$16,152.46

I would like to tell you  about my reasons for riding . I became a participant in the bike rally to honour the memory of my friends Mark, Bill ,Kent and Grant . They were good people who welcomed me into their lives . We drank , we danced , we had fun . And then they died .

 

Mark was the first person I knew who became HIV positive. He told me and we both cried .He was living with his partner and some room mates at the time . He used to come to my apartment to rest . He went home to North Bay where he died . I was a pallbearer at Marks funeral . It was the first funeral I attended . We made no mention of AIDS . He died of cancer said his family .

 

Kent called me one night and told me he was taking pills to kill himself. I called 911 and they took him yo the hospital . I saw him at his house a few days later and he pointed at his skeletal self and joked that I had saved him for this . He went home to his family and died .  

 

Bill was in the hospital . He had said that he didn't want extraordinary measures taken when his time was near . He changed his mind . He didn't want to die . He died . His sister invited us over to his place after he died and said we could have something to remember him by . I chose a plant which I managed to keep alive for a pretty long  time. It moved with me to a few apartments. Then it died .

 

Grant and I were really good friends . He showed me the ways of gay life in Toronto .We had so much fun . We were close for a very long time . Then like friendships sometimes do we drifted apart . He used to call me after he'd had a few drinks and I was sometimes not as gracious as I could have been . He used to call late in the evening and I had to work the next day .We kept on saying we would get together and hang out but we didn't . The Thursday before a long weekend he called and left a message . I never returned the call . He died that weekend . I still feel guilty that I never returned the call . At his funeral there was also no mention of AIDS . He too died of a cancer he didn't have .

 

I made a commitment to raise funds for PWA because of my friends who died terrible deaths . And because I am fortunate enough to be healthy  enough to do so . Even though I am getting old !  

 

The funds that I help raise help people living with HIV and AIDS live better lives . It helps feed , medicate , and support them in many ways .

I ride to erase the stigma for people living with HIV and AIDS . And more selfishly I do it because it helped me get over the loss of my friends. And because it is fun ! And I have made many friends over the years I have participated . They are the nicest people in the world . Except of course my family , friends and colleagues :-)

Thank you very much for your support . It is needed more than ever during these difficult times we are all living through .