It was such a sunny, blue-skied day, almost too beautiful for words, as one by one, the 302 cyclists wheeled in to a stunningly situated farm outside Port Hope, their overnight camp for Day One of the ride. Their tents were quickly pitched above a low cliff right on the shores of Lake Ontario, an idyllic spot indeed. And what was once just a field became an encampment, a community basking in the glow of accomplishment, camaraderie and sweat from 100 kms and a long day in the sun.
I've covered the Friends for Life Bike Rally before because it’s an important and high profile event in the Ontario AIDS calendar, raising as this one does over $1.45 million for Toronto PWA Foundation. But it’s also because of the logistics involved because this is a traveling army not just of cyclists but 135 support staff – caterers, massage therapists, wranglers, and a myriad of other T-shirted helpers. The logistics to keep this travelling army on the road for six days somehow seem to run as smooth as clockwork.
Bob (second from right) with some of his fellow team members
It was a special occasion for me this year because an old social media friend of mine was on the ride and we had agreed to meet up and do an interview for PositiveLite.com. The affable and multi-talented Robert McDiarmid is someone I have known, but haven’t met, for 13-14 years, being someone I was close to way back in the days when LiveJournal was a force to be reckoned with. I've followed him through three boyfriends (his not mine) a few career changes and a ton of achievements (again his, not mine). Robert is an achieving kind of guy, after all; he’s had a novel published, is an accomplished chef with his regular video cooking show on YouTube, beside holding down a regular computer programming job back home. He has done the LA AIDS/LifeCycle ride four times and wanted to try a new challenge so he travelled to Toronto, the first time in his life, to do Friends for Life. He's that kind of guy.
I caught up with Bob sitting cross-legged in their encampment outside Port Hope. He’s a nice guy. In the video below, you’ll hear him talk about the ride and what its like for a long time survivor like him, and you also see a photo montage of many of the other riders approaching the day one finish line.
I'll be in Montreal for the finish of the ride. Catch up later!