Proving the power of the pedal

Mathis Winkler

COSTA MESA -- Riding her bike is not what’s new for Caroline Good.

The 44-year-old Costa Mesa resident has been getting around on two

wheels ever since she swore off cars several years ago.

“My life has really slowed down quite a bit,” Good said during a

conversation on the Upper Newport Bay bike trail. “ I get to smell the

flowers.”

But when Good joins about 2,700 riders for the California AIDSRide in

San Francisco on June 3, it will be an unprecedented trip for her: She’ll

be embarking on a six-day journey to Los Angeles that totals 575 miles.

Asked whether she’s worried about the challenge she faces, Good

quickly nods her head several times.

“If worst comes to worst, I could jump on the truck,” she said. Not

that she’s planning on doing so.

“I’m kind of like a Duracell bunny,” she said. “I keep going and

going. . . . I’ve got it in me physically. I may not be the fastest one

in there, but I’m really strong.”

She also feels a little self-conscious about her appearance. Her

21-gear cruising bike has fenders and a yellow basket up front. Not

exactly a racing bike, she said.

And she doesn’t exactly look the racing part.

“I don’t dress like the other bike people,” Good said. “I don’t have

little stretchy things to wear.”

But what concerns her more now is her fund-raising goal of $2,700. So

far, she’s received $700 from friends and family members. Good has until

July to make up the difference. Whatever she can’t get will come out of

her own pocket, she said.

Good first heard about the ride, which benefits AIDS organizations, at

a holistic health conference in Los Angeles in November.

She decided to sign on because her cousin, Jimmy, died from the

disease a few years ago and a friend of hers, a single mother of two

children, is infected with the HIV virus.

When she spoke to Jimmy on the phone just before he died, she talked

with him about “going to the other side.”

“Being a Christian, I wanted to make sure that he knew who Jesus

Christ was,” Good said. “To make sure that he had someone holding his

hand on the other side. . . This disease has hit home real close to me.”

The ride “gives me a chance to honor his life,” she said, adding that

she didn’t have a chance to go to her cousin’s memorial service in

Colorado. “And maybe make a difference.”

FYI

To contribute to Good’s ride, call (949) 722-8629. Information:o7

http//:www.aidsride.orgf7