Braking The Cycle 2012

The last weekend in September, Amy and I biked from Boston to New York on the AIDS charity ride Braking The Cycle.  We are part of Team Sasha; pictured above are Claude Grazia and my brother David, also Team Sasha members; and Solidad Soriano-Kaplan -- we met her on the ride and she became an honorary member of Team Sasha.  My cousin David Muhlbaum rode with us too, and is in pictures down below.  (Sasha, my brother Eric's Vizsla, did not ride.)

The weather this year was ... imperfect.  You may not be able to tell that it was pouring rain when the picture above was taken.  We were only pulled off the road once, for safety, when Friday's flash floods approached, but it was wet enough that I suggested a new road marking sign for riders:

This was Claude's first time on this ride; we had done a one-day New Haven to New London fundraiser years ago, but this was by far his longest ride.  Some time around here, around mile 70 on day 1, he said, "OK, this isn't so much fun anymore."  But he kept on.

Despite the rain that returned on and off all weekend, the ride really was full of beauty.  There are some wonderful northeast landscapes in the fields, farms, woods, rivers and marshes between Boston and New York.

And as always, the people were marvelous.  Or, as these two support crew were, Incredible.

Did I say how amazing the support crew were?

There were amazing riders too.  

• The guy who asked my brother David, "Does that thing on your bike show how far we've gone?" "Yes.."  "So what does it say?"   "15 miles."   "Cool!  this is the furthest I've ever biked!!"  (???!!)
• The woman I biked with who was wearing an ankle support.  "What's with the brace?" I asked.  "Four stress fractures in my left ankle," she said.  "But I'm not going to miss the ride."

But among all the stories, this is the one that meant everything to me:  After dinner in Bridgeport, after two days and 200 miles of biking, and one day still to go, people were taking turns speaking to the 200 riders and crew.  And a guy got up and said, "Last year, I was so impressed by the HIV positive riders.  And this year I'm one of them."  He paused.  "Because I was stupid."  Paused again.  Quietly, "Thank you."

And we all sat there, stunned.  And then, suddenly, he took the mike back, and said, "So here's the thing.  My friends and family mostly don't know that I'm HIV positive.  So I want you to e-mail me every picture you have of me, showing my HIV positive flag on my bike.  And I'm going to post those pictures and come out to my family and friends as HIV positive."  

That kind of courage, living boldly in the face of terrible difficulty, is the face and the purpose of the ride.  So it was with real pride and camaraderie that we rode together to the closing ceremonies on 9th Street in New York City.

It was an honor and pleasure to ride all those miles, through lousy weather and not-so-lousy weather, up and down hills and through cities and fields, with some of the finest people on the planet.  And yeah, by the way, the people who are this ride raised almost $250,000 for Housing Works to support  people living with HIV\AIDS.

Of the three years we've joined Braking The Cycle, I think this year moved me the most.
We'll be back next year.  Want to join us?  Team Sasha is looking for more riders.