey and help me to make my silver anniversary ride a true celebration. Follow the link on my page to make a tax-deductible donation in any amount.