TERRY THOMPSON Team Dallas Voice

Terry Thompson - LSR Team Dallas Voice
Terry Thompson – LSR Team Dallas Voice

Lone Star Ride 2009 was an exciting year for me.
It was my first experience with this organization. I was not a bike rider then. And while I’ve since taken up the sport and will participate this year as a rider, I’d like to focus this journal on the people who really make things tick: The Crew.
As someone who didn’t even enjoy riding a bike last year, I wanted to find other ways to participate in Lone Star Ride.
As a member of Team Dallas Voice, I crewed our training rides. I had many opportunities to play host when riders met at our house before heading out. I sent them off with a wave and a smile and welcomed them back with mimosas and hot lunches.
When it came time for the actual ride, I was there with my camera, recording all of it as the ride’s official photographer. I did group shots in the pre-dawn, photographed crew, and documented pit stops. I rode shotgun in a convertible, rolling alongside riders, taking snapshots as I worked to capture the magic of the ride. And in the process of pitching in and helping, I grew to love this organization and all it stands for.
By the closing ceremony, I’d really begun to take in just how many talents were engaged to manage and facilitate a ride this big. Before, I thought of LSR as people riding bikes. Now, I see it a larger and far more diverse group of not only the obvious — riders on bikes — but also of a talented army of support people we call Crew.
Long before the first biker arrives, and long after the last biker leaves, there are Crew.
There are Crew that set up the registration, the camp, the gear, the ceremonies. There are Crew that deliver and set up the pit stops, Crew that deliver snacks, lunch and drinks to the stops, Crew that serve it to the riders, Crew that return and take down the stops. There are Crew that mark the route, Crew on motorcycles giving direction and encouragement, Crew in trucks and vans that pick up riders when they need assistance, and Crew that repair bikes to get riders back on the road. There are Medical Crew and Massage Therapy Crew. There are Ceremonies Crew and Event Management Crew. There are Traffic Crew and Bike Parking Crew and even Cheerleader Crew. And, of course, there’s Crew to pack it up for next year.
I think this just may be the year for you to Crew! The fact that you don’t ride a bike is no reason to avoid being a part of this year’s ride. Honey, if you want to participate, trust me, they have a job for you! And by time it’s all over for another year, you’ll feel proud to have participated in this honorable event benefiting AIDS Outreach Center of Tarrant County, AIDS Services of Dallas, and Resource Center Dallas.When is the last time you did something that you felt genuinely proud of?
We all have lost friends to HIV/AIDS. We all want to be a part of the solution, to engage, and the make this place we call home a better place. We all have a reason to participate.
Make this year the year you joined in. Go to LoneStarRide.org and check out the possibilities.
Terry Thompson is a member of Team Dallas Voice. You can contribute to him or to any other Lone Star Ride participant online at LoneStarRide.org.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition July 9, 2010.