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Pleasanton Housing Commission member Joe Jones (left) and businessman Rob Gibbs read the Pleasanton Weekly story about their AIDS/LifeCycle ride after completing the 565-mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Jones, who suffered a cerebral brain hemorrhage in 1989 when he was 29 years old, successfully rebuilt his strength and mobility with the help of recumbent tricycles supplied by Australian manufacturer Greenspeed, including this special 10-foot-long two-seater tandem cycle. Gibbs, also from Pleasanton, joined Jones three years ago, with the two competing in numerous bike competitions and racking up more than 9,000 miles after finishing the L.A. ride. Gibbs, who once weighed in at 255 pounds and had high blood pressure, is down to 200 with normal pressure readings today.

Their wives, Kathy Jones and Catherine Gibbs, brought last Friday's Weekly to them when they drove to Los Angeles to pick up the bikers (trikers?) for a relaxing ride home to Pleasanton.

This year's AIDS/LifeCycle ride, which started at the Cow Palace and ended at the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Center, had a record 2,300 cyclists from 10 countries and 43 states participating, raising $11 million in the effort to combat AIDS.

Read last Friday's Around Pleasanton column on Joe Jones:

Around Pleasanton

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