EVENTS

SPONSORS

The 13th Annual Santa Barbara Ride is dedicated to

Drew Franklin

remembered and honored with love

April 22, 1967 - April 7, 2003

The gleaming silver sticker on the side of the helmet says “Vickie”, and it never fails to make veteran riders smile. For anybody who knew him, it brings back vivid memories of Drew Franklin.

Drew was one of those wonderful larger-than-life characters, a natural at anything he put his mind to – except remembering names. In his inimitable style, he turned even that into a charming quirk and simply called everyone “Miss Vickie”. Man, woman, child, gay or straight, no matter – when everybody was “Miss Vickie”, he always got your name right!

Drew had a great gift for making people laugh, and lived his life passionately and enthusiastically. He loved bright colors, bold statements, and tackling the seemingly impossible with a smile and a joke. In his words, even the safety speech and pre-ride instructions were funny – he coined the phrase “Butt buttr – it’s a lubricant, not a marinade”!

Many riders fondly remember his penchant for colorful outfits (including the infamous striped bikini at the spa in Avila), making faces, and impromptu celebrity impressions – his “Peewee Herman” was legendary. With his soft South Carolina accent, Southern charm and a heart of gold, you just couldn’t help but love him – even when he passed everybody on the Ride at breakneck speed after signing up just weeks beforehand, and with no training.

Drew never considered himself athletic, yet sports and movement came to him easily – he was a natural on the bike, and taught yoga for years. He was incredibly limber, and much beloved by his students for both the passion he had for teaching, and the delightful accent in which he described the yogic postures.

Drew lived with HIV and AIDS for many years, with more health challenges and pain than even his closest friends knew about. Once he signed up for his first ride, he was determined that nothing would get in his way – certainly not riding 600 miles in a week, or finding sponsors! Not even a serious medical setback could stop him: when his condition improved just weeks before the Ride, he felt strong enough to go and shocked everybody by showing up, and riding out with the entire group on Opening Day. He completed his sixth California AIDS Ride – AIDS/Lifecycle ride that year.

Drew loved to ride, he loved to teach, and was an inspiration to many in his bright Pos Pedalers jersey. Yet he was humble about his own achievements, and often found inspiration in those around him. “The last three or four years there's been a gentleman that does the ride, and he has no legs. He does the whole ride with his hands. And I love to whine from time to time. Then you see someone like that, and it's just like 'how can I complain?'"

The 2008 Santa Barbara Ride is dedicated to the memory of Drew Franklin: to his passion, his laughter, his strength, his pain, and the inspiration he provided to continue fighting the disease that took such a remarkable individual from us much too soon.

As Drew would say, “that’s about the excitement here on Harper”.

Let’s Ride, Miss Vickie!