Monday, September 28, 2015

Follow Me to the End of AIDS

After 287 miles since leaving Boston on Friday we arrived as a team in NYC Sunday afternoon. Riding with The Braking Aids Family has been an overwhelming experience. The ride was amazing in terms of the athletic accomplishment but even more so because of the first hand knowledge I gained of how the fundraising we did is helping Housing Works to end AIDS by 2020. I met so many wonderful people who every single day live and work towards that goal. Here are a few highlights and the signs on today's route

Starting the day with words of encouragement from the Wees and Rob. 
The route overview
We stopped for a quick photo op that almost caused us to miss a time cutoff due to a parade. Ride officials only let us go on without sagging past the parade as I promised we'd ride fast, and the five miles past the parade route were possibly speediest of the whole trip but we did it, we were riding every single mile we could. 
But then a reflective moment for Ali before the final leg of our journey. 

Riding to the finish in lower Manhattan was extremely challenging due to the UN meeting on Monday and many streets and avenues closed in addition to the regular vehicles in the bike lane, delivery people biking the wrong way, pedestrians  stopped in the middle chatting or taking photos on their IPads, etcetera. Ali is more used to biking in the city so she went ahead and Mary guided me safely to the finish, which I will always be grateful. 
After gathering at a school near the finish area we rode as a group to Cylar House (a supportive housing community) to celebrate with riders, crew, residents, and family and friends. 

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