"Once upon a time in the 70s there was a little boy named Brendan...." All I wanted for Christmas was a shiny new red Schwinn with all the bells and whistles. Since I had been a very good boy all year long, I was not at all surprised on Christmas morning to find a brand new bicycle under the tree.

In record time, Dad had the training wheels off and I was riding on two tires. It was exhilirating! And I took to it like a duck to water. Before long I was exploring the whole neighborhood... and sometimes beyond. I spent the better part of weekends, afternoons, and summers in the saddle of my beloved Schwinn Scrambler. Man, how I loved that thing!

Sadly, around junior high I shot up to 6 feet in about a minute, quickly outgrowing my Scrambler. Too old to ask Santa, I conned Mom and Dad into getting me a Schwinn Varsity 10 speed for my birthday. That trusty 10 speed saw me through my awkward teenage years. But eventually it was tossed aside for something with four much bigger tires and a really loud stereo system.... Though my return to the bike wouldn't take long.

I was in high school when I met my "BFF", Eliott. Eliott helped me with that awful "coming out" process and we've been best friends ever since.

It was Eliott who first introduced me to the AIDS Ride charity bike-a-thon. I thought he was a little nutty for doing California AIDS Ride 2 back in 1995. Ride 600 miles on a bike? Sounded crazy! But he had an amazing experience. And I thought it might be something I'd like to try.

Nearly losing a dear friend to AIDS in 1997 finally gave me the motivation to get up off my ass and do something major about the AIDS epidemic. So I signed up for California AIDS Ride 5 to celebrate that friend's recovery. Little did I know that the Ride would become such a huge part of my life.

During my first AIDS Ride experience, I discovered that I'd tapped into something amazing... a community... a cause... a passion... And I was hooked! Right away I registered for California AIDS Ride 6, and that year, cycling, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, and the fight against AIDS/HIV became integral parts of my life.

.

Over the years I've worn many hats for the AIDS Ride: cyclist, volunteer, ride leader, crew and more. Perhaps my proudest accomplishment is my role as a cyclist in six of the Rides. That's about 3,000 miles of cycling, not to mention perhaps another 6,000 miles of training (and that's not counting the 1,500 or so miles I'll put on between now and June for AIDS/LifeCycle 10!)

But I'm also very proud to have been a volunteer "roadie" on three of the Rides. Even my Mom and Dad have jumped on the AIDS Ride bandwagon,serving as volunteer "roadies" on four different events. Cool, huh? Dad works at the Camp Store, selling sundries and gear, as well as recruiting for the following year's event. Mom and I have been on the Sweep Team, driving the route in search of cyclists needing help. Hard work but VERY rewarding.

This year's event will be my 10th AIDS Ride. So I decided that after a few years of volunteering it was time to get back to my roots; I registered to ride in AIDS/LifeCycle 10 as a cyclist. Dad's still going to be a roadie in the Camp Store, and Mom's decided to follow along unofficially, sort of our own personal cheering section.

Twelve years have passed now since my first AIDS Ride. The name has changed - it's now the AIDS/LifeCycle - but I am as committed to the Ride community as ever, and continue to be deeply passionate about the incredible things AIDS/LifeCycle achieves. So please, if you haven't already, make your donation today. CLICK HERE to donate online.