Day 5...

What a great day! The ride is winding down with bittersweet feelings. This week looking back has gone by quickly, but seems like forever when I'm on that damned bike.

Today was a short 41 miles, although it was the worst day for hills.

I'm going to miss most the little communitywe have now formed. Now more than previous years, I feel like part of the group instead of outside looking in.

If you all goto the website, www.aidslifecycle.org, you will find the web video for day 4. In it, one rider mentions faraway friends from DC...that was me!

Tonight at dinner announcements, Good Harmony was on stage singing Amazing Grace. Excellent speech and performance.

Til tomorrow from Lompoc to Ventura, a beautiful 85 miles. I'm hoping it warms up a bit. Ducks are quaking in the background, and ribbits of frogs fill the air.

Halfway...

Halfway to LA and it's FREEZING! I was talked into sleeveless, stupidly.

Day 3

Update from the road...so it's fast. Day 3 was incredible! Quadbuster was awful as usual, but bradley never ceases to amaze me. The fourth and eighth graders fed us the best cheeseburgers, and I have a homemade button that says SF to bradley to LA. It even had a drawn map.

I went to sports medicine to get stretched, and that hurt. A Lot. No injuries to report, just tight muscles.

109 miles yesterday, 97 tomorrow. Goodnight from paso robles, just off 101...

Day 3

Made it to Bradley, CA!

Rise and Shine!

The shuttle is coming in a half hour...

Connected by DROID on Verizon Wireless

Day 0 - Registration

Today was incredible! We started a little wet. Well, a lot wet. The thunderstorms were awful, and the orientation was routed differently to accommodate. However, there was no storage of anticipation, love, hugs and great friendships being reunited. Winding through bike parking, the safety video, check in and tent assignments, friends were everywhere to be found.

And my $5000 jersey.

Now I'm sitting in Bed anxiously awaiting tomorrow. Will the storms let up? Will we ride? How wet will camp be after eighty miles on a bike, soaking wet? We'll see...

Talk soon, and much love from San Francisco.

Tagged and ready!

The $5,000 jersey!

Getting ready for the human AIDS ribbon

Anticipation...

I'm sitting at Dulles airport and can't help but feel nervous again this year. Not bad nervous, but more like family reunion mixed with Christmas Eve... A great feeling all around.

The airport check-in person knew I was headed to SF when he saw my bike box...mentioning he was from the area and has friends riding. After some well wishes and a $50 bike fee, I was ready to fly!

Set to land ontime, I'll be in SF by 10.20 ready for orientation tomorrow.  Happy ALC Eve!

My cat - Evil - doesn't want me to leave.

Chantal is all packed and ready...