ALC/LifeCycle 5 - Day Four (June 7, 2006)
Ahh Day Four! Another day for climbers! I got up around 3:45am, packed a little then headed to breakfast. I generally eat breakfast alone as I am one of the first people in line. Any of you reading this who might have known me longer than a year, know how incredible that is! I have never been known as a morning person. Especially not a 4am morning person! Holy crap! But I liked having that time of space and quiet. People don't make that much noise at that time of day. So I got my usual eggs, oatmeal, ham (or bacon), some kind of bread, and water. Again I got to sit inside and eat. It was dark. Usually there are spotlights sporadically lighting the space. Today there was overhead lighting... but not too intrusive. More gentle. This is important at, did I mention(?), FOUR A.M.!!! (= I try to eat breakfast slowly and enjoy it. But with oatmeal and eggs, it's a crap shoot which will get cold faster. Neither are very palatable cold. So I rotate! lol Again... *some* things are more important in "ALC-R" than in "RL!" Do not forget this important fact! Mainly I just zone and eat and watch as people make their tired way to the food. We are all zombies... except those who can drink coffee in the morning. They seem relatively chipper. Assholes! O= Okay... moving on! I usually hang out at breakfast until about 4:30AM. Then I brush my teeth... remember, the sinks were right there this time so that was convenient... and head back to pack up my stuff. I needed just a little extra time because I was responsible for the tent today too. AND... DON'T FORGET THE CELL PHONE! lol That was a huge fear! Got everything all packed up and put away. Then it was off to find the Information Tent so I could mail my postcards. Ha... they weren't open yet! So I packed them up and figured I'd mail them later in the day. On to the ride. We always had these goals about what time we would take off in the morning. But aside from what time I woke up each day, I really had no concept of what time it was... ever. We could have left at 6am or 8am and I wouldn't have known the difference. Stuff had to be done and I couldn't leave until it was... just like everyone else. But we all seemed to be ready about the same time. So again... off we went! We started climbing almost immediately! Today is EVIL TWINS DAY! Another day of climbs that people tried to freak me out about. Either it didn't work or yesterday did some magic in making me unafraid. There was a hill in front of me, albeit a steep hill, so I climbed it. The first twin was pretty damn steep and sortof wound around if I remember right then it came down a little and the second steeper twin took over. Holy crap! I was just climbing along and I knew there was a switchback coming because I could hear the voices above me (maybe it was God telling me to get out while I still had legs!) but when I got to it, I think my words were, "HOLY HELL!" But I took the switchback and kept riding. Just alternated sitting and standing and for the most part passed quite a few people. That's important only because I was still trying to push myself to see where my limits were... I honestly cared very little about whether I beat people up the hills. I was being passed nearly as much as I was passing. The 2nd twin was nearly 2 miles... and I definitely felt it! Near the top, I asked the woman I was passing if that was the "real top" or a "fake top." She said it looked real. lol So off I went. There was a corner and then a slight but steep finishing incline where "Mom and Dad" were standing with M&Ms and Oreos! Very cool! Though I found
that sugar was a bad thing for me so early in the day so I didn't take any. At some point in there, we hit the halfway 
point of the ride (me and Jeero on the left, Kenny on the right). Resident Drag Personality Extraordinaire was holding court in the pullout where she had put up signs for us to take our pictures with. Apparently CalTrans had told her to take them down, not knowing who they were dealing with... so they stayed up! lol The rest of the day was basically rolling hills... if even. There was a point where Suzann and I were riding along the beach and we were doing a pretty good pace. So we decided to push it a
little. At some point, I dropped my chain twice within a few minutes. Got pret-ty dir-ty! lol Caught back up to her and we were off again. She started pulling ahead a little... I was definitely getting tired. And then I got a flat tire! Damn! People went by asking if I had hit that glass back there. WHAT GLASS!? lol I never even saw it! Ah well, a guy named (I think) Felipe helped me get it changed
quickly. He was VERY nice... and fast! As we were finishing up, Kenny and his starting to blister ass caught up. So we rolled into lunch together. Poor guy! I told Suzann that I wanted to stay on the pace we had set so when she was ready, we would go. SO SOON??!! hehe Not many pictures on this day! Sorry! I was distracted with my getting dirty stuff! I had a guy ask me how on earth I got grease under my arm! lol I have my ways!! So off we went again. Caught up to Suzann eventually... she isn't thrilled with the downhill so I catch her fast ass then! (= We rode along the coast for awhile and then I think we turned inland again. I remember some long flat straights and then a surprise hill toward the end... that shouldn't have been a surprise since it was on the map. But I hadn't looked at that for hours! lol I should have known there was something coming when "Mom & Dad" were there with M&Ms and cookies again. Damn, I should have taken them this time! lol Ah well. It was short and steep... just the way I like them. The faster you go the sooner it's over! But it still hurts like crazy! Suzann and I hooked up with some other women for a bit of a paceline. One of them was my tent neighbor. Apparently she was surprised that I was able to go so fast. lol Do I look that slow?? Ah well. We got to the rest stop in record time. While I was getting more zinc, they took off so we lost our paceline. )= But when we got to the next rest stop, they were just getting there so I'm not sure what happened there. Would have been nice to ride some more with them but we didn't. lol Suzann and I decided it was fun to be ahead of the crowd at the rest stops. No lines or anything. However, I did notice that the atmosphere was slightly more serious and definitely quieter. Good for a day... but I think I like the boistrous crowd a little more. (= Sounds weird coming from me! lol This was the rest stop that was supposed to be After Prom but 
was made into the 666 thing... even though it was 676 by this point! haha In the photo, you can see that ever fashionable zinc oxide.. which I also decided to use like a football player on my cheeks! lol We rode on but at some point both of us were just ready for the whole thing to be over. Suzann stopped for a Gu and was nice enough to share it with me. If you've seen how small those are, you know what a nice gesture that was. Then off we went again. We had been promised a great tailwind coming up to take us into camp. I was definitely looking forward to that. First we had a headwind for a few minutes... and then.... it came. Very nice! I put Hi Ho in the big ring and just started peddling. FUN!! Had to stop a couple times for lights and stuff. But otherwise just flew. Pulled into camp as happy as could be! I went directly to the bike mechanics to ask about getting new tires. I had put duct tape on the hole caused by the glass earlier in the day but had also noticed some cracks in the tires. So I just decided it was time. They put a couple Hutchinsons on there for $60. They said each would usually be about that plus labor and tax in the "RL" but in "ALC-R" there is no labor or tax. What a great world!! Left her in good hands so I could take my shower and get my tent situated. I also went the Sports Med tent to get some help with my shoulder again. The Sports Med person referred me to one of the Chiropractic students for an adjustment. I wasn't really comfortable with that but she seemed sure so I figured I would try it. I couldn't really relax enough for him to do much. He popped my back, which felt good. Then he tried to whip my head off my body. That didn't really help! lol So I think he gave up. Basically said if I had more trouble to come back to Sports Med. lol I wish I had just let her massage it out or whatever they call it. Kenny came by just as I was finishing so we went to get some food. That felt like the latest I had started eating so far. But I had gotten a lot done so that was okay. And I have no concept of time... if you remember! lol Sat and listened to announcements and watched some of the talent show. But I was tired and wanted to get some sleep. Headed to the medical tent allllll the way across camp and got some ice for my sore swollen thumb then went to lay down. Sue's stuff was there but I hadn't seen her in awhile. So off to sleep I went.
that sugar was a bad thing for me so early in the day so I didn't take any. At some point in there, we hit the halfway 
point of the ride (me and Jeero on the left, Kenny on the right). Resident Drag Personality Extraordinaire was holding court in the pullout where she had put up signs for us to take our pictures with. Apparently CalTrans had told her to take them down, not knowing who they were dealing with... so they stayed up! lol The rest of the day was basically rolling hills... if even. There was a point where Suzann and I were riding along the beach and we were doing a pretty good pace. So we decided to push it a
little. At some point, I dropped my chain twice within a few minutes. Got pret-ty dir-ty! lol Caught back up to her and we were off again. She started pulling ahead a little... I was definitely getting tired. And then I got a flat tire! Damn! People went by asking if I had hit that glass back there. WHAT GLASS!? lol I never even saw it! Ah well, a guy named (I think) Felipe helped me get it changed
quickly. He was VERY nice... and fast! As we were finishing up, Kenny and his starting to blister ass caught up. So we rolled into lunch together. Poor guy! I told Suzann that I wanted to stay on the pace we had set so when she was ready, we would go. SO SOON??!! hehe Not many pictures on this day! Sorry! I was distracted with my getting dirty stuff! I had a guy ask me how on earth I got grease under my arm! lol I have my ways!! So off we went again. Caught up to Suzann eventually... she isn't thrilled with the downhill so I catch her fast ass then! (= We rode along the coast for awhile and then I think we turned inland again. I remember some long flat straights and then a surprise hill toward the end... that shouldn't have been a surprise since it was on the map. But I hadn't looked at that for hours! lol I should have known there was something coming when "Mom & Dad" were there with M&Ms and cookies again. Damn, I should have taken them this time! lol Ah well. It was short and steep... just the way I like them. The faster you go the sooner it's over! But it still hurts like crazy! Suzann and I hooked up with some other women for a bit of a paceline. One of them was my tent neighbor. Apparently she was surprised that I was able to go so fast. lol Do I look that slow?? Ah well. We got to the rest stop in record time. While I was getting more zinc, they took off so we lost our paceline. )= But when we got to the next rest stop, they were just getting there so I'm not sure what happened there. Would have been nice to ride some more with them but we didn't. lol Suzann and I decided it was fun to be ahead of the crowd at the rest stops. No lines or anything. However, I did notice that the atmosphere was slightly more serious and definitely quieter. Good for a day... but I think I like the boistrous crowd a little more. (= Sounds weird coming from me! lol This was the rest stop that was supposed to be After Prom but 
was made into the 666 thing... even though it was 676 by this point! haha In the photo, you can see that ever fashionable zinc oxide.. which I also decided to use like a football player on my cheeks! lol We rode on but at some point both of us were just ready for the whole thing to be over. Suzann stopped for a Gu and was nice enough to share it with me. If you've seen how small those are, you know what a nice gesture that was. Then off we went again. We had been promised a great tailwind coming up to take us into camp. I was definitely looking forward to that. First we had a headwind for a few minutes... and then.... it came. Very nice! I put Hi Ho in the big ring and just started peddling. FUN!! Had to stop a couple times for lights and stuff. But otherwise just flew. Pulled into camp as happy as could be! I went directly to the bike mechanics to ask about getting new tires. I had put duct tape on the hole caused by the glass earlier in the day but had also noticed some cracks in the tires. So I just decided it was time. They put a couple Hutchinsons on there for $60. They said each would usually be about that plus labor and tax in the "RL" but in "ALC-R" there is no labor or tax. What a great world!! Left her in good hands so I could take my shower and get my tent situated. I also went the Sports Med tent to get some help with my shoulder again. The Sports Med person referred me to one of the Chiropractic students for an adjustment. I wasn't really comfortable with that but she seemed sure so I figured I would try it. I couldn't really relax enough for him to do much. He popped my back, which felt good. Then he tried to whip my head off my body. That didn't really help! lol So I think he gave up. Basically said if I had more trouble to come back to Sports Med. lol I wish I had just let her massage it out or whatever they call it. Kenny came by just as I was finishing so we went to get some food. That felt like the latest I had started eating so far. But I had gotten a lot done so that was okay. And I have no concept of time... if you remember! lol Sat and listened to announcements and watched some of the talent show. But I was tired and wanted to get some sleep. Headed to the medical tent allllll the way across camp and got some ice for my sore swollen thumb then went to lay down. Sue's stuff was there but I hadn't seen her in awhile. So off to sleep I went.
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