ALC/LifeCycle 5 - Day Zero (June 3, 2006)
Orientation (aka Day Zero) at the Cow Palace. I have to say that it was quite funny that the Jehovah’s Witnesses were having a convention or crusade or whatever they call it… just on the other side of the Cow Palace. The opportunities there were endless… but we all behaved! I was continually warned that I’d be spending the entire day in lines. As it happened, the lines weren’t so bad and the only thing that took awhile was getting to see the safety video… a requirement before doing anything else. Apparently they want us to come out of this thing alive! It was quite the social atmosphere. And as I look back on it now, it was the beginning of “ALC5 Life” as opposed to “Real Life.” People were courteous and nice, thoughtful and giving. It was WEIRD! LOL What’s sad is that it’s so unusual to hear people saying “thank you” as much as they did. I’m from the Midwest, so we say “thank you” all the damn time! I didn’t hear any complaints about the lines or the inconveniences that we experienced. Once I had my safety video bracelet, my tent and bag truck assignment and tags, turned in my donations, and my general orientation packet with my helmet and bike numbers…. it was time to find out if my bike actually made it safe and sound from LA. I had dropped her off on Wednesday to some guys in a big truck….
hoping they were the *right* guys in the *right* truck! Fortunately they were… and though it took awhile, I did finally find her. I took her out to the bike mechanics to get her chain lubed and some air in the tires. I have been training with 100psi in my tires and as I was talking to my friends, I decided that I would go up to 120psi like they were. I think I was always just afraid of blowing the tire as I pumped it up. But I figured with mechanics right there, it wouldn’t matter if I blew it. One thing I learned at Orientation was that I should have brought my hand pump, computer, and maybe even my helmet to leave with my bike overnight. Especially the pump since it goes along my top tube and I had to put my number on the top tube as well. So I’d have to arrange it the next day….it’s got sticky stuff on it so I wasn’t sure arranging it would be easy. *That* is the kind of thing that 
becomes a priority during the ride. Who cares about world peace!?! Can I get my pump back on my bike if I’ve got my number on it already?? After that, a few of us went to one of the hotels that was near the Cow Palace to hang out until it was time to catch a taxi for dinner. We were going to have dinner with Team Orange County at Buca di Beppo. I’m not on the team… in fact, I’m not sure anyone I was with was on the team! LOL But one or two of them at least live in OC! (= Funny thing about this is that I don’t eat pasta… and that’s basically what they served! BdB does everything family style…but, I hate to admit again, I couldn’t afford the $20 per plate. So I ordered a “side,” which ended up being more spaghetti than I’ve eaten in 2 years! LOL And two HUGE meatballs. But I ate it all! Guess I was hungry. Anyway, we went by one of the guy’s big gay hotel (Hotel Metropolis) to see his big gay bathroom. It actually was quite the place… bordering Tenderloin!! Ha! The last two of us walked to my hotel (Cathedral Hill) and then my friend caught a cab back to her hotel (Alpine Inn). I needed to get my crap back in my bag and be sure I had everything ready for my 3am wake up! We had to be down at the shuttle at 4am!! One thing I did spend some time on was cutting out my numbers for my helmet. They were blue on a white background and I cut each number out individually. I wanted as little stick on my helmet as possible. Well…and it looked much better! (= I also got my Accelerade made and my water bottle filled. I wonder now if I should have done that the day before and left them on my bike. Not a bad idea! I know…not important in “real life.” I was basically ready to go and in bed by about 9pm or so. But my roommates weren’t back yet so I knew they’d be waking me up again, which meant I really couldn’t fall asleep. Once they got back, I fell asleep pretty quickly. Phew!! All I needed was a little insomnia the night before we ride out!
Orientation (aka Day Zero) at the Cow Palace. I have to say that it was quite funny that the Jehovah’s Witnesses were having a convention or crusade or whatever they call it… just on the other side of the Cow Palace. The opportunities there were endless… but we all behaved! I was continually warned that I’d be spending the entire day in lines. As it happened, the lines weren’t so bad and the only thing that took awhile was getting to see the safety video… a requirement before doing anything else. Apparently they want us to come out of this thing alive! It was quite the social atmosphere. And as I look back on it now, it was the beginning of “ALC5 Life” as opposed to “Real Life.” People were courteous and nice, thoughtful and giving. It was WEIRD! LOL What’s sad is that it’s so unusual to hear people saying “thank you” as much as they did. I’m from the Midwest, so we say “thank you” all the damn time! I didn’t hear any complaints about the lines or the inconveniences that we experienced. Once I had my safety video bracelet, my tent and bag truck assignment and tags, turned in my donations, and my general orientation packet with my helmet and bike numbers…. it was time to find out if my bike actually made it safe and sound from LA. I had dropped her off on Wednesday to some guys in a big truck….
hoping they were the *right* guys in the *right* truck! Fortunately they were… and though it took awhile, I did finally find her. I took her out to the bike mechanics to get her chain lubed and some air in the tires. I have been training with 100psi in my tires and as I was talking to my friends, I decided that I would go up to 120psi like they were. I think I was always just afraid of blowing the tire as I pumped it up. But I figured with mechanics right there, it wouldn’t matter if I blew it. One thing I learned at Orientation was that I should have brought my hand pump, computer, and maybe even my helmet to leave with my bike overnight. Especially the pump since it goes along my top tube and I had to put my number on the top tube as well. So I’d have to arrange it the next day….it’s got sticky stuff on it so I wasn’t sure arranging it would be easy. *That* is the kind of thing that 
becomes a priority during the ride. Who cares about world peace!?! Can I get my pump back on my bike if I’ve got my number on it already?? After that, a few of us went to one of the hotels that was near the Cow Palace to hang out until it was time to catch a taxi for dinner. We were going to have dinner with Team Orange County at Buca di Beppo. I’m not on the team… in fact, I’m not sure anyone I was with was on the team! LOL But one or two of them at least live in OC! (= Funny thing about this is that I don’t eat pasta… and that’s basically what they served! BdB does everything family style…but, I hate to admit again, I couldn’t afford the $20 per plate. So I ordered a “side,” which ended up being more spaghetti than I’ve eaten in 2 years! LOL And two HUGE meatballs. But I ate it all! Guess I was hungry. Anyway, we went by one of the guy’s big gay hotel (Hotel Metropolis) to see his big gay bathroom. It actually was quite the place… bordering Tenderloin!! Ha! The last two of us walked to my hotel (Cathedral Hill) and then my friend caught a cab back to her hotel (Alpine Inn). I needed to get my crap back in my bag and be sure I had everything ready for my 3am wake up! We had to be down at the shuttle at 4am!! One thing I did spend some time on was cutting out my numbers for my helmet. They were blue on a white background and I cut each number out individually. I wanted as little stick on my helmet as possible. Well…and it looked much better! (= I also got my Accelerade made and my water bottle filled. I wonder now if I should have done that the day before and left them on my bike. Not a bad idea! I know…not important in “real life.” I was basically ready to go and in bed by about 9pm or so. But my roommates weren’t back yet so I knew they’d be waking me up again, which meant I really couldn’t fall asleep. Once they got back, I fell asleep pretty quickly. Phew!! All I needed was a little insomnia the night before we ride out!
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