More than 2,500 people cycled through Santa Barbara on Friday, winding their way through the valley, down Highway 101 and eventually traversing the Santa Barbara waterfront as they pedaled through the sixth day of their week-long trip. This cycle through Santa Barbara was an incredible sight to witness.<\/p>\n
The cyclists were part of the AIDS\/LifeCycle event, a seven-day bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money and awareness in the fight against HIV\/AIDS.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve been on an epic journey across the state and will have covered 545 miles by the time event is through. The race started June 1 and will wrap up on Saturday in Westwood.<\/p>\n
The cyclists took a lunch break at Girsh Park on Friday, where Noozhawk caught up with cyclist Dusty Klass, a UCSB alumna who now lives in Culver City but was excited to be back on the South Coast of Santa Barbara County.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is amazing to be back in Santa Barbara,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is where I learned how to ride a bike. All of the roads are familiar.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Friday morning, the riders started in Lompoc, climbed over the Gaviota Pass \u2014 Klass estimated an elevation gain of about 1,100 feet \u2014 and then on to Highway 101 and onto Hollister Avenue through Goleta. They would end the day after a long cycle through Santa Barbara at San Buenaventura State Beach, an 84-mile ride for the day, she said.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve averaged about 80 miles a day throughout the ride.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s been doing the ride since studying at UCSB, and said \u201cthis community is really addictive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever I find people who have given up on the world, I always tell them to do this ride,\u201d Klass said. \u201cIt always reminds me how caring people are.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not unusual if riders arrive early at a campsite to set up a tent for those who have yet to finish the ride, she said, and that people step up to care for one another.<\/p>\n
This year takes on an extra significance for Klass as she rode close to Isla Vista in the aftermath of the shootings that took place there May 23.<\/p>\n
She decided to put up a banner for people to sign, which said simply \u201cALC Stands with UCSB\u201d and gave people the chance to sign it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been watching people come up and sign it and it\u2019s been strangely healing,\u201d she said, adding that she\u2019s met UCSB alumni on the ride she didn\u2019t even know were there.<\/p>\n