Bryan Levinson's
The End of Road is Not in Sight, But the End of AIDS Could Be!I'm dedicating this ride to my dad, Howard, who is my main anchor and source of strength in my life. Through times of adversity, he has remained by my side with no judgments or harsh words. I know that I would be lost without him, probably dead, but he believed in me even when I had given up all hope in myself. Now in a time when he needs my strong will, I'm sending him all of my love and energy for a speedy recovery. I LOVE YOU HOWIE! GET WELL SOON! I'm also riding for my mom, my cousins, my brother, my peeps at ON24, my coolios from the ole Disney/ABC days, all my LA homegirls, my new loves in SF, and of course, all the amazing members of my non-profit around the world, Strength In Numbers! Help me support the HIV/AIDS-related services of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center by giving what you can. Everyday they are saving people like me with invaluable care and helping to prevent future infections to improve the lives of future generations.
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Visit Bryan's blog at:
Wearing my new jersey from Spoke Folk Cyclery (http://www.spokefolk.com/)
Bryan's Goal: $5,000.00
Current Total: $3,085.00 |
Bryan's LinksL.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
World Bicycle Relief
Strength In Numbers
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Bryan's BlogSaturday, May 17, 20089:03 AMNo Time, No Blog...Until Now!OK, so I haven't blogged as much as I had hoped since signing up for the ALC last summer. But give me a break, I've been a little busy. First of all I've been training hard for the ALC itself which means lots of training rides, including two back-to-back full weekend riding trips up to the Russian River earlier this month. Lots of related training like hitting the gym at least 4 times a week, spinning class, yoga, and running. Second, I started a new job as legal manager at a fast growing corporate webcasting company, ON24, in downtown San Francisco at the beginning of the year, moving back to SF in December, after 10 years living in Los Angeles. Saving up the money to move required that I work 14 hour days, communting 3 hours everyday which was rather exhausting. Next I've been busy running the non-profit for HIV+ gay men that I started in 2002, Strength In Numbers (aka SIN), which reaches over 10,000 members in 45 cities around the world. I also made two trips to speak about SIN paid for by local governments in Denver and Illinois. Because of my work on SIN, I was asked to join an advisory board for Yahoo Groups to assist them with marketing and technical development issues as they revamp their popular social networking program. And lastly, dude, I'm living in one of the world's greatest cities and I've been soaking it up. Great new friends, amazing restaurants, stunning cultural institutions like the De Young and SF MOMA, and yes, a few dates here and there with some very handsome and intelligent caring guys. I've been a busy boy, indeed, but I don't state all of my accomplishments to gloat, but rather to express to you the difference in my life from several years ago when my immune had declined so much from advanced HIV progression that was diagnosised with AIDS and hospitalized with a related heart infection that nearly killed me. Because LA Gay & Lesbian Center helped me get on life-saving HIV meds, I'm not just alive today, but I'm truly thriving in ways that I could have never imagined when I tested positive in June 2000. Despite the many struggles that I've faced with HIV and some other issues, I've been able to create a fantastic life today. Doing the AIDS Life/Cycle is just the next challenge and adventure in what I can only hope will be a continued lifetime of inner growth and outer fun! Thanks to all my peeps in SIN, Yahoo, ON24, San Francisco, Los Angeles, my family, my friends and everyone else who has donated and supported my ALC efforts! Love,
Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Wednesday, January 16, 200810:20 AMHold the Java, Save a Life!Put down that latte right now and think about this. California will be drastically cutting budgets for almost all services including HIV/AIDS care because of the fiscal meltdown. That means less life-saving medical options for people just like me. And recently a new and very scary form of drug resistant staph has begun to attack gay men, killing some of them. Again, that's a guy like me. Imagine if tomorrow I couldn't get medical treatment for something that was cureable and I died. Imagine if the price you paid for that latte could have saved me. That's a pretty terrible thought, but it's all too likely. I was once a client of the Gay & Lesbian Center, obtaining that much needed medical treatment and assistance with my HIV meds, meds that have literally saved my life and allowed me to become healthy and return to full-time work. Now I help contribute into a system that helped me get back on my feet. Please, please, please put down that latte and think about the next latte you rush off to buy when you think you are low on energy. Imagine someone like me with a compromised immune system, very low on energy, confined to a hospital bed being fed IV anti-botics to save my life from a flesh-eating bacteria. I know the fear and terror that someone faces when they are in the type of situation. If you forgo at least one latte and donate that $4 to my fundraising total, that's $4 (or $10 or $100 or $1000) that saves a life. That's money that will give someone else the energy to live to face another day, to get up out of that hospital bed, and rejoin society like I did. In troubled times, the person who can make the most difference is you. Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Monday, January 14, 20083:46 PMFound My Heart in San Fran2007 was a year of huge changes for me. I left a company that I loved working for, fell in love and then just as quickly lost that, and found myself turning to friends, my community and my faith more than ever. Athletics became a big part of my life as well, pretty much for the first time since grade school. Like any normal gay man, I put in my regular hours at the gym ever since my 20s. The Lord had "cursed" me though with a high metabolism so I was never able to gain much muscle until I hit 30 years old (so for most of that time I always felt like the skinny kid in PE class). Then I became a hunk, then more of a hulk, then slowly a bulk. In 2006 I changed my diet and lost over 30 pounds in 6 months. Thank God for that high metabolism! Losing that weight made it possible for me to start running and being more athletic. I got the chance to finally learn what it means to really push myself physically and mentally, and it's been fantastic. I'm still training for my first full marathon, but I did complete a half marathon in Long Beach, CA back in October (in just under 2 1/2 hours). My goal is to work up to doing a mini triathalon before I turn 40 in 2 years. Not a bad way to handle a mid-life crisis, huh? Doing the AIDS ride had always been a dream of mine, yet only now did I feel that I had the aerobic strength to attempt the feat. I'm lean, I'm strong, I'm ready! Yesterday was the ALC kickoff party in the Design Centre Galleria here in SF. Hundreds of riders, roadies and supporters crowded into the beautiful 5 floor atrium of glass, brick and steel. The energy was kinetic. I will admit though that I started to feel a bit like that skinny kid in PE class again, being around so many well trained athletes, many of whom have done multiple rides if not been professional level cyclists in their own right. SF is a city that is legend for its renegade street bikers. I have to stay focused on the fact that during the ride, it's just me and that road. For hundreds of miles, I'll be peddling on my own in single file with thousands of other cyclists. But the journey depends on my own two legs and my own endurance. It won't matter who rides the fastest, who seems the strongest, who has the best ass (although I do hope to be counted in that category). It will just matter that I'm trying something that is completely new for me. I just turned 38. I've been living with HIV for over 7 years. I nearly died from AIDS. There are hundreds of thousands of other gay men, millions of people around the world who died from this disease who would have loved the chance to return to healthy bodies, climb up out of their hospital or death beds, and jump on a bike to return to life. If I remember that, that I ride for everyone who can't anymore and to make sure that those in the future can, then I'll be fine. Now that I'm settled in San Francisco, a city that I left 10 years ago to seek sunshine and adventure (and finding plenty of misadventure in its place) in Hollywood, I'm ready to start cycle training in earnest. I'm still running and hope to do another half marathon in Golden Gate next month. I'm going to start taking spinning classes regularly. And finally get my bike fitted properly so I can start doing regular longer distance practice rides. Fortunately I know so many guys who are doing the ride and I feel very supported. I was a roadie in 2004 on the Ride so I have some idea of what conditions are like in camp. Now I get the chance to see what conditions are like out on the road itself. Funny that sometimes you have to retrace your steps, seemingly move backwards, to find out how best to chart your future. Moving back to SF has been part of that process for me. Rediscovering a part of my history and now living in the moment, in the present. It's been a great way to heal what had become a very broken, disappointed, at times betrayed and disillusioned heart of mine. But the heart is a funny thing. Unlike most things in the world, the more the heart gets broken, the stronger it becomes each time we rebuild it. Now I know that my heart can take a lot of strain and keep on ticking just fine. The newest Levinson just entered the world last week, Tyler Maddox of Chicago. May the wonderful line of big loving Levinson hearts continue on strong! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Saturday, October 27, 20071:18 PMFirst Ride, First Fall, First SuccessToday was my first training ride for ALC. Well, to be honest, it was my first time on a bike in my adult life, or at least since I was 21 back in Seattle. I had a bike then and developed huge leg muscles from riding up and down the hills. Today I was just concerned with staying on the bike on flat streets! Everyone was so welcoming. ALC is a family with many of the folks having riden many times before. And they certainly made me feel included, particularly because of my buddy Brendan Patrick. I have known Brendan for years but wasn't really aware of his involvement in ALC. I had no idea that he was actually "Queen of ALC", or at least an ambassador. He knows everyone and helped me make some great introductions. As anyone who knows me knows that I'm really shy (ha), it was still nice to get a bunch of introductions. Now my real challenge is learning the bike and how best to navigate with it. But I know that I already have a lot of support. This ride was just 12 miles, but I could feel the strain in my shoulders from being hunched over. Luckily, I've been in marathon training and ran my first 1/2 marathon several weeks ago so my legs are strong and ready for endurance rounds. Right after we started our ride though, my clips locked up and I fell to the side pretty hard when we can to a stop sign. I unclipped my shoes and got back up a little dazed, embarrassed and scanning my body for any serious damage. But Brendan was right by my side and he helped me shake it off by getting me right into a conversation to get my mind off the fall. Everyone else was very supportive. As for the clips, I tried to avoid using them or letting them get locked in. They needed serious cleaning anyway. So I just peddled and focused on that. And it went very well. And now I know where all the cute outgoing guys in LA have been, they've been riding around! Woof! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb |
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