Day 0 - Orientation Day

Saturday, May 31st.

And so it all begins. Orientation day had come at last. I loaded up my bike and headed for the Cow Palace in San Francisco. We were told to only bring our bikes, no gear bags, for orientation.

Here is my baby all cleaned up and blinged out. I got so many compliments on my spokes from riders as they passed me all week. It was a nice change to the standard 'on your left'. Some riders even asked me if they lit up. Now wouldn't that be cool, unfortunately they don't. Maybe next time. :)

I met up with some friends and we headed across the walkway to the Cow Palace.

We stood in line to drop our bikes off. It is such a weird feeling handing your bike over to a stranger and getting a flimsy little sticker in return to signify where your bike will be inside. You start to think, how will I ever find my precious bike among the 2300+ other bikes? (Thankfully it wasn't too bad, but I will get to that later.)

Next we headed over to stand in line to view the safety video. This is a requirement of all riders. After watching the video, you receive a orange wrist band that you have to wear the entire week. If you loose it, you most likely have to watch the video again in order to get a replacement. Safety is no joke, they take it very serious, and with 2300+ riders, you can begin to understand why. We also got a Safety Orange bandanna (guess what I will be sporting on Safety Orange Day?)

After we finished watching the safety video I headed straight over to the incentives booth. I wanted to pick up my 5k jersey and I had heard that they can run out of some of the more common sizes. Luckily the line wasn't too bad (probably since I was able to get into the first viewing of the safety video) and I picked up my jersey. You will have to wait for my Day 4 recap to see the unveiling of the 5k jersey.

My friends and I then headed over to the Registration Packet pick-up line. This was where we would get our ALC wrist band, tent & gear bag chips, and bicycle and helmet numbers. My rider number was #2356 and my tent grid location was D 055.

Our next stop was the ALC Store, also known as the camp store. However, in camp they had more items such as toiletries and other camp essentials. At Orientation they just had apparel and branded items. I picked up a few things, like a hat, t-shirt and the ALC 2014 commemorative jersey, which I wore on Day 1.

Now that we had all the important things out of the way, my friends and I just hung out, took some photos and tried to get some free swag.

 

The last thing we needed to do for the day was to go to bike parking and put our numbers on our bikes. We headed there and I was almost overwhelmed with just how many bikes there were. When you think of 2300+ riders, you know that is a lot, but seeing the bikes in one room together really puts it all into perspective. 

There is my bike, right in the middle of the A rack. That will make it easy to find the next morning. 

Our team captain is in the middle and the rest of us are all first time riders. I couldn't ask for a better group of people to be sharing this experience with. 

It was time to head home, put those last minute items into my gear bag and get some sleep. It was going to be an early morning tomorrow.

Aids LifeCycle 2014

What an epic adventure that was! I can't believe that it has come and gone already. I had a blast and it truly was a life changing event. I can not believe how much strength, physical and mental, it took to get through that week. I am thankful for every moment and every mile I pushed through.  

I will slowly be posting my recaps of each day. There is a lot to process, memories to recall, photos to sort through, etc., so bear with me here...

PACKING!!!!

I can't believe that ALC is almost here!! There are only 2 days left until I roll out of the Cow palace and head towards Los Angeles. This past year has gone by so fast!

On Monday, since I had the holiday off, I spent the day trying to get all my gear packed up. I really hate packing in general and despite my excitement for ALC, this packing was no different. I have slowly been gathering things for the past month or so, so now I needed to get it all organized and fill in the gaps.

In order to get all my cycling clothes organized I got out 7 gallon-sized bags and labelled them Day 1 through Day 7. Thankfully our team captain had put our a jersey selection guide to help us figure out what we could all wear each day. I got started selecting the days outfits.

Everything I will need (other than arm and leg warmers) is in the bag. That way I can easily grab it and get changed in the morning. No thinking involved, which will be helpful during the grogginess at 4am! Yep you read that right, I will be getting up around 4 am so that I can hit the road at 6:30am when the route opens.

I also packed up little bags for each day that contain what I will be carrying with me in my pockets. The baggies contained items like electrolyte packets, sports beans, sunscreen, wet wipes, gloves, etc. I didn't want to have to think about this stuff either, because I would be very likely to forget something.

I don't know how, but I was able to get all my crap into my bag. My sleeping bag doesn't actually fit, but I've heard that it is ok to have it outside of your bag as long as it is safely strapped down (no bungie cords with the hook ends). Thankfully, my duffle bag has an elastic cord on the top flap that my sleeping bag fit under.

Since I am sure that many people will have similar blue duffle bags, I added some ribbon to help make my bag stand out a little more. I'm hoping that the chances of someone having a blue duffle bag with monkey and orange zebra ribbon as well are very slim. :)

I also got my bike all cleaned up and ready to go. I put some new handle bar tape on since the old tape was getting a little faded. And we CAN'T have that!

Bye bye old tape...

I also added a little sparkle to my bike. I'll give you a sneak peek, but the big reveal of my bike in all its ALC glory will have to wait!

I am so EXCITED for ALC! This week is going to be EPIC! 

Spinning in the Castro

During Memorial Day weekend I went down to the Castro in San Francisco to help out two of my friends with a fundraiser for ALC. They still were trying to raise money to reach their minimums for the ride and I wanted to help out. On Saturday (5/24) I drove down to meet up with the guys. We got ourselves all set up on trainers and started pedaling around 11am. There were three of us on bikes and there were two other teammates helping ask for donations as people walked past.

(Photo taken by Jamie)

We had two donation boxes and it was interesting to watch people feel the need to put money in each box; others didn't care and only put money in one box. It didn't matter either way because the money was going to be combined and then split between Scott and Michael. The guys were informed that they would make more money the less clothes they had on, therefore the topless-ness. At one point, Michael had put his shirt back on and a guy came up, gave put $20 in the box in front of Scott, then turned to Michael and asked why he had his shirt on. After Michael took his shirt off the guy gave him $20. These boys had no shame in trying to hit their minimums for ALC. All for a good cause :)

It was a great day. All in all the we raised $510 total. We had many good laughs throughout the day and will have some inside jokes that are sure to be brought up during ALC. I'm so glad I took part in their fundraiser! Thanks for letting me join you guys!

Windy Lucas Valley Ride

Today after work I decided to try a new route. I love riding around China Camp, but I wanted to switch it up and check out some new roads, so I figured I would head up to Lucas Valley Road.

I got in about 17.5 miles, which is not bad for a mid-week after work ride. I headed out of work and up to the bike path along the highway. When I turned onto San Pedro Rd, instead of going straight and heading towards China Camp, I made the left and turned onto Civic Center Drive. That took me along the highway and up to Lucas Valley Road. I liked riding on Lucas Valley Road. There was a nice bike lane and the road has a very slight incline.

I really wanted to work on my posture during this ride. I have been told that I look like I'm too stretched out on my bike, and I think that it is more of a posture issue than an issue of my bike being too big. I have a tendency to slouch while sitting so that translate over to my bike and I round my back too much. This causes me to stretch out. I feel like I did a lot better today and hopefully this will help make a difference in my riding eventually. I made sure to keep my hips rotated correctly and pull my bike towards me.

It was very windy out there today. I felt like every direction I headed I encountered head winds. This area is usually pretty windy, which I guess is good training, but it really sucks when you are dealing with it. Hopefully it is making be stronger.

I am still trying to figure out my GoPro and get the settings correct. I apparently didn't get it set to the right mode when I started my ride. I thought that I had it on the time lapse photos but I guess not. When I stopped to take a little breather on Lucas Valley Road I realized that I hadn't taken any photos. I quickly figured out that it wasn't in the correct setting. I set the time lapse to take a photo every 30 seconds. I think that still isn't enough photos, because I feel like I missed quite a bit of the ride. Here is the video I put together with the photos I did take:

A Little Heat Won't Stop Me

Yesterday after work I decided to go for a bike ride around China Camp. Even though yesterday was the hottest day this week, I wasn't going to let that stop me. If I can ride in a blizzard last Saturday, I can go to the other extreme and ride in some pretty crazy heat. Just balancing things out, right? :)

Anyways, it was my normal loop, so nothing new and exciting there. Since I had forgotten to bring my regular bicycle water bottles, I ended up using a water bottle that I had at the office. The bad thing is it isn't the most bike friendly water bottle, meaning I had to completely stop to take a drink.

It made for a good reason to take it a little bit slower so that I wouldn't over heat. I also stopped at almost every one of the little parking lots around China Camp so that my bottle was always full.

I also tried out another mode on my GoPro. I changed the settings and selected the time lapse photo option. I set it to take a photo every minute. I think that may be too much time between photos, especially when I am moving along at 15 miles per hour. This is why I am testing it out, so that I can get all the kinks out before ALC. Here is the video I put together with the photos...

Epic Lake Tahoe Adventure

This weekend I went up to Lake Tahoe to participate in a bike ride around the lake on Saturday. Kev and I headed up on Friday, leaving work around 3:00 pm. It was a long drive up there since we hit traffic on 37 between Novato and Vallejo, then again at Vacaville and Davis. We finally made it to the Biltmore hotel in north Lake Tahoe around 8:00 pm.

By the time we got to the hotel, checked in and unloaded the car, everyone was starting to come back from dinner. We were told that there were still a few people down at the restaurant so we headed down to see if we could join them. Unfortunately, when we got there they were just leaving. Oh well, we sat down and got some dinner on our own. When we got back to the hotel we met up with some people down in the casino. I ended up hanging out with Jamie and Scott and watched them roam from slot machine to slot machine. At one point Scott was up a whole $16.80, until we lost it all plus his original $20 he was gambling with. I say we, because both Jamie and I had a hand in his loosing. I gladly walked away with as much money as I had going into the casino (that is what happens when you don't gamble). 

Anyways, on to the actual cycling part of this trip. After all, that is why I keep this blog, to track my training rides, not loosing money in casinos. :) 

On Saturday, we all got up and hit the breakfast buffet at 7 am when it opened. Then we met up outside in the parking lot at 8:30 am. I went down to the lobby a little early to meet up with Gino to get my GoPro, which I had ordered through him earlier in the week. I'm so excited to be able to take shots while I'm riding. Can't wait for all the epic photos I'll be able to get during ALC. I just need to figure out how to use it now... 

 Yep, it's working. :)

We gathered to go over the route which was pretty simple... other than the left out of the hotel parking lot, we only made right turns; always keep the lake on your right. 

We did some stretching and listened to the safety speech. Then it was time for a group photo. Including our SAG support, I believe that there were 65 people there that day, maybe a couple more.

The morning started out a little chilly but once we got going the muscles started to warm up. A couple miles down the road I noticed that my friends had pulled over to get a shot with the lake in the background so I joined them. We knew that there were going to be many beautiful views throughout the day and we wanted to take our time and enjoy as many of them as possible. 

Me, Scott & Michael. These guys have really helped push me to be a stronger and faster rider this year!

We only had a few more miles till we got to the first rest stop. The rest stop was only at mile 7 so we didn't really need to rest too much or fill up the water bottles. So, of course we just took some more photos. How could you not with scenery so beautiful!?

Me and my tent mate Jen. She said that I made her pose like a lady :)

Shortly after the rest stop we started our climb on the east side of the lake (it is the first giant mountain on the elevation chart above). Even though the climb was longer, it didn't seem as hard as the climb later in the day.

I managed to get a couple nice shots with my GoPro. Not bad for not knowing what I was doing. I need to make some adjustments to my mounting bracket position and will mess with the settings before ALC. 

I really like this shot of Jen & I climbing. I think that Sasha, one of our wonderful SAG drivers, took it.

Finally, after all the climbing I was rewarded with an awesome downhill. It didn't feel that steep, but I definitely got up some speed. If I would have known how to use the GoPro better, I would have switched it to take a video. 

Shortly after the descent, we went through a little tunnel. This was pretty cool because the only other tunnel I had even been through was the Cal Park tunnel and that is just for pedestrians. This was a bit bigger. With it being right along the lake it was very windy as well, dare I say it was a Wind Tunnel :)

We made our way towards the border and into South Lake Tahoe. Along the way we passed by Zephyr Cove. I had been there before, but in a car. I kept thinking, I didn't remember this many hills between there and South Lake Tahoe. Everything seems different on a bike than when you are in a car. Soon enough we were crossing the state line and headed into South Lake Tahoe. We were having lunch at Heidi's. Kev and I had breakfast there last year when we were in Tahoe for my birthday. 

After lunch we had our second large climb of the day. The climb up Emerald Bay was shorter, but steeper. This climb was harder for me than I was expecting it to be. I think that the altitude was starting to get to me. I just felt weaker and my muscles were getting tired faster. We stopped several times so that I could stretch and catch my breath. I think that Emerald Bay is my favorite part of Lake Tahoe. The views are just amazing around the bay.

Thanks for the great photo Gino! 

On the descent I managed to hit a max speed of 42 mph. We made our way towards the last rest stop, however, just before we there it had started to snow. I didn't realize it at first, it almost looked like pollen or something falling from the trees. Jen started to yell "SNOW!" and I stopped to see what was going on. The snow/hail wasn't even sticking, it would melt as soon as it landed on you. It was pretty crazy and we were not expecting it. 

We made it to the rest stop and went in to the store to get warmed up. I called my hubby to say that I had 20 miles left and should be done in about an hour and a half. He told me that it was snowing pretty good up north and to be careful because the roads were getting wet. Little did I know just how much it was snowing and how soon I would be hitting that craziness. Despite the cold and snow, I wanted to keep going and was determined not to have to get SAG'ed back to the hotel. 

We headed out of the rest stop and a few miles down the road I stopped because I realized that I had dropped Jen. As I waited for her to catch up I turned my cap around so that the bill would help protect my eyes from the snow and wind. I waited for what felt like forever, but no one was coming. I tried to call Jen but she didn't answer. I was starting to get worried so I decided to head back. I didn't make it too far before I finally saw a couple cyclists heading my way. I crossed the road and asked them if they had seen Jen. One of them informed me that she had stopped a little while back and was getting picked up by the SAG car. Now that I knew she was safe, I decided to keep going. I only made it a couple more miles before the crazy blizzard just got to be too much. I couldn't see more than a couple feet in front of me, which also meant that drivers were having visibility issues and would most likely have a harder time seeing me. I knew I needed to stop but I just had to find somewhere that I would be protected while I waited to be picked up. Thankfully some fellow cyclists saw me and called out. They had found shelter under a deck at a nearby cabin. I gladly stopped and turned back to join them. 

I called Kevin to have him come pick me up. I gave him the address of the house and waited for him to get there. The other guys that were there had already called for a taxi and were working on getting a hold of the SAG vehicles. Our help was on the way.

The taxis, my husband and a SAG vehicle all showed up at the same time. I slowly walked my bike down the driveway so that I wouldn't slip and fall. I got my bike into the car, grabbed the blanket out of the trunk and sat down to take my wet shoes and socks off. Thankfully Kevin had the heat on already so the car was nice and toasty. I was never more thankful for all the times my dad would make sure that we never left the house without having a jacket or blanket in the car. Growing up in Pennsylvania you never knew when you could get stuck in the snow during the winter. 

By the time I got back to the hotel there were already a couple inches of snow on the trees and cars in the parking lot. This storm came out of nowhere!

Many of the riders who had already made it back to the hotel, had got in their cars and headed back out there to help rescue any riders that were still out in the cold. The coordination between the TRLs, SAG and impromptu SAG was amazing. Every rider who started the ride in the morning, made it back safely! 

As much as I really wanted to finish the ride, I am happy with how many miles I did manage to get in and how well I did considering the altitude. This was an AMAZING weekend and will be a ride that the SBB will be talking about for years!