ALC/LifeCycle 5 - Day Two (June 5, 2006)
105 miles! I could probably stop there and you would have a good idea of what we all went through. But I won't stop... 'cause it's my blog and I want to write what I went through! (= I will forever be taken back to this day whenever I smell celery in the future!! This day was... long.... hot... dry.... windy.... dusty.... and I have to say fun! I rode most of this day with Kenny. Elaine was with us part of the time but I can't say I remember why Suzann, Kar, and Khoa weren't with us at the beginning. Kenny and I took turns "breaking wind" hehe. I have always said that I could run and ride in any weather... snow, rain, cold, hot, whatever... but I HATE wind! HATE it! I decided on this day to embrace it. It's just there. It seems to be there more and more when I ride. So I need to make friends with it. Changing my attitude actually seemed to work a little. I felt like I did my fair share of pulling and that felt good. Most people I ride with generally protect me from the wind because they know I'll pull in othe
r areas more. We passed some migrant workers doing their job. And I wondered which of us was working harder! I'm quite sure *they* were. The strawberries smelled incredible! OMG! But what surprised me the most was the smell of celery. I have always thought it smelled fresh when I bought it. But I've never smelled it from a field. I know it seems so simplistic but I just couldn't get over how wonderful it was. Of course riding past that into the smell of manure... yummm! Although it's not a great smell, it did bring back some childhood memories. LOL Don't ask! It's always amazing to me what memories smells can induce! (= Ah well, enough of the smells for now! As we were riding along in the wind and the dust, I saw an older woman trying to get a huge garbage can in the trunk of her car. The wind kept blowing it out of her hands. So I stopped to help her out. Just as I got to her car, she got the can in the trunk. She thanked me for stopping and asked some questions about the ride. Always good to do some marketing. She was sufficiently impressed with our endeavor so off I went to catch back up to Kenny... who I think had no idea I had even stopped! LOL We stopped at the most windy dusty rest stop of the whole trip and asked some questions about our respective aches and pains. I had a pinching in my shoulder blade 
that was killing me. Kenny had something going on with his ass. The Sports Med chica rubbed some BenGay into my shoulder... which felt VERY good! And gave me some ibuprofin.... and then told me that taking ibuprofin was the key to staying healthy on this ride. Hmm! I had no idea! Kenny learned a couple new stretches. With time, we would see hundreds of people in this posture morning, noon, and night. Apparently it's a cure-all! After that, he learned one where you hold onto something then sit and pull at the same time.... when the Sports Med chica says, "Don't fall!" make sure you slide onto your ass just as she suggested you don't. Damn those road shoes!! haha That gave us some positive energy to hit the road. So we grabbed some more food and off we went. My shoulder really did feel quite a bit better. Happy! Happy! We 
decided to pick up some speed... because we could. We were skipping one of the rest areas when Kenny basically skidded to a stop. The sign said, "Otter Pop Stop!" I didn't know what that meant but he clearly did. And he wasn't about to pass it up. I was intrigued. I don't know how I made it my whole life not knowing what these things are called... because I love them!! (= Popcicles in a tube! PERFECT for this hot dusty day! I'm very glad that Kenny skidded and made me go back! That was another great kick to get out there and ride. The burn of BenGay and the cool of the Otter Pop! Mmmm! Off we go again. Kenny starts talking about "the bridge." Again, I don't know what that means. Apparently within "ALC Reality" there is also an "ALC Language" that I am still learning! He even asked one of the roadies how far "the bridge" was. I can't remember what the roadie said but Kenny seemed satisfied. And then I saw the bridge. What's the big deal?? It's just a bridge. There were some people standing around on it so I figured it was another one of those impromptu rest areas where someone in the community does something special. However.... there was no 
"community" to be seen for miles and miles. And then I see that everyone is looking down. So I got off my bike... following Kenny's lead... and I look. And *that* is why people want to know how far until "the bridge"... a bunch of naked boys skinny dipping! lol Too funny! But what a perfect day for it! Khoa had been talking about skinny dipping the day before and lo and behold he shows up not long after we did! So off he went to fulfill his promise! We stayed a little longer... not much eye candy for me I have to say. Although some of those guys had really great bodies! There was only one woman down there that was attractive. She was getting dressed rather slowly. Ha! I thought I recognized her later too... she looked okay in clothes too. Mind you... most of the men on this ride are gay and most of the women are straight. Guess it 
doesn't matter in skinny dipping! lol So off I went up the little hill waiting to kick my butt after Otter Pops and skinny dipping (well, watching it anyway!). Got to the top to see a wonderful view of vineyards, fields, and mountains (I think those are considered mtns in Cali). It was just a nice view. While I was there Suzann went by. Yay! So I rode to catch up with her 'cause we hadn't gotten to ride together yet. There were some great rolling hills that we got to ride fast! Suzann was kicking some ass on those things so I was just trying to
hang on. My legs were burning like crazy after the first few "humps." We blasted into King City. What a fun ending! King City is hot and dry just like the day. Fitting! (= The cup was half full... being hot and dry meant that laundry would also dry! Yay! Same routine as before with finding the gear truck, the tent spot, the showers, food, etc. It's funny trying to find the same things though they are in completely different locations each day. Talk about messing with a tired mind!! Yep... 105 miles!! And more to come tomorrow... including QUADBUSTER!! baum baum baaahhhhhh!
r areas more. We passed some migrant workers doing their job. And I wondered which of us was working harder! I'm quite sure *they* were. The strawberries smelled incredible! OMG! But what surprised me the most was the smell of celery. I have always thought it smelled fresh when I bought it. But I've never smelled it from a field. I know it seems so simplistic but I just couldn't get over how wonderful it was. Of course riding past that into the smell of manure... yummm! Although it's not a great smell, it did bring back some childhood memories. LOL Don't ask! It's always amazing to me what memories smells can induce! (= Ah well, enough of the smells for now! As we were riding along in the wind and the dust, I saw an older woman trying to get a huge garbage can in the trunk of her car. The wind kept blowing it out of her hands. So I stopped to help her out. Just as I got to her car, she got the can in the trunk. She thanked me for stopping and asked some questions about the ride. Always good to do some marketing. She was sufficiently impressed with our endeavor so off I went to catch back up to Kenny... who I think had no idea I had even stopped! LOL We stopped at the most windy dusty rest stop of the whole trip and asked some questions about our respective aches and pains. I had a pinching in my shoulder blade 
that was killing me. Kenny had something going on with his ass. The Sports Med chica rubbed some BenGay into my shoulder... which felt VERY good! And gave me some ibuprofin.... and then told me that taking ibuprofin was the key to staying healthy on this ride. Hmm! I had no idea! Kenny learned a couple new stretches. With time, we would see hundreds of people in this posture morning, noon, and night. Apparently it's a cure-all! After that, he learned one where you hold onto something then sit and pull at the same time.... when the Sports Med chica says, "Don't fall!" make sure you slide onto your ass just as she suggested you don't. Damn those road shoes!! haha That gave us some positive energy to hit the road. So we grabbed some more food and off we went. My shoulder really did feel quite a bit better. Happy! Happy! We 
decided to pick up some speed... because we could. We were skipping one of the rest areas when Kenny basically skidded to a stop. The sign said, "Otter Pop Stop!" I didn't know what that meant but he clearly did. And he wasn't about to pass it up. I was intrigued. I don't know how I made it my whole life not knowing what these things are called... because I love them!! (= Popcicles in a tube! PERFECT for this hot dusty day! I'm very glad that Kenny skidded and made me go back! That was another great kick to get out there and ride. The burn of BenGay and the cool of the Otter Pop! Mmmm! Off we go again. Kenny starts talking about "the bridge." Again, I don't know what that means. Apparently within "ALC Reality" there is also an "ALC Language" that I am still learning! He even asked one of the roadies how far "the bridge" was. I can't remember what the roadie said but Kenny seemed satisfied. And then I saw the bridge. What's the big deal?? It's just a bridge. There were some people standing around on it so I figured it was another one of those impromptu rest areas where someone in the community does something special. However.... there was no 
"community" to be seen for miles and miles. And then I see that everyone is looking down. So I got off my bike... following Kenny's lead... and I look. And *that* is why people want to know how far until "the bridge"... a bunch of naked boys skinny dipping! lol Too funny! But what a perfect day for it! Khoa had been talking about skinny dipping the day before and lo and behold he shows up not long after we did! So off he went to fulfill his promise! We stayed a little longer... not much eye candy for me I have to say. Although some of those guys had really great bodies! There was only one woman down there that was attractive. She was getting dressed rather slowly. Ha! I thought I recognized her later too... she looked okay in clothes too. Mind you... most of the men on this ride are gay and most of the women are straight. Guess it 
doesn't matter in skinny dipping! lol So off I went up the little hill waiting to kick my butt after Otter Pops and skinny dipping (well, watching it anyway!). Got to the top to see a wonderful view of vineyards, fields, and mountains (I think those are considered mtns in Cali). It was just a nice view. While I was there Suzann went by. Yay! So I rode to catch up with her 'cause we hadn't gotten to ride together yet. There were some great rolling hills that we got to ride fast! Suzann was kicking some ass on those things so I was just trying to
hang on. My legs were burning like crazy after the first few "humps." We blasted into King City. What a fun ending! King City is hot and dry just like the day. Fitting! (= The cup was half full... being hot and dry meant that laundry would also dry! Yay! Same routine as before with finding the gear truck, the tent spot, the showers, food, etc. It's funny trying to find the same things though they are in completely different locations each day. Talk about messing with a tired mind!! Yep... 105 miles!! And more to come tomorrow... including QUADBUSTER!! baum baum baaahhhhhh!
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