Deaf cycling team finishes 545-mile ride, raises $16,500 for AIDS/LifeCycle

A Deaf cycling team from Washington, D.C. named Flying Hands recently completed a 545 miles bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, California for a fundraiser event called AIDS/LifeCycle. Flying Hands reached the finish line last Friday.

(Video clip)

AIDS/LifeCycle is an annual 7 days bike ride (from SF to LA) that raises support for awareness and services for HIV/AIDS. The Flying Hands team participated this year.

The members of the Flying Hands team are: Uriel Torres, Lisa Fisher, Robb Dooling, Graham Forsey, (the four are cyclists) and the fifth person, Erikson Young, who is a roadie.

The Daily Moth reached out to Torres, captain of the team, for his comments.

We were curious of the reason behind the name "Flying Hands."

URIEL TORRES: My partner David Fontes and I were talking last year what to name our team. We wanted to have it be Deaf-related and as we were signing, we found the name, Flying Hands. We wanted to create a drawing of our team jerseys so we looked for #DeafTalent. We located a Deaf artist, Richard Bauman. He created a beautiful artwork and is very talented with drawing in ASL.

RENCA: We asked him what inspired the people on this team to team up for this cause.

(Video clip: https://www.facebook.com/flyinghandsdc/videos/515798538936332/)

RENCA: Torres also mentioned that the team wanted to ride for their Deaf and Hard of Hearing friends and partners who live with HIV/AIDS.

Flying Hands raised $16,469 together. There were two other Deaf participants from San Francisco who raised $15,605. So, altogether, 7 Deaf participants raised $32,074.

We also asked Torres to share what was the emotion like when the team reached the finish line.

TORRES: As we were cycling and almost at the finish line, we saw a group of Deaf fans who came all the way from DC, Austin, and San Diego to cheer us on. We were very inspired when we reached the finish line. It is a very proud moment because the four of us proved that Deaf people can do anything by showing we can start a Deaf cycling team and fundraise more than $16,000 dollars for AIDS services. We have proven that Deaf people can overcome communication barriers.

RENCA: Torres mentioned that the team is ready for AIDS/LifeCycle 2020 and will continue raising support for this cause. You can find

more information on how you can be involved or give support on their Facebook page as they will continue updating. The link is in this transcript.

Congratulations to Flying Hands for reaching the finish line!

https://www.facebook.com/flyinghandsdc/?epa=SEARCH_BOX

https://www.aidslifecycle.org/why-we-ride/