team.apocalypse ...when you ride through hell, just keep riding
This is my first AIDS Lifecycle ride. I would have never thought that I could do something like this
Training has been an incredible challenge.
I haven't been on a bike for over twenty years until I won this bike at the kick-off party in February and when Famine told me that soon I would be able to ride 90 plus miles in a day, I doubted that I would ever be able to anything close. Here we are, a scant three months later and I can and do ride that much.
It's appropriate that I was given the name War as a member of Team Apocalypse. This entire training process has been something of a war for me. I feel like I've been constantly fighting. I've been fighting my urge to stay in bed on weekend mornings when I've had to get up and get on the bike. I've been fighting my inclination to quit when my body hurts and my mind tells me that I don't think I can go on. I've been fighting the voices in my head that tell me that I can't stop AIDS and that there is no hope. I've been fighting my tendency to not challenge myself and to only settle for third rate success at best. I've been fighting and fighting to just get over the hill in front of me... I've been able to do it and WIN!!!
I owe everything to Famine. He has stuck with me through all my severe hissy-fits as I try to get out of this commitment. He has shown me that I can make a difference by doing this ride. He has shown me how much he loves me even though I have often shown him my most unpleasant sides.
Hearing Famine talk about what the ride means to him has been such an inspiration to me and has kept me willing to stick with it. My new AIDS Lifecycle family is the most loving and supportive group of people I've ever met. I'm proud to ride.
These past months have taught me so much about myself and have shown me a new path to intimacy and truth. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. I think the actual ride itself will be an amazing experience."