Pedal Power for Aids

TODD HUTH, a 33-year-old flight attendant, is participating in the ride for the first time with his partner, Bobbe Vagell, who is HIV positive. They live in West Hollywood. For years, Vagell has been taking a mixture of drugs to fight the virus. This is Vagell’s second year on the ride.

Going on this ride will allow me to educate and help other people learn not only about what the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center has to offer, but also about people who are HIV positive and who can lead normal lives as Bobbe and I do.

I met Bobbe about not quite a year ago. He had finished the ride. I had known about it and heard about it. He told me he did it, and I said, “It sounds great. Where can I sign up?”

My mother and my sister will be present for the closing ceremonies here on Saturday, June 7. My parents don’t know yet that Bobbe is HIV positive. My sister knows, and we have talked about it. I do want to tell my mother, who lives in Idaho, which is very, very conservative.

I don’t want to tell my parents over the phone in order to help them deal with this particular situation, like they had to do with my homosexuality. I plan to tell my mom when she is here during this big event. Hopefully, she will feel more at ease with the situation, take all this information and share and educate some of her friends and other family members up in Idaho.