ALC/LifeCycle 5 - Day One (June 4, 2006)
I got up at 3am without a problem, got all my stuff together. Again made sure I had my helmet, computer, and pump. I decided to carry my riding shoes and wear flip flops. Not a problem… unless I forget to change them before sticking my bag on the gear truck! lol People were pretty awake for the early hour. I’m sure the other guests were not thrilled with our early rising! LOL There was coffee and fruit in the lobby for us… no thanks! That was nice but I can’t eat either in the morning. That was actually something I had worried about… what would I eat that first morning. I knew all that would be available would be bagels, muffins, Clif Bars, juice, coffee….basically no protein and nothing substantial. But there was nothing I could do about it so I just went with the flow. Ate what they had and figured I’d catch up at lunch with a meat sandwich. Again, *these* are the kinds of things one worries about in “ALC Reality.” Not generally a huge life issue, ya know??! Got to the Cow Palace and it was still dark. This is when it started hitting me what I was actually about to do. Before that, people had been asking me if I was nervous and I never really was. I wouldn’t say that I was even nervous that first morning…it just hit me. I was definitely excited and wanted to get going. This was a feeling I would have to get over QUICK! With the number of people involved, there is waiting. In general I’m a pretty patient person but if I don’t know WHY I’m waiting… I don’t like to wait. As we waited, I think I went to the bathroom about 10 times… literally. *That* was how I knew I did have a little nervous energy. It reminded me of lining up on starting lines in track and feeling like I was going to pee my pants even though I had just gone. My nerves were kicking in. So, though I didn’t feel nervous, I knew my body was feeling something. A bunch of us stood in the main area and watched as people entered. The helmet ornaments were crazy! LOL But it was fun to see! I also noticed that people wore their team jerseys or logo jerseys… not many were in plain colors. ::sigh:: I was! Good thing to know for next time! There were also red helmet covers left on 
our seats that we were all to wear. So it would be a big red blob representing blood traveling along the road. Opening ceremonies started and we were so far back that I really couldn’t hear anything. So we just cheered when everyone else did! LOL Apparently Chris Cole (ED of the LAGLC) came out as HIV+. That was a pretty huge deal! I wish I had heard more of what was said as I’m sure it was poignant. But I didn’t. At some point people turned to head out toward their bikes. We were in the front at that point!! YAY! Off to the bikes we went. I had already gone and worked out the whole bike pump thing. All was good and there were no issues! Phew! I met up with my friends by our bikes so that we could ride out together. I know now why they chose the Cow Palace…we were definitely a bunch of cattle trying to get through the little doors. Apparently they had split us by LA and SF riders out of convenience so we exited from big ol’ garage doors on opposite ends of the building but then ended up at the same exit to the street. Not a bad idea! When we got outside, it had started to get light. We got out there… and stopped. It was hilarious…the starting and stopping. We’d get all excited that we were moving and would go about 5 feet. Fortunately I didn’t see anyone fall with their feet clicked in! I’m sure it happened and I’m sure it happens every year. But I didn't see it… and more importantly, I didn’t DO it! Once it was clear we were going to be standing for a little bit while some kind of staging was being done… I decided I should put some chamois butt’r on. So out there in the middle of all those people, this conservative chica sticks her hand down her pants and starts rubbing in the butt’r! Of course there are pictures! In case you don’t know, Chamois Butt’r/Butt Balm is put onto the chamois (pad) of your tights and/or directly onto the skin
in your nether regions to prevent blistering, chapping, rubbing, redness, and basically any kind of skin discomfort you might expect from being on a tiny little seat for several hours a day. Let’s just say the boxes and boxes of Butt’r became our very close friends… and we were all happy to demonstrate in public our ability to apply! I will say that after that day, I would *generally* apply in the porta pottie! But if I forgot… no qualms about hand down pants! So Day 1 was just a total day of firsts. My first ride, my first day on the ride, my first rest stop, my first lunch stop, my first camp, my first dinner… everything! To me, the most important first was my first realization that I had actually trained enough and that I was having a good time climbing the hills. At some point my adrenaline totally took me over and I could not stop myself from going faster up the hills. Not saying AT ALL that I was the fastest person out there… but I learned that I could climb like crazy. My main fear was that I was ruining myself for the next few days by pushing too hard. But it didn’t feel like I was pushing too hard. Remember… “ALC Life” not “Real Life.” No one cares about that crap in “RL” but I had 6 more days to deal with my legs and I couldn’t risk wearing them out on the first day. But then, I had also decided that I wanted
to see what I was made of. So this is what’s going through my mind as I’m passing people on the climbs continuously saying, “On your left.” I decided to just go with how my body felt at th
e moment and deal with the aftermath…well... after! (= It was nice getting to the first rest area before my friends ( <-- Khoa in the photo) so I could take some pictures of them as they rode in. We hung out a little and then they left while I had a picture taken of me. I continued my fast pace most of the day. We all met up for lunch on a cliff overlooking a beach. That was nice. And the lunch was quite good actually. I took 
everything they offered but only ate the sandwich and chips. I gave back my chocolate chip cookie! Can you believe that!?? I also took back 4 other cookies because no one had enough room to eat them! LOL Off we rode again. Nothing really significant except that I kept my pace. There were 6 of us loosely riding together… meaning we would regroup at the rest areas. So one of them would come out with me and ride then s/he would go back to the group and another would come out with me. It was fun and I got to go fast! I have to mention "The Pie Ladies" who are an unofficial rest stop along the beach free-peddling their wares. I was still full from lunch and all the other rest stops but I could not say no to homemade pie (the piece
of pumpkin in the picture was in my stomach within minutes after Jeero's photo was taken with it!). They had cherry, apple, marionberry (which I wanted to try but they were out), and pumpkin. Yummm! Just one example of the wonderful things people did all week to take care of us and, dare I say, coddle, us! (= Getting into Santa Cruz was cool. We had to maneuver through the city a little so the anticipation of being done kept slowly building. There was one point where a car whizzed past us and then honked at a car in front of him going slowly because of us. One of the roadies yelled at him to slow down! (= I thanked her for sticking up for us and she got a little embarrassed… maybe ‘cause she yelled at him. I thought it was cool! And it was a good example of how the roadies would take care of us for the entire week! Remember this is my day of firsts! So getting into camp for the first time was interesting. It’s like a whole different world! And so it began. Where to park the bike? Over there? Okay then. Um... how do I get my bike under that bar?? Brainiac! Now… where is my gear truck? Wait… which one is my gear truck?… look at my necklace and see that I am 
truck E. Okay, where the hell is truck E? Our bikes are parked on a baseball field and the trucks are beyond 2 fences in a parking lot. How do we get there?? I think we took the longest route to get there… but we got there. I had to carry my tent and drag my huge suitcase across the field to find Section E and the little ground marker with my number (097) on it. Sounds easier than it is… and remember I have just ridden my bicycle about 80 miles! Once I found it, someone, I think it was Elaine, came over and helped me set up the tent. Very nice! Got my bag, pad, and sleeping bag all in there and then tried to figure out what I needed for the shower. Did I need to do laundry? Yes. Got everything together for the shower. Then… where the hell is the shower?? I don’t even know what the showers look like! So I ask… and then I see the signs reading, “Showers this way” with arrows. So across the field, across the street and into a parking lot I go. The showers are semi-trailers turned into locker rooms. The showers are individual but the dressing areas are communal. Not a huge deal although I was slightly more modest on this day than I would be the rest of the time. I realized it just took too much damn energy trying to preserve my modesty. After I got dressed, I went outside to brush my teeth. Yeah, outside. There were stands with 8 sinks, 4 on each side, with little mirrors so we could brush our teeth or whatever. It was actually quite nice. I don’t know what they would do if it was raining. After I was smellin’ fresh, I decided to try my hand at bucket laundry! LOL Buckets, garden hoses, my liquid detergent, and my dirty clothes. I’m sure you can figure out the rest. Drying was interesting. I had brought clothespins, a trousers hanger, and binder clips so I’d have options. I just hung it all from my tent and hoped it would dry… including my brand new camp towel/chamois. (A “different” kind of chamois! lol). Back at my tent, trying not to totally take over the whole thing while still figuring out my system. My tentmate wasn’t back yet so I wanted to make sure I respected her space… even though my bag was monstrous!! Next item on the agenda… FOOD and DRINK! I was very thirsty and 
definitely hungry. Where’s the food?? Another sign… and just follow the smell. When I got there, it was another thing to figure out. Which is meat and which is veggie? Where’s the end of the line? How much can I take? What can I drink? How the hell do I carry all of this? Where do I sit? Reminds me of the first lunch of first grade!! LOL But a couple of my friends were already there so I got to sit with them. The big hit was the Vitamin Water…. mini-sized. I think we each drank 4 of them! Plus my nalgene bottle of water. Apparently I was thirsty! I was trying to do everything possible to make sure I could do well the next day too. I was still worried about having pushed too hard the first day. Time will always tell. After announcements and some jokes, it was time for bed. I had been instructed to bring my wet clothes and towel in because of the condensation at night. So I hung them from a flap inside the tent. I had a book and a journal to read and write before bed. HAHAHA! It was about 9pm and I was OUT....
our seats that we were all to wear. So it would be a big red blob representing blood traveling along the road. Opening ceremonies started and we were so far back that I really couldn’t hear anything. So we just cheered when everyone else did! LOL Apparently Chris Cole (ED of the LAGLC) came out as HIV+. That was a pretty huge deal! I wish I had heard more of what was said as I’m sure it was poignant. But I didn’t. At some point people turned to head out toward their bikes. We were in the front at that point!! YAY! Off to the bikes we went. I had already gone and worked out the whole bike pump thing. All was good and there were no issues! Phew! I met up with my friends by our bikes so that we could ride out together. I know now why they chose the Cow Palace…we were definitely a bunch of cattle trying to get through the little doors. Apparently they had split us by LA and SF riders out of convenience so we exited from big ol’ garage doors on opposite ends of the building but then ended up at the same exit to the street. Not a bad idea! When we got outside, it had started to get light. We got out there… and stopped. It was hilarious…the starting and stopping. We’d get all excited that we were moving and would go about 5 feet. Fortunately I didn’t see anyone fall with their feet clicked in! I’m sure it happened and I’m sure it happens every year. But I didn't see it… and more importantly, I didn’t DO it! Once it was clear we were going to be standing for a little bit while some kind of staging was being done… I decided I should put some chamois butt’r on. So out there in the middle of all those people, this conservative chica sticks her hand down her pants and starts rubbing in the butt’r! Of course there are pictures! In case you don’t know, Chamois Butt’r/Butt Balm is put onto the chamois (pad) of your tights and/or directly onto the skin
in your nether regions to prevent blistering, chapping, rubbing, redness, and basically any kind of skin discomfort you might expect from being on a tiny little seat for several hours a day. Let’s just say the boxes and boxes of Butt’r became our very close friends… and we were all happy to demonstrate in public our ability to apply! I will say that after that day, I would *generally* apply in the porta pottie! But if I forgot… no qualms about hand down pants! So Day 1 was just a total day of firsts. My first ride, my first day on the ride, my first rest stop, my first lunch stop, my first camp, my first dinner… everything! To me, the most important first was my first realization that I had actually trained enough and that I was having a good time climbing the hills. At some point my adrenaline totally took me over and I could not stop myself from going faster up the hills. Not saying AT ALL that I was the fastest person out there… but I learned that I could climb like crazy. My main fear was that I was ruining myself for the next few days by pushing too hard. But it didn’t feel like I was pushing too hard. Remember… “ALC Life” not “Real Life.” No one cares about that crap in “RL” but I had 6 more days to deal with my legs and I couldn’t risk wearing them out on the first day. But then, I had also decided that I wanted
to see what I was made of. So this is what’s going through my mind as I’m passing people on the climbs continuously saying, “On your left.” I decided to just go with how my body felt at th
e moment and deal with the aftermath…well... after! (= It was nice getting to the first rest area before my friends ( <-- Khoa in the photo) so I could take some pictures of them as they rode in. We hung out a little and then they left while I had a picture taken of me. I continued my fast pace most of the day. We all met up for lunch on a cliff overlooking a beach. That was nice. And the lunch was quite good actually. I took 
everything they offered but only ate the sandwich and chips. I gave back my chocolate chip cookie! Can you believe that!?? I also took back 4 other cookies because no one had enough room to eat them! LOL Off we rode again. Nothing really significant except that I kept my pace. There were 6 of us loosely riding together… meaning we would regroup at the rest areas. So one of them would come out with me and ride then s/he would go back to the group and another would come out with me. It was fun and I got to go fast! I have to mention "The Pie Ladies" who are an unofficial rest stop along the beach free-peddling their wares. I was still full from lunch and all the other rest stops but I could not say no to homemade pie (the piece
of pumpkin in the picture was in my stomach within minutes after Jeero's photo was taken with it!). They had cherry, apple, marionberry (which I wanted to try but they were out), and pumpkin. Yummm! Just one example of the wonderful things people did all week to take care of us and, dare I say, coddle, us! (= Getting into Santa Cruz was cool. We had to maneuver through the city a little so the anticipation of being done kept slowly building. There was one point where a car whizzed past us and then honked at a car in front of him going slowly because of us. One of the roadies yelled at him to slow down! (= I thanked her for sticking up for us and she got a little embarrassed… maybe ‘cause she yelled at him. I thought it was cool! And it was a good example of how the roadies would take care of us for the entire week! Remember this is my day of firsts! So getting into camp for the first time was interesting. It’s like a whole different world! And so it began. Where to park the bike? Over there? Okay then. Um... how do I get my bike under that bar?? Brainiac! Now… where is my gear truck? Wait… which one is my gear truck?… look at my necklace and see that I am 
truck E. Okay, where the hell is truck E? Our bikes are parked on a baseball field and the trucks are beyond 2 fences in a parking lot. How do we get there?? I think we took the longest route to get there… but we got there. I had to carry my tent and drag my huge suitcase across the field to find Section E and the little ground marker with my number (097) on it. Sounds easier than it is… and remember I have just ridden my bicycle about 80 miles! Once I found it, someone, I think it was Elaine, came over and helped me set up the tent. Very nice! Got my bag, pad, and sleeping bag all in there and then tried to figure out what I needed for the shower. Did I need to do laundry? Yes. Got everything together for the shower. Then… where the hell is the shower?? I don’t even know what the showers look like! So I ask… and then I see the signs reading, “Showers this way” with arrows. So across the field, across the street and into a parking lot I go. The showers are semi-trailers turned into locker rooms. The showers are individual but the dressing areas are communal. Not a huge deal although I was slightly more modest on this day than I would be the rest of the time. I realized it just took too much damn energy trying to preserve my modesty. After I got dressed, I went outside to brush my teeth. Yeah, outside. There were stands with 8 sinks, 4 on each side, with little mirrors so we could brush our teeth or whatever. It was actually quite nice. I don’t know what they would do if it was raining. After I was smellin’ fresh, I decided to try my hand at bucket laundry! LOL Buckets, garden hoses, my liquid detergent, and my dirty clothes. I’m sure you can figure out the rest. Drying was interesting. I had brought clothespins, a trousers hanger, and binder clips so I’d have options. I just hung it all from my tent and hoped it would dry… including my brand new camp towel/chamois. (A “different” kind of chamois! lol). Back at my tent, trying not to totally take over the whole thing while still figuring out my system. My tentmate wasn’t back yet so I wanted to make sure I respected her space… even though my bag was monstrous!! Next item on the agenda… FOOD and DRINK! I was very thirsty and 
definitely hungry. Where’s the food?? Another sign… and just follow the smell. When I got there, it was another thing to figure out. Which is meat and which is veggie? Where’s the end of the line? How much can I take? What can I drink? How the hell do I carry all of this? Where do I sit? Reminds me of the first lunch of first grade!! LOL But a couple of my friends were already there so I got to sit with them. The big hit was the Vitamin Water…. mini-sized. I think we each drank 4 of them! Plus my nalgene bottle of water. Apparently I was thirsty! I was trying to do everything possible to make sure I could do well the next day too. I was still worried about having pushed too hard the first day. Time will always tell. After announcements and some jokes, it was time for bed. I had been instructed to bring my wet clothes and towel in because of the condensation at night. So I hung them from a flap inside the tent. I had a book and a journal to read and write before bed. HAHAHA! It was about 9pm and I was OUT....
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