Man cycles backwards for HIV awareness

KEY WEST, Fla., Jan. 28 (UPI) -- A cyclist diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus is taking a dizzying trip across the United States by unconventional means -- backwards biking.

Curan Wright, 36, said his voyage, which began in California, is aimed at raising awareness for homelessness, HIV/AIDS and what he described as the need for a federal medical marijuana law, The Miami Herald reported Monday.

Wright, who has ridden bicycles backwards since he was a teenager, uses his peripheral vision and experience to navigate his modified single-gear Redline bicycle without the use of mirrors.

Wright said during a recent stop in Key West, Fla., that he was disappointed when he passed through Washington and could not get an audience with Capitol Hill lawmakers.

"They act like they don't have to hear me," he said. "I don't have money. I'm a nobody to them. I'm just a homeless man with HIV, who got it on my own because I didn't practice safe sex and used needles."