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On
William Delaney’s 10th birthday, his older brother John took
him for a ride on his red Schwinn bike.
“He was only 12,
yet his legs peddled us miles to the mall,” William says.
John
offered to buy his brother a compilation of first issues of Spiderman,
Iron Man and Superman, but John wanted to go to a matinee showing
of “Jaws.”
“I
passed on the comics and we went to see the movie instead,”
William says. “So it was back on the bike for another several
miles of riding to the theater.”
Eleven years ago, John died
of complications from AIDS a few weeks after his 31st birthday.
William was at his bedside.
“In hindsight,”
William, now 39, says, “riding a bike to honor him is very
appropriate.”
His brother’s death
inspired William’s first AIDS bike ride back in 1996.
“It got me through
a really dark period after John died,” he says, his voice
suddenly softening as his eyes gaze at the floor. “I slumped
through a really bad depression, and having the ride as a goal and
an outlet got me through that part.”
Now, 11 years after the
death of his brother, William and his partner of eight years, J.R.
Parish, are participating in the AIDS/LifeCycle ride June 4 to 10,
a grueling seven-day, 585-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los
Angeles, benefiting the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los
Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. Although both have participated
in previous AIDS/LifeCycles, this year’s ride will be especially
significant.
“I’ve been
gay all my life,” says J.R., 41, his eyes shining through
rimless glasses. “I’ve been out since I was in high
school. But since I became positive a year and half ago, now I have
to come out, again.”
After becoming ill in November
2004, J.R. spent two weeks in the hospital and dropped 25 pounds.
Tests revealed that he was HIV positive. Initially, he told only
close friends and family, but now is coming out again to co-workers,
acquaintances and strangers.
Although J.R. participated
in last year’s event as a roadie — picking up trash
from the campgrounds where the cyclists ate, slept, and showered
— this year will be his first ride. He hopes to draw attention
to what he refers to as the “stigma of the death sentence”
by illustrating how there is life after HIV.
“I am healthy
and happy and productive,” he says.
As cyclists, J.R and William
will face unpredictable weather and rough terrain during their week-long
trip on California’s back roads. Their training begins months
ahead, in February, in preparation for the potholes, headwind, and
hills that will test their determination and stamina come June.
“I’ve been
out on the road every weekend,” J.R. says. “It’s
been challenging, both mentally and physically.”
The event and its training
can cause knee injuries, shoulder pain, backaches, sunburn and saddle
sores. However, both men feel their physical discomfort is a small
sacrifice in drawing attention to the cause.
“It’s not about
the riding,” William says. “That’s just a way
to capture people’s imaginations.”
J.R. has benefited from
new medicines that have greatly prolonged the lives of those living
with HIV and AIDS. But without his health insurance, J.R. would
not be able to afford the $900-a-month prescription for one of two
pills he must take daily. Expensive prescription costs force some
living with HIV to go without treatment.
“I’ve met people
who would not be alive if it weren’t for the resources from
the San Francisco AIDS Foundation that gives them the medications,”
J.R. says.
Cyclists must raise $2,500
in pledges to ride.
Stephen Cadby, associate
director of AIDS/LifeCycle, said the $7.1 million raised last year
not only provided healthcare for those who could not afford it,
but it also preserved the San Francisco Aids Foundation HIV Prevention
Project, one of the largest needle exchange programs in the country.
Previous rides have also benefited the global community through
the Pangaea Global Aids Foundation.
Launched by the San
Francisco Aids Foundation in 2001, the organization seeks to help
people affected by HIV and AIDS in developing countries.
Among the hundreds who volunteer, City College student Kelly Burlingham’s
personal connection to HIV and AIDS has led her to participate in
five AIDS/LifeCycle rides.
“I have not counted
how many friends I have lost in the last two plus decades,”
she says. “I don’t think I could stand to know what
the real count is.”
As a volunteer member of
the Moto Crew, she helps riders like William and J.R. cross dangerous
intersections.
“Sometimes I am in
a great place for a rider to take a break and chat,” Kelly
says. “Sometimes I help them by giving them food or water,
or a shoulder to cry on.”
Volunteers are not required
to raise $2,500 in pledges like the cyclists, but Kelly has hosted
fundraising parties in San Francisco and Seattle.
She initially participated
as a volunteer to overcome her pain. This year, she will ride to
“help others walk through their grief and to provide funds
and serve those in need who have nowhere else to turn.”
The desire to provide
a better life for people afflicted by HIV and AIDS will lead hundreds
to brave the roads of California this summer. They will ride for
those who rely on the services provided by the San Francisco Aids
Foundation and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. They are
sacrificing a few months to fundraise and educate the public about
HIV and AIDS. Many, like William, J.R. and Kelly, have been impacted
by the disease and are choosing to turn their grief into action.
They have no choice.
“I’ve lost
one of the most important men in my life to AIDS,” William
says.
“Losing another
isn’t an option.”
E-mail Arami
Reyes at adreyess@yahoo.
com
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