Jeremy Johnson's
I'm Riding to End AIDS"Forget about the past. We’re gonna celebrate the future...The only limitations are the limits of our imagination. Dream up the kind of world you want to live in. Dream out loud at high volume. That’s what we do for a living." - Bono ABOUT ME Home city: Born & raised in the Denver, Colorado area and have lived here all my life. Although, California has always been a second home to me. Profession: My day job is selling furniture for Crate&Barrel but I also do nutritional consulting and education with my home-based business, Juice Plus+ and am an aspiring singer/songwriter/music producer with a passion for working with local artists. How many AIDS rides I've been in: This will be my first! I am so excited about it, although I've gotta admit it is a bit scary as well. Bicycle description or Roadie team: BIG THANKS to Ann Garner and her amazing network of friends and family. Because of their generosity, I am now the proud owner of a Trek 2.1 road bike courtesy of Campus Cycles. Special thanks also to my teammates, Randi Goldberg and Ruben Chacon, and also Fareed Fresquez and his brother Dennis at Denver Spoke for helping to outfit me for the ride. Favorite Training ride: Aside from my weekly spin class at the local 24 Hour Fitness, I love riding the bike trails near my home because they provide great quick rides that are fun and as easy or challenging as I want. Plus, they offer a great way to see the beautiful city of Denver. Why I'm riding: Last summer, I participated in the Landmark Forum and experienced a personal breakthrough in which I realized that I had checked out of my life in a lot of ways and wasn't even trying to live up to my potential because of some irrational fears that had in a sense paralyzed me. The message I kept getting over and over was that I need to "get back on the bike." Living my life to the fullest and discovering a new and grand adventure filled with all sorts of new places to explore, new experiences to create, and new people to meet has inspired me to transfer that metaphor into a physical journey that will help others. Another big event for me this summer is a commitment ceremony with Eric, my partner of the last two years. My sexual identity isn’t something I choose to wear on my sleeve and I’ve never wanted to really label myself one way or another. I have really wrestled with that part of my life for a long time and even though I felt secure living under the grace of God, knowing that He loves me no matter what, and even though I knew I had the tremendous unconditional love and support of my close family and friends, not having any models to show what a successful, loving, and long-term relationship between two men could be like was a big issue for me. This year, the largest group of riders from Colorado ever to participate in an ALC event will ride to end AIDS. I’ve got to say it has been so amazing to be a part of Team Colorado ALC! Working together we are proving that one person can do much and make a difference, but together we can do more and change the world.
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Jeremy's latest blog entry:
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 
Jeremy's Goal: $5,000.00
Current Total: $3,612.50 |
Jeremy's LinksTeam Colorado ALC
Development In Gardening (DIG) DIG is a 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to improve the lives of individuals who are affected by HIV and living in impoverished nations. Through the cultivation of urban vegetable micro-gardens, DIG is able to provide sustainable nutritional support to patients, create income generating opportunities, and offer a safe space for affected individuals to gather, which fosters community strength and empowerment.
Powered By Juice Plus+ Juice Plus+ is a simple, convenient, and inexpensive way to add more nutrition from fruits and vegetables to your diet every day. Juice Plus+ provides nutrition from 26 different fruits, vegetables, berries, and grains. Each ingredient is specially selected to provide you with a wide range of nutritional benefits. It is the next best thing to eating fruits and vegetables.
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Jeremy's BlogWednesday, May 7, 20089:42 PMThe kindness of strangersAs of today, I am a quarter of the way to my personal goal of $5,000 and half way to my minimum of $2,500...YAY!!! In preparing for this ride mentally, physically, and financially there have been many triumphs and also many challenges. One of the things I have been completely unprepared for, however, has been the tremendous outpouring of encouragement and goodwill from places I least expected to find support. This week someone I don't even know made a rather large donation in my name and all of the people I do know who have graciously donated and attended our team fundraising events have really surprised me as well. Thank you all for stepping up to the plate and contributing to the cause! Last Friday, we packed the house at Hamburger Mary's to raise money for the team and the Dreamgirls gave outstanding performances to show their support. A ton-o-fun was had by all! It's been very cool to see all of the team members pitching in to help each out with whoever has a need. So far as a team we have raised almost $33,000 but still have a long way to go in our fundraising, training, and mentally preparing for the first week of June which is now looming only 24 days away. But in the midst of my brief but increasingly frequent anxiety attacks, I am reminded of one thing: There is no such thing as strangers, there are just people you haven't met yet. Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Wednesday, April 16, 200811:57 PMYou never know unless you share...One of the things I've been struck by as I enroll others in supporting me in my ride is how much HIV/AIDS is not talked about anymore. It's like back in the '80s when the AIDS epidemic first broke, everyone in Hollywood wore red ribbons and all these famous people like Magic Johnson came out as having AIDS, and even if people didn't know anyone affected by the disease, everyone wanted to support it...EVERYONE talked about it! Now no one does. The funny thing is though, in my soliciting donations, I have found so many people who I never knew have been affected by HIV/AIDS. Today, one of my co-workers told me her dad died of AIDS a few years ago...she said she didn't even know he had it until a couple months after he died. Other people keep telling me they don't know anyone who has been affected by it, but it makes me wonder if they really do and they just don't know it. I didn't even realize myself until I started talking about it. Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Friday, April 11, 20083:13 PMWriting a support letter is hard!UGH!...I mean, YAY! I finally finished my support letter. Honestly, writing this letter is so much more difficult than I ever imagined it would be. As proficient and prolific as a writer as I have been both professionally and personally, I realized that I've never really written a support letter before. It was hard to find a balance between pouring my heart out and sharing too much personal information, between really impacting people with the seriousness of the matter and quoting too many statistics, between making people feel good about giving vs. being a total downer about all the death and suffering in the world. Hmmm...I guess all that is a perfect illustration for one of the big life lessons god has been teaching me lately: No matter what is happening, good or bad (because both are always constant), you always have a choice in how you view life. Whether we see the glass as being half-full, or half-empty there will always be water in half the glass. Whether we see the economy as good or bad, there will always be positive AND negative factors influencing it simultaneously. Even in the midst of of our sorrow, pain, and loss when dealing with death, there is always joy and happiness with a new birth or marriage. Looking out my window right now I can see that it is cold and snowy, but the tulips and daffodils in my yard are starting to shoot up and the grass is turning green and growing. No matter what the circumstances, our happiness is not dependant on external factors. And no matter what happens, we always have a choice to do what is right. Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb |
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