The journey of a lifetime – AIDS/LifeCycle
Aileen Brown and Brittany Schmitt, scaled the "Quadbuster" as part of the AIDS/Lifecycle - a cycling event and fundraiser aimed at "ending the pandemic and human suffering caused by AIDS". Here are Aileen's impressions:
There stands the final Peets Coffee, before we ride to the finish line in Los Angeles. 545 miles behind us and one more hill left to go. We pulled over, grabbed a cool beverage and cheered in those riders behind us passing through. Over 2300 cyclists pushed out of San Francisco seven days ago before a crowd of strangers and pulled into LA, as a united community. Over $11 million dollars were raised by the riders to benefit The San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the LA Gay and Lesbian Center.
When strangers found community:
It happened somewhere between Rest Stop One and Lunch. We left King City on a cool foggy morning and the headwinds were well above 10 miles per hour. Just after Rest Stop One we faced the hill of all hills, "Quadbuster"! Everyone was preparing to face the beast and all I could do, with butterflies in my stomach, was to eat a Cliff bar and go!
And there she was, the mother of all steep climes for beginner bikers straight ahead. In preparation, I shot down to my granny gear and picked a song to sing in my head. "Don't stop believing" by Journey. As the incline grew, my pedal strokes became much slower, my eyes were down on the road, my lungs were exploding, and the singing got loader in my head. I was climbing Quadbuster! Then in the corner of my left eye I started seeing people flying down the hill, rather then going up. For many of these down hill racers, this was their third or fourth ride that morning. The next thing I saw were their faces next to all of us, upstream hikers that were attacking the hill. Pedaling alongside of us to make sure we all make it to the top. Some were even seen with their hands on the backs of struggling climbers, pushing them to the crest just to turn around and go back down again.
It was at the top of this hill that I realized how much each one of us meant to the group as a whole. And there you have it. The secret to why thousands of people want to train for months, raise millions of dollars, and camp for a week with strangers. It is to be a part of something bigger then yourself and knowing that together you can evoke change.
Using LinkedIn for Good:
At LinkedIn too, we believe in bringing about that change, and that is best exemplified by LinkedIn for Good, a recent initiative of ours to help philanthropic organizations around the world raise funds and awareness.
Support LinkedIn for Good by adding a badge to your LinkedIn profile or donating to a cause