Ada — Danielle Girdano is just coming into the home-stretch of the Spirit PrairieTrail on her bicycle trek to promote gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights.

Her ride is called “Ride the Arc.”

“The name ‘Ride the Arc’ comes from a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. quote,” she said.  “At the end of the quote, he says, ‘The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.’”

Girdano said part of her goal in this project is to present a side of the gay community other than the sexually-charged events that get the most publicity.

“A lot of times in the media, I think the only thing that people are exposed to are these extremes,” she said.  She said publicity often equates her lifestyle to scantily clad and intoxicated young people at festivals and other activities.  In reality, Girdano said her homosexuality was simply another aspect of her personal identity.

“Being gay is such a miniscule part of who I am or who any gay, lesbian, transgendered or bisexual person is in this country,” she said.  “I love to cycle, play softball, cook, go to the symphony and Broadway shows.”

Girdano grew up outside of Pittsburg, Pa. and currently lives in Dallas, Texas.

The Spirit Prairie Trail—which Girdano said no woman has ever completed—will take her 1,400 miles by the time it is all said and done.

“I started in Minneapolis, Minn. on Aug. 9 and I will finish in Dallas, Texas on Sept. 18,” she said.

Girdano said she also had 4,800 miles logged in training before she ever set out on the ride.

“I’ve been training a year for this,” she said.  “I would do 10 to 14 hours a day, six days-a-week.”

She said the Spirit Prairie Trail, to her, represents a mirror of the struggle for GLBT rights.

One of the reasons she thinks the trail mirrors the struggle is because of the constant headwind.

“One of the reasons why it’s never been completed by a woman and has only been completed by two men in 35 years is the headwind.  You have a constant headwind in your face the entire way,” Girdano said.  “It’s just like the resistance our community has had.”

She said the last ten miles into Dallas will be a group ride.

With the miles put in by Girdano added to the miles ridden by others, she hopes to reach 5,000 miles by the end of the trail.

“One of my main reasons for doing this is to draw awareness to the high teen and young adult suicide in the GLBT community.  It’s the highest (rate) of any demographic, worldwide,” Girdano said.  “My number one goal is awareness and to generate dialogue.”

Some of the dialogue takes place on the Ride the Arc facebook page, she said, and many different points of view are expressed.  

Although many of the comments are negative, Girdano said the open dialogue is ultimately helpful to her goal.

“As long as we have dialogue and as long as there’s communication, that’s awesome,” she said.

Among her other goals, Girdano said she would like to see a many changes in government policy concerning the GLBT community.  Gay marriage or civil unions is something she would like to see in the future.

“It’s not about the verbiage of ‘marriage’ vs. ‘domestic partnerships’ or ‘civil unions.’  It’s about rights.  It’s about pension rights, social security surviving benefits, adoption rights, health benefits and hospital visitation,” she said.  “My partner has me on her health insurance.  She pays an extra $262 a month for the identical coverage as her peers do for their spouses because I’m not recognized as a spouse.”

Ultimately, Girdano said she believes people will accept her and her community.

“The only thing that is constant is change,” she said.

Like her ride along the Spirit Prairie Trail, she said the road is long.

“It’s not a race,” she said.  “It’s definitely a test of endurance.”

To learn more about the Ride the Arc project, visit the website at www.ridethearc.org.