Here are some photos from ALC2...there is also my rider journal on the official AIDS Lifecycle Webcast.)
AIDS Lifecycle (and the AIDS Rides generally) are known for campy humor--even the most uptight person gets a little loopy after the first 250 miles of cycling.
Last year I promised I'd ride in a pink tutu if I raised over $5000...which I did, at the very last moment. (My boss called me into his office and handed me a check that put me over $5K, which amused me a lot since he had absolutely no idea about the bet--I sure wasn't going to tell him...)
It turned out that riding in a tutu entertained the roadies and the other riders no end, so this year I rode in four tutus--one blue, one white, one pink, and one red--plus (of course) lots of different accessories.
AIDS Lifecycle, incidentally, is a great experience, and I highly recommend it. I am not at all a strong cyclist, nor am I a natural athlete--anyone can do it.
For a summary of the reasons why I ride, see my Cyclist Bio. I consider AIDS to be the single most serious social issue of our generation--not because of its direct impact in the U.S., but because of the international impact--and also consider it a human rights issue, here in the U.S.
But, that doesn't mean you can't have fun, too...
|
Day One Day One dawned bright and early...all riders had to check in at 5am, which was probably the hardest part of the ride. We pedaled 96.1 miles on Day One, including a brutal uphill climb on Trousdale Ave. in Burlingame, and over 2500' of climbing up Skyline, including a short bit on Route 92. Day 1 ended in Santa Cruz, which was wonderful--I stopped by my favorite chocolate shop, Donnelly Chocolates, for a chocolate gelato and some bonbons. Did I feel guilty? Not at all. According to my heartrate monitor, I burned 3,800 calories on Day One!! |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Hey, is that hair or what?? | There were lots of celebrities on Lifecycle...Tinky Winky stopped by. | One of the early pit stops was a beautiful place by the beach... | ...and click for a closer view of this banner, put on by the Montana Angels. |
|
Day Two Day Two was long, our first century ride...100.3 miles. (Yeah, like 96.1 miles on Day 1 wasn't a century.) But, it was blessedly flat after Day 1's brutal hills, which made it almost a rest day...inasmuch as any day including the words "bike 100.3 miles" can be called a "rest day". I was on the road for 11 hours on Day Two...I left at 8am and arrived in camp at 7:15pm. 3,080 calories. |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Tutu of the Day...fetching in white skirt with silver sparkles, giant red AIDS ribbons, red roses, and red-white-and-blue helmet stars. | I was riding with Ben on Day Two...Ben is a Positive Pedaler (HIV+ rider) who was one of last year's Lifecycle journal cyclists--unfortunately he was too ill to ride this year, so Team Apocalypse had him "ride" with many different riders and roadies. I was honored to carry Ben on Day Two. |
Me and the Cookie Woman...she bakes us homemade chocolate chip cookies every year. Homemade cookies for over 1,000 cyclists!! Now that's dedication. Not to mention delicious... It doesn't show up well in the photo, but her Troop Number is 069, and her merit badges are for things like drinking, drugs, and other sins. :-) |
Me and the fabulous transvestite Ginger, who turned up in a different outfit every day, cheering the riders on. |
 |
 |
||
| This is Robert, one of the Positive Pedalers and a really, really cool guy. He had another helmet with fruit all over it, and a red tutu. He and I have already agreed to go "accessorizing" together next year... | A better shot of Robert, hangin' out with a half-asleep Edna. | ||
|
Day Three Day 3 was brutally hot and hilly. It was short at "only" 75 miles long, but with 1800+ feet of vertical climb, it was the second hilliest day after Day One. And, after riding 200 miles in as many days, it was really the hardest day of Lifecycle. I was wobbling between overhydration, dehydration, and just plain overheating all day--towards the end of the day, I almost ran off the road twice due to sheer exhaustion. It was a brute of a day. |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Ginger likes to hang out at the tops of really steep hills, so cyclists struggling up the hill get a nice reward once they finish...this was at the top of Quadbuster, a really brutal hill. I had to walk up part of it...I was worried about my knees. | A closer look at the fabulous Ginger... | Tutu of the Day! Pink with blue tutu, and pink roses...and two very cute sailor guys. (Robert, as you can tell, is just suffering in this photo.) | The pit crews like to dress up in cool outfits, to keep the riders entertained...I got caught by the Pilgrims, who promptly put me in the stocks. :-) |
 |
A brief word on Ken, the Chicken Lady: "She" has ridden every California AIDS Ride except one, and (I'm told) rode all five for three years in a row. She's really an inspiration for all of us riders...her bike broke this year, so the riders chipped in to buy her a new one. | ...I look forward to the new custom Chicken Bike next year...I think Gary Fisher offered to make her one. Woo! |  |
| ....of course, they caught Chicken Lady, too.... | Here is Chicken Lady with Team Pig. Notice her fantastic chicken handbag, chicken helmet, and rainbow skirt! | ||
|
Day Four Day Four was relatively easy after Day 3, despite being another 100+ mile day...it was mostly flat, and blessedly cool for almost the entire day. After damn near getting heat exhaustion on Day 3, it was nice to be cool for awhile. We passed the halfway point on Day 3, so I got a great photo for my Xmas cards...
|
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Me on the bike, at the top of the Evil Twins, halfway to LA. It was a wonderful five-mile downhill from there...lots of fun. | ...and, of course, the fabulous Ginger, looking gorgeous as always in her pink bubble-wrap dress... | ...yes, take a closer look, this dress is sewn from pink bubble-wrap! It's a custom piece from a designer friend. | And here is me with Stephen Cadby, assistant director of AIDS Lifecycle 2, but more importantly, my last year's Cycle Buddy, and an all-around great guy. He was hanging out in Crisis/Dispatch, so I stopped by every day to show them the Tutu of the Day. |
|
Day Five Day Five was noted for the funniest part of all of Lifecycle: our fastest rider hit a cow. Yes, a cow. He was off-route (bad rider! bad rider!) somewhere near Vandenburg, cycling along at his customary 35 mph, when he ran into a cow on the road. He zigged left, the cow zigged left, he zigged right, the cow zigged right, and bam! over the handlebars he went. I must hand it to him for having the most innovative bike accident I've ever heard of. I developed some knee problems on Day 5 (the result of a missing cleat screw in my left shoe), so wound up missing the most memorable part of Day 5: riding 6-7 miles up a hill just to do a little U-turn and come back down again. The ALC organizers swear it's for safety reasons--crossing Highway 1 at the most logical place would be just too dangerous--but I have my dark suspicions, which mostly involve a night of drunken debauchery on the part of the route organizer. Day 5 is also "Dress in Red" day (the idea being to create a giant red AIDS ribbon with the riders), which some riders changed to "Red Dress Day". |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Tutu of the Day! Tiger in a tutu...the jersey has tiger eyes, and there's a tiger nose and ears on the helmet. | And who says guys don't look good in slinky red dresses? This was my favorite photo of the entire ride. | Yea, a veritable chorus line of guys in red dresses... | ...and a few more... |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| I, of course, couldn't resist getting a photo of myself with them... | ...and here is me with Pat Christen, Executive Director of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and Chicken Lady... |
...and me with some more of SFAF's staff (left to right, their Webmaster, Asst Director AIDS Lifecycle, and my very own Cycle Buddy) |
Day 5 was pretty short, so I got a chance to swing on the swing! Every time I swung, the tutu would flip up, which made it even more amusing. |
|
Day 6 Day 6 was relatively easy, although somewhat long...I think it was something like 91 miles, but can't quite remember. Day 6 was "Naughty in Pink" day...I wore a go-go-girl bikini top I'd gotten in Bangkok, covered in pink sequins and with a dangly fringe. Plus a pink tutu, fluorescent pink fishnets, and an 8' bullwhip with pink roses on the handle...it was quite the outfit. I broke down by the side of the road on Day 6 (blew out a back tire somewhere in suburban Santa Barbara), and since all the drivers were stopping to look at the fenderbender anyway, I pulled out the whip and started doing a little go-go-cyclist show by the side of the road. Heaven only knows what the local folk thought of it...fortunately, a sweep vehicle showed up almost immediately to take me to Bike Tech, which ended the show. |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Tutu of the Day! Note the red devil horns on the helmet, the red roses, the fabulous bikini top (click for a closer view), pink tutu, and pink whip. Quite fetching, if I do say so myself... |
Heaven and Hell: if you take a closer look, you'll see that the angel's robe reads "Hurt Me". I think that can be arranged... :-) |
I started out in a pink jersey, because the morning was cold. Fortunately, it warmed up during the day. |
Me grooving to the music at one of the pit stops (sans jersey). |
 |
 |
That's it, folks!! For more interesting stuff, read my online journal on the official AIDS Lifecycle Webcast... | ...or join us next year! I'm already registered...come see next year's tutus! (Because it's not a Ride, darling...it's a fashion show!) |
| Day 6 featured the fabulous Space pit stop, full of fantastic space aliens with ray guns. Fortunately, they were friendly... | I've only got one decent photo from Day 7 because my camera was running out of batteries...but here is the Tutu of the Day! Red tutu with AIDS Ribbons, and last year's official ALC1 jersey. | ||
