Yes, indeed. The adage is true: it does take a village. As many of you know, during the first week of June, I and 2500 others will ride our bikes from San Francisco to Los Angeles raising money and awareness about HIV/AIDS. The proceeds will go to two outstanding organizations–SF AIDS Foundation and the LA Gay and Lesbian Center. This is the second time I am riding the 545 mile trip. The training has been long and hard. We’re currently up to 100 miles in one day. Last week I completed an 80 mile ride including riding up Mount Diablo in 85 degree heat. The training ride took 12 hours! Holy cow. I’m going have to do this 7 days in a row in a couple of weeks on the official ride.
Some days I think the training will just kill me but the reality is, I have a fantastic support team on my side. Besides my fantastic husband, David Newdorf, who tells me to get out of bed each Sunday morning at 5 am, and my kids who silently marvel at my strength and fortitude, I want to publicly thank my other supports. I encourage any of you to use these supremely fantastic individuals when you need your own support team. The cool thing is, all these folks are my clients and I am theirs. I love this village we all live in. There’s love, support and talkent to go around.
Mindie Dodson is an Advanced Rolfer who does craniosacral therapy. 
She enjoys working with kids and teen agers as well as athletes and hard working folks who have pains from life and crazy work habits. She is also participating as a Roadie on the ALC Ride doing motorcycle safety. She has a heart of gold and hands to match. Mindie has graciously taken care of my aches and pains, releasing tight muscles and allowing flexibility to return to my body.
Carmela Lieras Lewis is the owner of Fitness Evolved, a gym in Berkeley. Carmela’s gym is really different than all the other gyms I’ve quit over the years. I broke my hip many moons ago and as a result, I have lingering body mechanic issues. Their workouts are personally created to meet the needs of each client and they are very unusual; utilizing strength testing and development, balance exercises, eye movements and many other holistic approaches. In her own words, Carmela says,
Combining our years of exercise science and program design experience with the neuroscience lens of Z Health Performance Solutions, we’re better able to “unlock” the secret to your neurology and help you find the fitness approach that will give you the results you’re looking for. As we have seen with the re-emerging popularity of kettlebells and barbells, exercise tools and choices come, go, and return. With our current knowledge of the brain and its effect on function, what needs to evolve is our approach to health, fitness, and the application of these tools. Change occurs in the body at the speed of our nervous system: 300 miles per hour! We use this instant feedback to ensure that we are helping to progress our clients closer to their goals- be it exercise choice, style, nutrition, or supplements- and not setting them back. Our approach is holistic and leaves no stone unturned. You no longer have to wait until you’ve completed a 16-week program to see whether or not it’s working for you!
Richard Burg, DC is my chiropractor. I went to see him prior to even thinking of training for the AIDS Ride. He really put my spine back in alignment and also did some active release muscle treatment to help with back pain and hip issues. He’s super compassionate and extremely talented.
Marty Kaliski, of Marty’s Motors is not only my car mechanic but a friend and super generous community member. Marty recently held a car-care clinic “Women Wheels and Waffles” to teach women how to care for their cars while munching on gourmet waffles and sipping champagne. He graciously donated the proceeds from the event to the AIDS Ride. His actions helped the SF AIDS Foundation provide 1,000 syringes through the street-based Syringe Access Service. That’s helping stop the spread of HIV to 1,000 users! Imagine that. Thanks again Marty.
Marie Bowser is my acupuncturist. She’s located in Albany, just down the street from my studio on Solano Ave. Marie’s also a bike rider and knows about the aches and pains associated with riding as well as the stress that everyday life takes on a body. She is fantastic with knowing what points to needle, what Chinese herbal remedies to prescribe and what lifestyle changes to recommend. In my case, it was eliminating (or cutting way down on) the things I love but are not good for me like coffee, sugar, refined wheat…blah, blah, blah. And increasing the intake of dark green leafy veggies, blah, blah, blah. Seriously, I did follow her advice and I do feel great. My body actually doesn’t want bad food (well, occasionally I do eat chocolate and drink decaf).
So, I’m almost ready for the big ride. I thank all of the above and all and any of you who have donated, wished me luck, support those who work with folks with HIV/AIDS, those of you who have HIV/AIDS. When the ride gets tough and I feel like giving up, I do think of all of you, feel grateful that I CAN ride and keep on keeping on.
Oh, hey, if you want to make a last-minute donation, click HERE to the link. I’ll do some posting after the ride.
Ciao for now!
Shoey
