Gulf Coast High teachers bike 500 miles to raise money for AIDS
Sunday, March 26, 2006
They pedaled off together and, in the end, they walked across the finish line togethe
But a bent wheel and a flat tire was not going to stop two Gulf Coast High School teachers and several others from completing their five-day, 500-mile cycling trip.
The group rode their bikes from Tallahassee to Naples to raise money for Friends Together, an organization that works with children and families dealing with the HIV and AIDS viruses.
Contributions already have brought in more than $27,000, said Cathy Robinson-Pickett, executive director of Friends Together.
“We hope we hit $28,000,” she said. “And 100 percent of the profits are going to the organization.”
The ride was started five years ago by Gulf Coast High School math teacher Thom Croce. He had seen Robinson-Pickett, who has lived with HIV for the last 21 years, speak at the school and decided he wanted to do something to help.
“I asked her if I could ride for her,” he said. “It’s a great organization and it is a disease we have become complacent about.”
The group was easy to see coming down Immokalee Road at 4:15 p.m. Friday in their fluorescent green T-shirts. Croce was the only one dressed differently. On the final day, he wore a cow suit as a promise to his third-period geometry class.
 Photo by Darron R. Silva / Daily News |
Julie Sprague, a health teacher at Gulf Coast High School, hugs friend Paul Wiren after arriving at the school in North Naples on Friday afternoon. The arrival completed a bike ride from Tallahassee to Naples to raise money for the Friends Together organization. Sprague and seven other riders, including fellow teacher Thom Croce, rode 100 miles a day to complete the trip over spring break. The charity benefits children and families affected by HIV/AIDS. |
“I told them I would wear the suit if they raised over $500, and they raised over $800,” he said.
Together, Croce said he collected about $1,800 for his portion of the ride.
The group was greeted by about 20 friends and family members who showered their riders with Silly String as they walked to the front of the school.
“I am so proud of everybody,” said Anne Komulalnen, who has volunteered for the organization and whose husband, Aki, rode for the cause. “I can’t imagine how sore their butts are. And it is draining, not only physically, but mentally. But this is so important.”
The ride was not smooth, though. The group battled heavy rain in Fort Myers on Thursday and wind that almost knocked health teacher Julie Sprague into traffic, she said.
“Yesterday was the low point. It was really nasty. There were a few bumps, but it was for a really good cause,” she said Friday. “I was crying on the way in because we went in together as a group. No one quit and we finished together.”
Croce likened the problems to what people with HIV and AIDS have to deal with every day.
“When you have a life-threatening illness, you have to take what the day brings you,” he said. “You can’t decide today is a good day or a bad day. Thursday was awful, but Wednesday, the sun was shining and we had the wind at our backs.”
Robinson-Pickett said the goal of the ride is to bring the knowledge that AIDS is everywhere. One out of every 168 Floridians is living with HIV/AIDS, making the state the third-highest in the nation in terms of HIV/AIDS cases.
“Our motto is only men, women and children can get AIDS,” she said. “We rode our bikes and took this message to some small towns where HIV and AIDS are not talked about. We want to see those stereotypes washed away because it could be your mom, your teacher or your sister. People need to get educated.”
Mike Albrecht rode a tandem bike during the ride. The second seat on the bike was empty, but it carried the names of 500 people who died from the disease.
Albrecht said he had seen something similar done for a bike ride for cystic fibrosis and thought it was important to bring more awareness to the ride.
“Throughout the day it got heavier and heavier,” he said with a laugh. “But part of this is the missing rider thing, making people aware of all of the people we have lost to this disease and all of the people living with this disease.”
But while the riders will hang up their bikes and cycling shoes for another year, they are not finished with spreading their message. In June, Sprague and Robinson-Pickett’s son, Garrett, will travel to Africa to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise additional money for the cause.
For more information on Friends Together or to donate to the cause, visit www.friendstogether.org