Snapshots from Everywhere
Washington DC AIDS Ride 5
The 5th Washington DC AIDS Ride (WDCAR 5) was a life changing experience. WDCAR 5 took place on 15-19 June 2000. The ride started in Raleigh, North Carolina and ended in Washington DC. The weather during those days were blisteringly hot and humid with temperatures exceeding 100 Fahrenheit on at least two of those days. Nevertheless, most people rode approximately 90+ miles a day without complaints. The atmosphere was jubilant and intoxicating.
In order to enter WDCAR 5, the rider had to collect at least $2000 worth of donations. With my very limited networking, I managed to squeak out only a couple of hundred. The rest was covered by my fellow Zen Catz riders, bless their hearts.
The Zen Catz are a diverse group of AIDS rider made up of gays, lesbians, and straights. Many chose to do the ride for personal reasons, knowing people suffering from AIDS or that have died of AIDS. During my time in Richmond, Virginia I became good friends with a number of them.
Many photos were taken during the AIDS Ride. All were taken using my first digital camera, the Kodak DC240, which served me well. There was only the 8Mb card in the camera and it had to store lots of photos. The photos were all restricted to 640x480 at a medium quality level. Over a hundred photos were taken. The following are some of the better photos. Watching them, it seems like yesterday.
Click on photo for bigger image.
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This scarf was carried by members of the Zen Catz team on the ride. On the scarf, were the names of Zen Catz friends who died of AIDS. Look closely and you'll see lots of names.
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The founder of the Zen Catz, Kathy Benham.
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There's my Team Fuji with a whole lot of other bicycles.
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The scarf ceremony took place just before we left Richmond. We had a pastor bless us for the trip.
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The Zen Catz, Dixie Chix, and Brawny Boys about to depart Richmond. All our bicycles are in the van.
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Janice, a woman imbued with boundless opitimism and energy comtemplates what lies before her. 330+ miles of asphalt.
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Here we are at Raleigh, NC in the auditorium where registration took place.
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The rememberance ceremony, a solemn moment for the victims of AIDS.
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Outside the stadium where the WDCAR 5 started. Over 2000 bicycles in this holding area. Some real exotics were seen.
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John, one of the Catz signs the memorial.
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This is way too early in the morning! The ride took place in midst of the longest days of summer and it was pitch black when we woke up, ready to ride the first day. That tells you how early we woke up.
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Lisa and Patsy giving their best 4:30 AM smile.
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Still way early. The sun hasn't risen yet. All the riders are in their holding pen, ready to ride on day 1.
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Some of our Catz on the road.
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Probably can't see from this photo but there was a huge traffic jam as we moved out of Raleigh, NC. From this vantage point, there was nothing but an endless sea of riders ahead of me. The cyclist are standing waiting for the riders in front of them to clear. It took quite a while to get out of Raleigh.
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One of the +ve pedallers, a term for HIV+ riders.
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NBC 4 fronted their own team with their own jerseys. There many teams with many colourful jerseys, some very beautiful.
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Going at my pace, I reached the very front of the pack. It's not a race, but I can't stand going slow. From here on, it was clear sailing and no traffic.
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One of the stops along the ride. The stops were roughly 20 miles apart. Plenty of stops made the AIDS ride quite doable for anyone. Each stop had a theme. It's too bad I didn't take more pictures of the stops. Nothing could be done about the sweltering weather though.
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The day went quickly. There were just a handful of riders when I arrive at camp. 116 miles goes past quickly when there are friendly riders and rest stops all along the way.
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Tent city at dusk on day one. We had to pitch our tents, no easy feat after riding over a hundred miles in the exhausing, sweltering heat. No, these aren't racers, just people like you and I who decided to ride for a good cause.
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Tent city at dawn on day 2. Everyone was ready and out of there tents by the time we crawled out of ours.
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The Faerie Queen and her retinue. The word, 'queen' has different connotations in this milieu. The people on the ride were quite interesting.
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The Faerie Queen up close. That sultry look is really something else.
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The monument to Arthur Ashe, a victim of AIDS as we ride into Richmond, VA.
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High vantage point overlooking camp in Richmond, VA.
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100 miles take their toll on Betty, one of our Catz as she is getting her massage.
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All the guys on the Zen Catz team (except that one at the far left who's not a guy). This picture was taken near the holding pen while we were awaiting the closing ceremony.
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All the gals on the Zen Catz team. Again, the picture was taken while awaiting the closing ceremony.
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The closing ceremony. Everyone gets to lift their bike over their head, just like the ads.