Angela's CAR8 Journal
SF to LA - June 3-9, 2001
On June 3, 2001, I set out along with 2,500 
other
riders from Fort Mason in San Francisco in California AIDS Ride 8, bound for Los Angeles. Leading
up to that day, I trained for seven months, over hills and through the
rain, logging over 2,500 miles. I also raised $3,640 in donations for
the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Altogether, this year's California
AIDS Riders raised $11.8 million dollars, the most money ever raised
for AIDS by a single event at that time.
The journey was an
incredible mixture of kindness, support, laughter, tears and hope.
The temporary community that was created shows the best of what humans
can be: 
giving,
loving and caring to complete strangers. While riding, you are separated
from daily life - what day of the week is it again? - and I felt
out of touch with reality. Now I see that the simple human kindness I
experienced on the ride is closer what I want reality to be. At
the end of the ride, the most difficult thing is not recovering from soreness
or catching up on sleep, but trying to figure out how to make the spirit
of the ride extend into real life.
Here is my ride story. I hope you enjoy it.