Ken Decroo's
I'm Riding to End AIDSMy name is Ken Decroo. From June 1-7, 2008, I'm bicycling in the AIDS/LifeCycle 7 event ride. It's a 7-day, 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The purpose of this event is to help raise money that will make a world of difference in the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS. This will be my second year riding in this event. Last year, my wife Tammy and I set out on ALC 6. We rode every mile, every hill on every day. While this was a challenge to us as cyclists, the spirit of this ride and this community on wheels was a life changing experience. It was something we knew we had to do again. I know from last year, this ride will be both a physical and mental challenge for me. For ten months leading to this ride, I will be training and raising money. I will be preparing myself physcially and mentally to go the distance. I am excited to do this ride because I feel this adventure will give me the opportunity to reflect on who I am and what I still need to do as I turn 61 years old. There is a simplicity in focusing on a single goal like completing this ride. I think it will help me strip away the distractions that come from living in such a complex world so that I can renew my commitment to live life's drama with courage by keeping my motivations pure by giving to others. I am an educator by trade. I work with "at-promise" students as the Principal of Citrus High School in Fontana Unified School District. I love my district and the work we do. I am very grateful that the leadership of my district has once again graciously allowed me to take a week off from my school duties to do this ride. It is show of insight and compassion for our effort. There is nothing I would rather do than work with the young people at my school. They keep me honest, open and engaged in the living of life as an art form. My students have taught me to never take myself too seriously and to believe in them. They have given me a great gift.... purpose. I want them to share in my journey from the setting of my goal to accomplishing it. I want them to see me finish this ride so that they will know that some of us adults "walk our talk." But most importantly, I want my students to share in the benefits of the prevention and educational programs that we are supporting. It is most alarming to see the growning numbers of newly HIV infected young people under the age of 25. I would ride forever to stop this frightening trend. I am dedicating this ride to all my students past and present, to all those suffering from the complications of HIV/AIDS, and particularly to my friends, Hunt Busnell, who lost his battle with AIDS several years ago and, Kevin, who after a couragous fight sadly passed this year. Like many people, I often struggle to balance the physcial, spritual and intellectual parts of my life as I live its hectic pace. I love the simplicity of this goal...RIDE! I welcome the opportunity to do such a good thing that will help so many people. This journey will help me raise money for the Gay and Lesbian Center. Please help me accomplish my goal of raising $2,500 by giving what you can. We'll keep riding until AIDS and HIV are a thing of the past.
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Ken's latest blog entry:
Sunday, May 18, 2008 
A Day on the Ride, 2008
Ken's Goal: $2,500.00
Current Total: $2,750.00 |
Listen to Ken's Gabcast |
HIV/AIDS Fact of the DayProvided by AIDS/LifeCycle The number of women in the US living with HIV has tripled in the last two decades. |
Ken's LinksL.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
Virtual Teacher
Messages of support: ALC 7. I am Participant #5219
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Ken's BlogSunday, May 18, 20089:03 AMLast full week of trainingAfter all the miles of training, we are in the last week before we tapper off and get ready to leave for San Francisco. My knee is feeling much better and I am getting stronger on the long climbs. Our club sponsored a ride from Redlands, up the face of the San Bernardino Mountains, through the town of Crestline, ending with a great party in Ceder Pines. What a lot of fun! Next week on Sunday, Tammy and I will climb up the backside (Highway 38) on the road to Big Bear to Angeles Oaks. We will tapper off after that to recover the week before the RIDE. I am still a little short in my fundraising. I need to raise about $600 more and I am there, so please pass the word. Thanks to all of you who have given with your money and kind words. Thanks to all of my friends who have ridden with me in the rain, cold, wind, up the hills and on the sunny slopes. This has be a great adventure as usual and all the time I am reminded of the kindness of people. But most of all, thanks to my wife Tammy and close friend Gay Richards. You guys ignore my whining and keep me on my bike every week riding for those who can not ride. I am having the time of my life riding and living free in the world. I still don't know what's the matter with me but I love climbing hills....:-) Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Monday, May 12, 20087:24 PMAlmost There!Wow! The time has really flown. A few more weeks and we will be at the Cow Palace to begin the ride to LA. We have been upping our miles to over a hundred a week. We have been climbing lots of hills. I injured my knee but it is holding up. I am not riding as healthy as last year but I am making progress and am getting used to the pain. Tammy has been a real inspiration and kept me motivated all year. Without her I don't think I would be able to work through the pain. I love you, Tammy. We will be doing some big mountains in the next two weeks which should get us ready for the hills on the RIDE... We will climb up the front and back sides of the San Bernardio Mountains the next two weekends. This should get us ready for the Evil Twins and Quad Buster. We did the Wildflower Century a few weeks ago and both of us felt strong so little by little we cycle ourselves to the fitness level we need to 545 miles. We want to ride every hill, every mile, every day just like last year. What a great adventure this has been. Our plan is to keep riding and upping the miles for the next two weeks and tapper off the last week. Thanks to all of you who have given your kind words of support and money. We will keep riding until HIV/AIDS is a thing of the past! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Friday, March 14, 20085:44 PMThe training continues.....It has been a hard season. Compared to last year; I am waaaay behind in my base miles. Right now, I am riding about 100 miles a week which is just barely enough. Between the wet winter and illness, I lost about six weeks of training. I am beginning to build my miles back up now and plan to be at 150 miles a week before the end of the month. I am beginning to climb to get ready for the big mountains on the ALC 7 Ride. I am not sure what is wrong with me but I love to climb hills. I love to point my bike up the 330 in the San Bernardino Mountains and pedal to 6,000 ft which is just the kind of suffering needed to be ready for this ride. Right now my training is to do a hard climb one day and follow it with some base miles, take a day off and do it all over again. Every weekend, I am doing longer distances. On my lay off days, I am strength training to build up my upper body as well as increase the strength in my legs. Also, I am behind in my fundraising. I can really use help. Thanks to all of you who have supported me for the last two years. Please pass the word that I could use support and sponsors to get caught up. What ever I don't raise, I will make up with my own money. I am commited to raise $2,500 so please help me! I am riding for those who can't ride and I will not stop riding until there is an end to AIDS. But most importantly, I am riding because I love to be on my bicycle free in the world.
Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Tuesday, August 21, 20075:09 PMA New BeginningIf you followed our audio Gabcast blogs, you know already that my Wife Tammy and I had a wonderful and rewarding ALC 6... We rode every mile, every day and climbed every hill.... Tammy and I had the time of our lives...so much so that we have signed up for next year's ALC 7 which will once again go from San Francisco to LA, June 1 - 7, 2007. So expect us to be contacting you for support. Not to worry, we will at least wait a few months before hounding you again! :-) Besides being the biggest cycling challenge of our lives. This event was life-changing. We came together with over 3,000 other cyclist and roadies to raise 11 million dollars that will help relieve millions who suffer from HIV and AIDS. These people made this event an amazing experience in giving and caring. We were Woodstock with bicycles for one week of our lives. It is too bad we couldn't export this experience throughout the world or maybe that is exactly what we must do....I feel I can't let what I experienced this last week die. I plan to work towards implementing an HIV/AIDS education and intervention program for the many young people in our community who are at risk of contracting this horrible desease. Also, I am contacting fellow cyclists to form a team of riders for next year. I feel that besides intimately experiencing the California Coast from the seat of a bicycle, we were able to raise the awarenss of AIDS in countless communities. We got to experience hundreds of random acts of kindness from the cyclists and roadies within our community on wheels and from the people we met along the way. Families who shared pictures and stories of loved ones they had lost to AIDS....School children who wished us well in letters or in person .... Communities who welcomed us by lining the streets thanking us for riding or with apple pie, ice cream, BBQ's and more....This experience reaffirmed that there are still good deeds and kindness in this world and I experieceed it first hand.... I will never be the same....This was suppose to happen to me at this time in my life...I want to thank all of you who have supported Tammy and I in this endeavor and gave me the opportunity to be of service.....It was after all your money and support that made this happen.... ALC7 is a new beginning for us as we grow as cyclists and allow this event and its power to build us spiritually. Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb |
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