Tuesday 30 November has come and gone. I had received my Pos Peds jersey a few days before (just in time for the photo shoot with the Deputy Lord Mayor), and wore it for my Club rides early Tuesday. Pity it poured with rain - as soon as i got home I had to wash and dry it, in time for Positive Pedalers' Day starting at 11.00am.
There were about 15 cyclists who braved the unseasonal wet weather, for a Pos Ped ride around Sydney City. Then a ceremony at Town Hall - the Lord Mayor (still on crutches after she broke her ankle cycling :( ), the Deputy Lord Mayor, and about 60 people: Pos, Neg, cyclists, walkers, whoever.
Some short speeches - the Lord Mayor spoke of the need for inclusiveness and for retention of HIV on the agenda. Robert Lake, CEO of Positive Living NSW spoke how the medications enable so many of us to do so many things, and how this had caused a change in name and emphasis : no longer People Living with HIV/AIDS, but instead: Positive Living. My message was how HIV had stopped me from cycling, due to fear of not getting the requisite medical attention if I crashed, and my joy of learning that my concern is unfounded. We can live Life! despite HIV!
I look forward to a repeat next year.
