The Notorious R.O.B Hall's
It's Go-Go It Ain't Cry-CryFrom June 1-7, 2008, I'm bicycling in AIDS/LifeCycle. It's a 7-day, 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to make a world of difference in the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS. Help me support the HIV/AIDS-related services of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center by giving what you can. We'll keep riding until AIDS and HIV are a thing of the past. I am super excited about being part of this... I attended a fundraising workshop the other week and it completely choked me up...a guy was doing the ride who was a client of the Gay and Lesbian center. It was touching and inspiring to listen to him...his doctor gave him the o.k this year...he was wanted to do it for a while. It really brought home what a fantastic event this is, and that by riding, I am doing a tiny bit to help people in a real way... Riding 545 miles does appeal to my sense of adventure, and the fact that is of benifit to a wonderful cause makes complete sense to my unselfish and charitable nature:) The Gay and Lesbian Centre is such a great organisation. I love that they offer a bed for people who have been forced to leave home due to not being accepted for their sexuality. It is so easy, having lived in West Hollywood and grown up myself with a gay father, to take it for granted that attitudes to sexuality are open, accepting and healthy. That people are not accepted for who they are and forced to leave home is really a travesty. L.A is the number one destination for these kids, who also fall into a high risk demographic...this is sad but at least they have a respite in the center's initiative to offer them a safe haven...awesome... I love their portable testing unit. P.O.W! I see it parked outside various clubs and making rapid H.I.V and S.T.D testing so convenient and accessible to that young high-risk demographic. I have popped in there myself...the staff are so nice make it easy and comfortable to do the socially responsible thing...awesome... I love that the center offers a program that gives streetworkers who wanna get off the street assistance in finding alternative careers.... I'm really excited and humbled to helping these cats..... My personal goal is to raise $3,000. So come on peeps...support my toned ass.
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The Notorious R.O.B's latest blog entry:
Saturday, May 31, 2008 
Smiles for Miles N' Cheers for Years!
The Notorious R.O.B's Goal: $3,000.00
Current Total: $3,495.00 |
Listen to The Notorious R.O.B'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. |
The Notorious R.O.B's LinksL.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Experience AIDS/LifeCycle 2007
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The Notorious R.O.B's BlogSaturday, May 31, 20084:59 PMorientationI was wrapped up from head to toe...it looked like it was going to rain...it felt like it was going to rain...and for whatever stupid reason I did not bring a rain jacket. San Fran public transport was practical and streamlined...I looked like a bum as I moped my way to Cow Palace...and then, pragmatically I worked my way through the process... I saw a guy who I thought I recognised in the line for tent assignment...I said hi and then immediatly regretted it. It was indeed a guy who I had bumped into, who had been a little to grabby with his hands at a club, who had bugged me to be his tent mate, who I had lied to and said I had one...and now I had said hi and hastily retreated.He must have seen me clearly alone, looking for a tentmate, I guess he got the message... Many people and many bikes. Bikes that looked fresher, cleaner and newer then mine. I am riding on a split tire I picked up from the gear exchange...call me cheap, the cheap suit fits...I am crossing my fingers that back tire lasts me at least three days... I headed for a walk downtown after the paperwork and popped into a Walgreens. I grabbed some sunblock, some deoderant and a disposable camera. I wish I had more disposable income to afford a camera that you don't throw away...but hey...a picture speaks a thousand words even it devoid of megapixels... On the way back I bumped into a group of kids who I liked...I think I would like to hang with them more...but I didn't push the conversation and let it be...maybe we will become compatriots in the next few days...so tomorrow...should be fun...it will be :-) Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb 10:00 AMSan FranMy ears were still ringing from the club...a strange kind of fuzzy cloud had descended over my nervous system...I was a little tired...but I was excited...the day had finally arrived...all those months ago and now just a couple of sleeps... I remember when I decided to participate...it was a stroke of luck...a generous deal for a good bike and a whim...it is funny, a lot of people say good idea and i want...but i want never gets and good ideas don't do... I have been blown away by the generousity of you people out there...the way people donated blew my mind... Back to the train...yesterday was a junk food day...a beer and pizza on the train...snoozing...a cheesy white bread sandwhich and soda...a snooze.. a polite conversation with an annoying lad on the opposite seat...a snooze...some huge hills cut into the landscape...daring in their sculptured audacity...their dips and peaks drifting into one another like monumental lovers...america is beautiful... It was overcast when I arrived...the golden gate bridge with all that wire and steel loops...now i do love nature...but i also appreciate with awe and a perverted sense of shared human pride the ability of man to concieve and deliver on massive scale engineering...the golden gate bridge rocks...the clouds hung heavy and there was a hazy patch of twighlight sun that throbbed behind like some celestial heart on its way out... The small chinese bus driver had a towel and pillow across his seat...he had a snappy way of talking but he turned out to be gregarious and dropped me off on the street the hostel was located on... It turned out there was no room at the inn...the handle bar moustached aussie at the front desk saw the anger/tiredness burning in my eyes and organised a mattress to be thrown in the "fish bowl" a space behind the last dorm rooms directly against the window on the third floor...no curtains, buildings all around...no privacy...a fish bowl... I set out for some dinner..the air was damp and chill...i wanted to complete my junk food day with panache...twinkies a snickers, pop tarts and some chocolate milk surficed...exhausted i feel asleep with my book in my "room" fully clothed... I was going to enjoy myself....pace myself...enjoy the scenery...in the back of my mind i was thinking about all those miles i had spent on the train... Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Monday, May 19, 20087:29 PMCycling and Sandwhiches<object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gd6ecqvGjoU"> </param> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gd6ecqvGjoU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"> </embed> </object> Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Monday, May 12, 20084:40 PMSmell The Flowerscheck out my video blog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAmYw6KKTjA Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Thursday, May 1, 20088:15 PMGriffith ParkCheck out my video blog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OvOfwdUZWI Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Saturday, April 12, 20085:57 PM90 MilesI was looking forward to my first century...I lay in the back of Anthony's truck. My head resting on a pile of jackets, gloves and cycling accessories and tried to kid myself I could catch up on some sleep. We arrived at the meeting point and were greeted by a brisk morning. Well brisk is one word to use to describe the temperature, another word would be icy, another yet, biting... Hands wrapped around a cup of hot coffee and I the caffeine mixed with a small flock of butterflies in my stomach to create a nice little cocktail sensation of anticipation. On the road and the legs beginning to find a rhythm. Chris got a puncture, a welcome little stop. I went for toilet break in the scrub (that is one part of the anatomy that is completely unappreciative about cycling, it was trying its best to pull the covers over its head and wait until the whole nightmare was over). The hills road by. The orange groves polka dotted the summery hills. I managed to take it in, in between hurried breaths and wondering how many miles we had done... We had done forty odd miles when I had my Lance Armstrong moment. We came upon a series of hills. For most of the ride up to that point I had felt like I had just been keeping up. Now I wanted to climb and push it. I started ripping into the hills, jigging past my cycling buddies. I was panting but there was this strange animal instinct to go for broke. I wanted to move, I wanted the speed at the cost of pain... Soon I was alone. No one in front, no one behind and no directions. I slowed, waited for another cyclist to lead and discovered that I was panting like a rabid dog. *********************** The road back seemed a synch. After witnessing a fair few punctures I had a misguided sense of pride that in fact my tires were indestructible and I was encased in a bubble of good luck. But you know what they say about pride...a long hiss came out of nowhere as I sat at the lights probably 20 miles out from my destination...15 miles out it was deja vu and ten miles to the finish line the third puncture in a row signaled the end of my day. I was a little disappointed not to complete the full hundred but that little something I discovered I had when I opened it up on those hills was a significant consolation, a nice little discovery I could hold onto when times got tough. Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Tuesday, March 18, 200812:41 PMA Thin Sliver Of BlueAnd the alarm went off...It seemed like I had just turned in, that I had just closed my eyes, but the alarm disagreed. Alarms are like that, very stubbourn and disagreeable and they have no sense of humour and the very worst of timing. Alarms make bad comedians...my alarm certainly wasn't funny on this Sunday morning... I needed more sleep. It had been a long weekend. The hustle was beginning to catch up with me but at least I had some spandex to look forward to. I pulled on my outfit and hit the road. The air was biting cold as I raced along Fountain, my favourite little route on two wheels. I had a brief recollection of London, winding my way to work on those deeply dark and icy mornings...yeah, it was cold! But if I may be so clumsy as to latch onto temperature and use it as a sentimental metaphor: what has warmed me the most, indeed what has inspired me about being a part of this event is the real sense of community that is engendered in this common cause to end what is in essence a preventable scourge. It really does thaw out that little covering of cynical frost on my being... The ride was flat and fast. I chatted to my buddy Chris as we cruised up Venice Boulevard and to that most essential selling point of L.A...the ocean. There it was. Teasing. A thin sliver of blue at the end of the road. And there it was, widening, the promise...wide, blue and owning the horizon like only the sea can... The sun had found its stride as we headed back to base. Chilled knuckles a thing of the past as the road slid underneath me on my rythmic glide. Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Wednesday, March 12, 20086:43 PMVillage To The ValleyYes there was a slight residue of low grade tequila in my veins...but that has never been an excuse not to push my little body to its limit...3 hours sleep and a stubborn will but those eyes were still a little bleary. I arrived there and the fellow cyclists were unloading and looking rearing to go. My buddies from M.J's rocked up and soon we were on the road...winding our way through the incessant L.A traffic...the sun was out and a light film of sweat began to collect over my brow... God it felt good. The hang over soon dripped into my spandex and I began to get a taste for chewing through the road. Down to the valley and then came a longish climb...I was worried I would be a late for a matinee date so I put the pedal to the metal and began to give it a nudge...my heart began to beat, my breath began to shorten but my trusty wee legs held there own as I began to test the power in my quads...I reached the top breathing heavy but feelin' good and then...the down hill... Momentum, asphalt and wind...faster and faster...ahhhh...the decision to get up and ride...always a good start to the day! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Wednesday, March 5, 20081:11 PMFirst Hit Out!My buddy and client had signed me up for the Acura bike tour...I was excited, curious...I figured I'd have a burger n' then chill for the evening...get a good nights sleep then wake up rearin' to go... I popped into "In N' Out". I was munching my way through a double-double when the phone rang. "Hey Robin, just checking where you're at?" "Ummmm" "You're supposed to be at the club" "Ummmmm" "You knew about this a month ago?" "Oh yeah. I'll be there in twenty". It's go-go it ain't cry-cry right?...when the going gets tough n' all that jazz... On my bike, hit the club, danced up a storm (albeit with rancid burger breath). It was 2:45am when I returned home. It was 4:30am when my alarm rang. Normally after an hours sleep in the small hours, it usually feels like hell right? For some odd biochemical fluke I felt fresh as a daisy. Rocked into my spandex, got my kit bag and met my mate downstairs. It was dark downtown but there were throngs of cyclists milling about...in the dead of the night the humble bicycle had lead a revolotion on the streets of a city where the automobile had once been king...and now they were perusing their spoils...a group of Korean kids in single formation and with identical cycles and kit bags rolled along...indeed people from all walks of life, big small, hipsters and those with space age gear...community...it exists and it is powered by pedals!! The morning was brisk. We pulled up to a corner, following the other cyclists like lemmings. Crack! Fireworks exploded and then they came into view...thousands of rampaging cyclists cutting through the pre-dawn. Off we followed as people swerved and swayed and dodged and manouvered themselves through the traffic. Yells; excited and jubilant echoed around. A family of four tore past me on a quadruple vechicle. A pink sunrise backlit the horizon and then the sun began to bristle. As I headed over the East 6th bridge the underated L.A skyline resonated with capitalist glory, a fog was cut though with that irrepressible Cali light. The pedals moved, the momentum inspiring, the deserted streets, the people...and that word, "community"...I was riding on high.. Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb |
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