University of Central Arkansas Police Capt. Jeremy Crabb said the first time he rode 545 miles in the AIDS/LifeCycle race in California was “pretty scary,” and he questioned why he was doing it.
“It was exciting up to the point that we were actually getting on our bikes and getting on the road and riding through the cold San Francisco fog down the coast. I kept thinking, ‘What have I gotten myself into? Why am I doing this?’”
Then the first day, as the cyclists were riding into Santa Cruz to camp, he saw a woman holding a sign along the route. It had a photo of her brother, who died of AIDS — the dates of his birth and death — and just the words “Thank you,” Crabb said, “and I thought, ‘OK, that’s why I’m doing this.’”
The race raises money to benefit the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
On June 4-10, Crabb will participate in his third AIDS/LifeCycle race, from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and this time, he’s taking fellow officer Sgt. Sarah Garrett-Jones with him.
“She was here when I did it the first time in 2013, and she thought that was really neat, and it was kind of exciting to her,” Crabb said. “I’ve been saying, ‘You need to do it. Let’s get you a bicycle, and we’ll get you trained up.’”
He meant it — they’ve been riding 50 to 65 miles together every day .
Garrett-Jones, who has been a UCA officer since 2011, said she’s always been athletic.
“I’m always up for a good challenge,” she said. Although she liked riding a bicycle when she was growing up, this is different.
“The first time I got on one of these was in October,” she said, nodding to her Trek road bike as she stood outside the UCA Police Department. “I can’t call myself a cyclist.”
“She’s a cyclist,” Crabb whispered, standing off to the side.
Garrett-Jones said the first thing that surprised her about riding was “how much I enjoyed being out there in the middle of nowhere, completely disconnected from everything.”
She said the first time Crabb raced in the AIDS/LifeCycle race, “I was super-inspired by what he had done. When
Jeremy was there last summer is when I went ahead and signed up for this year.”
Crabb said he originally saw an advertisement in the San Francisco subway for the bike race, and he knew he wanted to do it one day.
“Something about it called out to me, and I just wanted to do it. I didn’t even expect that six years down the road I would become a cyclist and meet somebody who had done it,” he said.
He met a friend who had just come back from the race, and Crabb got a bicycle and started training.
Crabb said one of the core purposes is to raise awareness of AIDS and fight its stigma.
“People who are gay, or people who are part of the LGBTQ community, and people who may be affected by HIV deal with a lot of shame and a lot of stigma imposed from the very people who are nearest and dearest to them,” he said.
Although he said it was a hard conversation to have, his parents supported him after he told them he was gay.
Garrett-Jones said she has received great support to participate in the race from her co-workers, as well has her wife, Christy. They have two children of their own, plus three foster children.
Crabb said the race calls attention to the fact that “there are communities of LBGTQ … or HIV-positive people who are just normal, everyday folks that you pass on the street, that you sit next to in class, who are your co-workers, family and friends. Hey, we’re here; we’re people. We love and want to be loved and respected and contribute in positive ways to our communities. We’re police officers; we’re firefighters; we’re teachers. We come from all walks of life.”
He said participants in the AIDS/LifeCycle race come from “every background imaginable and from countries around the world and almost every state in the nation.”
Unlike the first race, when he felt somewhat alone in the crowd, he made friends whom he sees every year.
“I’ll tell you, the camaraderie around the event is palpable. Everybody is together for that one common purpose, and it’s so deep and so meaningful to each individual there for any number of reasons; everybody has his own reason that this event is special to him. Some are co-workers of health care workers who have been impacted.” He said people often don’t realize a family member or friend is a member of the LGBTQ community or affected by HIV.
“I’m not HIV positive, but I care deeply about this cause and this issue, and there are so many people who are,” he said. “I’m proud to support the cause.”
Crabb is trying to raise $5,000 to support the cause; Garrett-Jones met her $3,000 goal and is continuing to raise money. Donations to Crabb may be made online at tiny.cc/jcrabb or to Garrett-Jones at tiny.cc/sarahalc.
The cost to get their bikes to California is their own; it doesn’t come out of the money they raise, Crabb said.
And fundraising isn’t easy.
“People around Arkansas … are not nearly as personally connected to the HIV and AIDS epidemic as larger communities,” Crabb said. “In Arkansas, we have people affected by HIV, and we have the Arkansas AIDS Foundation, but it’s not something people relate to. That makes it somewhat difficult to fundraise because it’s just not on people’s radar screens.”
Garrett-Jones agreed. “Raising money for this event in the South, it’s kind of intimidating putting out there what you’re raising money for,” she said, adding that proceeds from the event fund research and education, too. “It does have an effect nationwide. It impacts everyone.”
He said a fleet of trucks follows the racers, carrying 1,700 tents for everyone to camp.
“Definitely for me, the most difficult part of the event in the past is the logistics in camping, particularly packing up all of my stuff I’m carrying along with me back in my gear bag each morning, getting it back in the truck and getting back on my bike.”
Although the weather is usually nice, he recalled one miserable race when it started raining the last day, the one day he didn’t have his rain jacket. He was cold and was riding with a friend. They didn’t stop at rest stations or to eat, until finally the friend insisted they stop at a McDonald’s. Crabb said he spent 45 minutes to an hour drying his clothes and gear under the blow-dryer in the restroom.
He said another difficult part of the race comes afterward, when “your body still wants to continue eating, eating and eating, but you’re not riding anymore,” he said, laughing.
Garrett-Jones said she’s most nervous about climbing the hills during the race.
“I climbed Petit Jean. I had two goals — climb Petit Jean and ride 100 miles, and I did both in one day,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to this thing I’ve been told is called the love bubble,” she said, referring to the supportive and encouraging atmosphere.
“She’s excited, and I’m excited for her,” Crabb said. “By no means am I a veteran of this event compared to others. There are people who have done this for 20 years, … but hopefully, I’ll be able to draw on my two years of experience to help her week go as smoothly as possible.”
And the woman holding the “Thank-you” sign is there every year, Crabb said.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.