Bike ride for charity

Good for you two. Have fun and earn a lot.
I lost friends.. well, so did many.
Tell us more about the ride.

If you see a crew from Barry University, ask for Fletch and tell him his SOB
friend George says "Hi!"

It’s a two-day ride. The three of us will drive down in my truck and stay in a hotel one night, then Marco and Antonio will drive to Key West to give me a ride back after the ride. Last year I only raised two grand but this year I have met quite a few more people in the area as well as business owners. I’m hoping to raise at least three more grand before we take off.

It’s actually a lot of fun, you can stop anytime you like and there are people along the with water, food etc. Last year I made it to the finish line but just barely, I had a fall and hurt my knee but eventually I made it to the finish line, this year I will have a nurse “Marco” following me LOL

Is Fletch riding? there are so many riders but will do if I run into him!

man...

If I'd known in advance, I woulda let you borrow my tricycle...

will you wear a brain pan?

He will, or he won't participate.

Hey, is the 7 mile bridge still a high speed, two lane highway? Just imagine the breeze from an oncoming 70mph Greyhound.

He's busy getting ready to watch that silly show Survivor and forgot the link which explains the organization.

http://thesmartride.org/

He would probably do better on your tricycle, he fell last year, from what I heard.

You bet. He's been doing rides for HIV/AIDS since 1999!

Good for him George! this is Smart Rides 8th year and will be my second ride. I’ve only known one person with HIV, back in CA my friend Michael tested positive, he killed himself right after that. I've been pissed at him ever since.

Karma comes back to bite you in the ass. He was cremated and his remains are on his sisters closet shelve. If he knew he was back in the closet he would have a fit!

I gotta say, I like your (slightly warped) sense of humor.

Good observation, Jcboy -
it's sad too. I've a friend who's had AIDs since the eighties, retired from a great job when he was diagnosed. He of course knew all the tough things people with aids were going through and some of the early horrors - ambulance drivers not picking them up. (A friend who died's lover had that happen, for example). Seemingly not all that long after diagnosis for the present friend - but any time sans useful pharma is tough - the new effective drugs showed up, and he's still going strong. The drugs are expensive and not available to all.. and they are not a cure as such anyway, but in this fellow's case, they have extended his life far longer than he had dared to hope back in the beginning.

On charity re aids, I never gave money but gave some time - designed the landscape for an aids house in Los Angeles, again in the eighties I think, and an architect friend did the interior renovation. There were certain issues for the yard, like need for privacy, and need for hc ramp, aside from making the garden a place one would like to go into. Makes me wonder if that house is still actively used.

Antonio and I will be following behind in the truck just in case he falls down again this year.

Whaaat? If he falls down, he gets back up. That's all. Whenever I fall, I try to remember to do something useful, like pick up litter or something. No wasted effort is the key.

I did get back up, hurt my knee though but still finished and I will this year

Damn right you will!

I’ve heard a lot of similar stories from people I’ve met. Things have changed quite a bit over the last ten years. You’re right the drugs are very expensive and not all can afford them. Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t actually a cure but not known to the public because of all the billions of dollars the drug companies make each year, never know.

I follow a lot of med news pretty haphazardly and something caught my eye recently re aids... but I forget what. Well, if whatever it was I saw works, we'll hear about it again.

Most of the contributions come in at the last minute. The owners of the Queens-Head here in St. Pete have decided to sponsor me for $10.00 a mile, that’s another $1,650.00 as well as a few other businesses in the community. I’m almost at seven grand!