AIDS/LifeCycle 11 - Day One

Cow Palace in San Francisco to Santa Cruz

Distance - 82.53

Time Riding- 6.10.04

Actual Time w/ Rests - 9.42.35

Avg Speed - 13.3 mph

Max Speed - 45.0 mph

Had a difficult time getting started this morning. Surprise! Eventually we figured out it would be more efficient for Bozo to go to Denny's to get my breakfast instead of planning to sit and eat it there. I just could not get moving.

We did make it to the Cow Palace with plenty of time. I turned in my gear bag. This is always scary the first time as I haven't gotten my system down just yet and it's more likely that I'll forget something imperative. I didn't forget anything and didn't bring anything unneeded. Phew!

Into the Cow Palace, I had wanted to leave some stuff by my bike and pump the tires. But we weren't allowed in until after Opening Ceremonies. So we went into the main area for the ceremony. It was fun, emotional, touching, exciting, and motivating all at the same time. The energy was palpable as people wanted to be in the moment for the ceremony but our minds were also out on the road and we were twitching to get started. They shortened the ceremony from past years apparently and we were soon released to get our bicycles.

Last time I did the ride, we all lined up and went out at the same time. Seemed like a cluster to me! Now they open the doors and let people go when they're ready. It spreads things out on the road a little fast and I think makes it safer as well. I needed to air up my tires so I got out after much of the first rush. That was good because I actually got to see Bozo along the side of the road. I'm not sure I would have if I'd gotten out with the big antsy group.

Lots of people falling in that first bit through the city as they got used to their clips. Mostly at stop lights where they just didn't clip out soon enough. None were injured and they all got up laughing and being teased by their friends. The energy was so good. Lots of stop lights, up and down, around for about 19 miles before the first Rest Stop. I ran into Kenny and Khoa from The Misfits (my unoffical team at ALC 5) at the Rest Stop and we rode much of the day together after that. Lunch was at San Gregorio State Beach again and it was just beautiful. Except the view of the climb we would have right out of lunch. It's not so much the climb but feeling full of food and also being able to see it the entire time we're sitting there that make it seem difficult.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful and I believe we had a tailwind much of the afternoon. We rolled into the traffic of Santa Cruz, which always seems to be a struggle. I would think they are bike friendly being a beach town but they really aren't. Fortunately we have great Roadies who direct traffic very well!

Being the first time into camp for the ride, it takes some time to figure out the system. Pick up your gear bag. My tentmate had the tent chip so I didn't get a tent right away. But when I got to our spot, there was no tent. So I went back and was given a tent to set up. I ended up with my own tent that night, which was very cool! Especially with my big ass hockey bag in tow! Once the tent was up, it was time for a shower. Off to find the shower trailers. Hey! No wait!! That's very cool! Back to organize the tent and then off to dinner. This is basically the system that works for me and seems pretty similar to others as well.

Dinner, evening program, then bed. I had trouble getting to sleep with no earplugs and lots of snoring around me. Bummer!

AIDS/LifeCycle 11 - Day Zero

Orientation Day at The Cow Palace in San Francisco.

Last time I did the ride, the push was to get there as early as possible to finish as early as possible. Truth is, it takes about 3 hours regardless of when you go. This time, it was suggested that people go in the afternoon as lines are often shorter at that time. Everyone listened! lol So the lines were still long. But we got funneled directly into a Safety Video and got that out of the way. Then I went to get my tent. I had been promised a tent by a disgruntled former teammate who had no ill feelings toward me (or so I thought). She was hoteling it the entire ride so I would have had my own tent. A couple days before, she backed out and gave it to someone else. Apparently my association with her former team actually did affect her. Anyway, my random tentmate was standing there too so we met briefly. But there are things to be done on Day Zero so I moved on quickly. Bozo was standing in the Registration Line for me so I jumped in there. That took at least an hour. But I ran into Kar from Team Misfits and Kevin and Scott from Team Sacramento during that time. I also got to spend some time gabbing with a couple guys from Team Popular. That's the kind of team name that is just set up for being teased! But they were all so darn cute, I'm sure they didn't care! lol

We got a room at the La Quinta near the San Francisco Airport, which turned out to be a perfect location. Close enough that it was a short drive for the morning. But there was also a 24/7 Denny's right there so I would get a full breakfast. Last year the ALC Sponsored hotel said they would have breakfast available but it was just a bit of fruit and some pastries. NOT good riding food! So Denny's was convenient. And these are the kinds of things I have to think about at this time. Usually something like that wouldn't matter much at all. The other VERY cool thing about this La Quinta was that it was not only pet friendly but there was a separate building for pet owners so we didn't have to worry about those crazy people who don't like animals. That building had also been renovated so it was very nice. Wide screen TV worked for me too! (=

Went for dinner at Di Napoli Pizza at 202 Grand in South San Francisco. Awesome food, surly server.

I spent a little time trying to cram all my stuff into a smaller bag. The hockey bag I bought just for this purpose a few years back turned out to have a "spread" problem. The bag wasn't nearly full but everything seemed to spread out, making the bag look HUGE! And, it was heavy empty. I couldn't get everything into my smaller bag so I'm using the Canada hockey bag. It'll do for this trip but I am definitely getting a different bag. Anyone want to make an offer on what is probably perfect for hockey gear?

To bed about 10pm with a plan to be up by 4am. WHAT???