...The Trials and Tribulations(but mostly Joys!)
of Team Oz
Day 5, Friday
From McFarland to McHenry(89.0 miles)
Day Five St. Joan's!
Day 5, Friday
From McFarland to McHenry(89.0 miles)
Day Five St. Joan's!
| In talking with other riders from Team OZ(after the ride was over), I realized that day five was somewhat unique. It took on different meanings to different riders. Some folks were concerned that after "HILL Day" they wouldn't have the energy left to do another long ride. Some of the slower riders were relieved that they had lived through and conquered "HILL Day" and that this day would be easier. All of our bodies were starting to feel some of the strain of a long ride. The appearance of zinc oxide on people's faces became more prominent, the massage stops at the pits were busier, stopping for ice cream treats was a common site, the pace definitely had seemed to slow down. | |
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| Again, I would be remiss if I failed to tell you of some of the generosity
displayed along our journey. The Patti Wagon Ice Cream wagon was the
business of the woman standing behind the pushcart. The fellow standing
beside her was a bus driver for one of the sag buses to take riders who
couldn't make it to camp. When I pulled into this pit stop I asked if the
ice cream was part of the pit stop refreshments. She answered "No," but said
that there had been money donated by locals to buy ice cream for bikers who
wanted it. The bus driver also volunteered to buy me an ice cream. Wow! I
was moved by the humanity of that experience.
The couple next to the Patti Wagon came from out of state to participate in the AIDS ride. A job transfer to a neighboring state didn't prevent them from being part of Team OZ! The logistics of their travel and accommodations were more complicated than those of most of us, but they made the effort to be here. | |
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| Laurel received both a hand massage and a back massage at this pit stop. By
the end of day 5 these masseuse's were angels to all they touched!
Mary embraces some volunteers from California! These folks like the Twin Cities to Chicago AIDS Ride, and participate year after year. In this photo they are dressed up in their pit stop attire of the day. Their dress was of satin, the theme I don't recall! | |
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| The air furniture was a hit from day one, during a brief downpour at pit 4!
Here you see Team OZ taking over the living room! John, plagued with a
defective wheel on his new bike, contemplated buying a wheel to get him
through the ride. Tired riders visited with him.
Images of exhilaration, fatigue and playfulness still abound in day 5 photos. | |
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| You may ask, in looking at the car with "The Ribbon Lady" written on the windshield, "What is that all about?" Wow, probably the most powerful image and story of the entire ride. Shortly after crossing the Illinois border, one sees red ribbons tied to every tree and fence post along the route. These ribbons go on for miles, in fact into the next pit stop. I was fortunate to pass by when the ribbon lady, ( the woman responsible for tying the ribbons to these trees and posts), was outside. She agreed to sit on her car and let me photograph her, and I even got to give her a hug. She is remarkable in that she's been HIV positive for just short of twenty years herself, has battled breast cancer and had a broken neck and back, and so strongly believes in positive thinking and love that she has survived. She spoke at camp night five and told of the visitors she had from the AIDS Ride in the hospital when she was recovering from the accident that caused her neck and back breaks. She valued those visits and those friends, those people who cared for her. And, of course, these befrienders were largely the result of the efforts she had made for many years to say "Thank You" to them by the simple act of tying red ribbons to all of the trees and fence posts she could. Say a prayer for her continued health and spirit. | |
 |  On to Chicago!! |
| I want to include two more pictures from this day. The first is of Henry and Helen, a couple just south of McFarland who had a most beautiful farm in "horse country" complete with a pond and the most beautiful perennial garden. They were wonderful to talk with. They watched the bikers and cheered them on from their front garden lawn chairs. The second truly exemplifies the team spirit of the AIDS Ride. It is a picture taken by Karen of Team California. Her picture was of the sunset over McHenry this evening. Karen certainly was a stranger to St. Joan of Arc before this ride. She is the woman in the red satin dress above. Upon returning home, Karen visited this website and send this picture to our webmaster along with a thankyou to Team Oz for how she and her husband Ken were touched and inspired by our parishioners, especially Mary(middle in the picture) and her husband from our crew. Henry, Helen, Mary, Ken, Karen, Edie, Jeff, and you. AIDS Ride 2000 had a way of bringing strangers together, didn't it? | |
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