Spirit and Sweat

Some wore boas. Or feathers. Or had leis flying in the wind.

Others affixed butterfly wings to their backs. Or sported Mickey Mouse ears on their helmets.

Nearly 3,000 cyclists--dressed in almost every costume imaginable--pumped and panted into San Buenaventura State Beach on Friday afternoon during the seventh California AIDS Ride.

They showed spirit--slapping each other’s hands, cheering on those going slower, or stopping to help with a mechanical problem. And they showed tenacity. This was day six in the 575-mile trek from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Each day the cyclists ride about 85 miles. At night they camp together in tents provided by the organizers.

The riders began their day in Lompoc, cruised into Santa Barbara for a lunch stop and followed Highway 101 onto the Ventura bike path along the ocean.

Many were sore, tired and sunburned. But they kept pedaling.

About 4 p.m. Friday, the state beach resembled a small, teeming city. A sea of luggage, hauled by accompanying trucks, was spread out while tents quickly sprung up on the grass.

Makeshift showers, washbasins, massage tables and medicine tents filled the available space, vying for weary riders’ attention. The ride ends this afternoon in Century City.

Gregg Andrews, a registered nurse from San Francisco, has done five of the California AIDS Rides and said the day through Ventura is his favorite.

“I was born in Canada, and my idea of California is what I saw on TV,” he said. “It’s palm trees next to rolling oceans. It’s so Hollywood, so California. It’s this area, and I love it.”

Ventura residents Janet Behrenhoff and Bob Aston trained with other cyclists for the past few months.

On Friday, they cruised past the cheering finish line in the first half of the pack, not feeling much strain from days of camping on hard ground, riding in 100-degree weather or getting up near dawn.

“I feel like I just got on my bike today,” Aston said.

But they admitted they would indulge this evening--sleeping in their own beds under comfortable covers.

Behrenhoff, a resident at Ventura County Medical Center, said they usually pulled into camp between 3 and 5 p.m. She could be riding faster, she said, but she knows how much damage a bicycle accident causes.

“I’ve taken care of too many people from cycling accidents, so I’m more careful, especially on slick roads,” she said.

Aston, however, took a different approach. He would go whizzing down hills, flying past people, sometimes competing with other cyclists.

“It’s the testosterone,” he said with a shrug.

Each of them, like the other cyclists, needed to raise $2,500 to participate. They agreed it was one of the most difficult aspects of the ride. To ease the strain of asking friends for donations, they had a fund-raising party where friends were asked to give as much as they could afford.

This year more than $11.25 million was raised to help care for people with AIDS.

This year rides are being organized in five areas: California; Washington, D.C.; Texas; St. Paul, Minn., to Chicago; and Boston to New York.

Many of the riders have friends with HIV or have lost a family member or friend to AIDS. Others support the cause.

This year there were about 150 HIV-positive riders. Calling themselves the Positive Pedalers, they affixed orange flags to their bikes to distinguish themselves.

Christy Cantrell, a 39-year-old Ventura native, did the ride last year but decided to be a cheerleader this year because she didn’t want to do the arduous training. “It took me six months to recover last time,” she said.

This year she helped make posters with Venturans’ names on them as well as organize a mini pit stop with cookies and moral support just south of Hobson County Park.

She agreed, like most riders, that the best part of the experience is the enthusiasm and encouragement from people along the road.

“Seeing people come out of their homes in little towns in the middle of nowhere and waving--it’s just so much appreciation,” she said. “I get all emotional just talking about it. You know, you can’t buy that.”