TE AIDS Lifecycle Team

[Trek420]

you'll be able to follow us online during the ride. From June 4th (registration or Day 0) till we arrive in LA June 11th on the website www.aidslifecycle.org there will be a webcast with pictures and even video posted daily. I'm the one with the pink helmet with purple mermaid on top ;-)

you can e-mail us, sort o' kind o'. We won't be able to reply unless bike goddess stops at internet cafe's on route ;-)

During the ride there will be a link on the site you can send a message of support to all riders and individual riders. Your message of support is printed out and there'll be a binder in camp where we see them each night.

Keep it clean folks, everyone reads these ;-)

You'll need our rider numbers so ....without further ado Introducing your TE team (insert drum roll here)

As far as I know we have 3 TE'ers doing the Lifecycle ride this year.

Annerol is rider # 5292
Bike Goddess is rider # 5481
and me, TREK rider # 5650

anyone else I might have missed?

Lastly I do a group voicemail message thing to my sponsors each year who have voicemail. I send out a message each day; miles, weather, how I'm doin', how I'm feelin' did I hit any cows etc.

I could put someone here on that so someone on the board would get the update then if you want to post it to the group.

But I'd have to get your number so that's up to you. You'd need to be:
in California (won't work out of State)
have SBC service at home or at work with....
voicemail (not the voicemail on your cell service, not that awful Unified Communications &^%$ we do, just regular voicemail or message center)

I've been asked a lot about the route:

Day 1 San Fran to Aptos 87.5 miles
Day 2 Aptos to King City 100.7 miles
Day 3 King City to Paso Robles 77.2 miles
Day 4 Paso Robles to Santa Maria 98.7 miles
Day 5 Santa Maria to Lompoc "only a mere" 43.5 miles this is red dress day ;-)
Day 6 Lompoc to Ventura 88.3 miles
Day 7 Ventura to LA 82.4 miles

you're all invited to opening and closing ceremonies, I can post times and directions if you're in SF or LA.

Lastly I think I can safely speak for all three of us that I have learned so much from this board whether cycling or just life in general. I could not even attempt this without the advice and moral support of all you gals, would not have been able to do what I did last time either. So thanks again to all of you.

[KkAllez]

That is so wonderful! Thanks for letting us be a part of it. I am so excited for you guys. Would love to be with you all. :) :) :)

HAVE FUN!

[Pedal Wench]

How cool! We'll all keep up with you guys! Have fun, and know we're all thinking about you!

[Bike Goddess]

AND...Don't forget- we're riding to raise money for AIDS! You can pitch in too by going to the website and putting in your 2 cents worth! All goes to the same place and much appreciated! (I won't stop fundraising till the end of the ride... :p :p )

[Hill Slug]

Just wanted to say have a fun and safe ride women!!!! I'm looking forward to hearing about it later....And Bike Goddess I'll be asking you a bunch of questions on our way back from Portland next month!

I'll be thinking about you all while I'm doing America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride in Tahoe on Sunday!!!! 32 degress in the morning.....wahoo!

[Trek420]

thanks Slug, and we want to hear all about your rides!

I just found out that Tinker Juarez will be riding with us...uh, with the faster riders like Goddess.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2005/jun05/jun03news2

Last year Tracy Chapman rode, did I ever tell you the Tracy Chapman story? Remind me when I get back. And when I crewed on CAR4 Gregg Louganis rode (both did not camp, stayed in hotels).

well, back to getting ready....found my bulk Ibuprofin.

[snapdragen]

So, about this time in 2000 I was breathing into paperbags trying to remain calm! :D Trek already knows this - annerol and Bike Goddess - you are in for the time of your life! Enjoy every minute!

I'll be at tent assignment until 1:30 tomorrow - see y'all there!

[CorsairMac]

May you have wings on your feet, the wind at your back, and the breathe of God to see you through the next 7 days. Keeping all of you in my thoughts! Ride well and come home safe!

[snapdragen]

I didn't get a chance to see any of our TE girls (well, I caught a glimpse of Trek, but couldn't stop what I was doing to say hey) The news this morning showed the riders leaving the Cow Palace - tailwinds to them all!

Yesterday I ended up working in registration, they were a bit shorthanded on volunteers. Man, I was on my feet from 9:30 to 2:30 - constantly running. It was great to see all the riders and roadies, their faces a combination of excitement, nervousness and a touch of fear.

Here's the link again - you can follow the day by day progress, send notes to the riders, there's also a map of the route.

http://experience.aidslifecycle.org/

[spazzdog]

I just spoke to Trek420 and Bike Goddess...

Day 1 SF to Aptos went well, Trek420 arriving in Aptos 2 hrs after Bike Goddess (that speed demon BG). Bike Godess had pre-arranged a visit with her sis, so didn't "tent" it last night, but will be with Trek420 from tonight on.

The excitement of the evening last night (or rather early this morning)... the campsite is on a college football field, and apparently someone forgot to tell the groundskeeper. At 2:30 AM, Trek420 woke to what she first thought was a rainstorm, then she heard the yelling. No rainstorm... the automatic sprinkler system had turned on and, well... imagine hundreds of tents, gear here and there, and folks in assorted sleeping attire (or not) running to get everything in the tent.

More news as I receive it.

your intrepid reporter, spazz

[slinkedog]

Thanks for the update, Spazz! Tell them we're thinking of them so often, if you talk to them again this week.

:)

[aka_kim]

The Day 1 pix are up. Wonder which tent holds Trek and BG?
http://experience.aidslifecycle.org/2005/photos/day1/images/k7.jpg

[spazzdog]

I know they've arrived at tonights camp. I'm hitting the old bed now, but will converse with Trek420 in the AM and get the Day 2 report.

spazzdog

[DeniseGoldberg]

I know they've arrived at tonights camp. I'm hitting the old bed now, but will converse with Trek420 in the AM and get the Day 2 report.

spazzdog

Hey Spazz -
Thanks much for keeping us up-to-date on their progress, state of mind, fun levels, and... !

--- Denise

[spazzdog]

I missed Dita's call this morning (at the vet with a kitty).

She sounded tired but ready to give it a go on day 3. Today will be a 75+ mile day. Following an 85 and a 98, it'll probably be a tough day.

What I did get from the message is Bike Goddess is riding very fast... big surprise.

Hopefully I'll catch Trek420 when they lunch and get more news from Day 2 and a taste of Day 3 to add to this report.

Jimmy "spazzdog" Olsen

[snapdragen]

Day 3 is a toughy - King City to Paso Robles. The hill is lovingly called Quad Buster :eek: . Think strong thoughts to our girls!

[snapdragen]

Day Two photos are up:

http://experience.aidslifecycle.org/2005/photos/day2/

[spazzdog]

OK... heard from Trek420 at about 3:30 PM y'alls time (CA). She was 20 miles from the finish of Day 3. She managed the Quadbuster and says she feels pretty good, despite the heat. She figures Bike Goddess finished before lunch as she's just eating through those miles.

Trek420 has overcome a challenge today gang... last year she had to SAG 20 miles in on this leg; now she's almost to the finish of the stage.

Jimmy "spazzdog" Olsen

[Adventure Girl]

Jimmy "spazzdog" OlsenNice report, Jimmy! :p Thanks for keeping us updated!
http://www.internettime.com/images/press_hat.jpg

[SadieKate]

Trek420 has overcome a challenge today gang... last year she had to SAG 20 miles in on this leg; now she's almost to the finish of the stage.

Jimmy "spazzdog" Olsen
Yippee! *\O/*

[spazzdog]

Well, stage 4 begins. I've had my morning txt session and quick phone call with Trek420. She sounds great... very up for todays challenge.

They are off to a little later start today... Trek420 is doing a little lubing of the old chain, but they are all buttered up :eek: and ready to meet the day. Paso Robles to Santa Maria, just shy of a century (that would be imperial, grrls :D ).

Take notice, our little speed demon Bike Goddess got a mention in the Day 3 "Day-by-Day" write-up on the Lifecycle site. Find it here:
http://experience.aidslifecycle.org/2005/daily/day3/index.html

If you have any words-o-support for Trek420, PM me and I'll text 'em to her. Keep it short & sweet. I don't have any contact info for the other grrls, so leave msgs for them on the Lifecycle site by using their ride #.

spazzdog

[snapdragen]

From the ALC website: Overheard in camp: “It’s not a ride, it’s a buffet.” The food on the ride is spectacular. Did we mention these little graham cracker, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Never seen ‘em in stores, so note to self: save a wrapper and get the website

So true - I ate my way to LA in 2000. I wanna find them little peanut budder and jelly sammiches!

Spazz - give my love to Dita - tell her to pass it on to the others too!

[snapdragen]

Hill Slug - we want a ride report please! :D

[spazzdog]

Well... no news since the lunch post. Hoping all is well out there.

**Update... breaking news**

Trk420 txt me at 6:54PM CA time. She made it up the Evil Twins through major headwinds and mucho dust (seems the fields were a tad dry) by 6:00. She was informed by the crew that the final 10 mi were on dusty dangerous roads and huge headwinds. Thus she chose to SAG in.

Just got off the phone with her, and despite a bit of sadness she seems to be in good spirits.

She says thanks to all who have sent msgs... all appreciated.

A message to the owner of Dusty the Rivendale (jobob?); Trek420 says Dusty has a twin in the ride.

A message to SadieKate; a jillion MS150 jerseys on this ride. You should be proud

And that's it for tonight, this is Jimmy "spazzdog" Olsen signing off

[spazzdog]

Well. Trek420 got off to a leisurely start this morning around 8:30 AM. She decided that, short milage day that it was, she'd take the extra time to "sunday stroll" this one, maybe smell the flowers, and stop for cookies.

At 2:20 PM (CA time) she cld to say she was at camp and getting ready for lunch.

She's in good spirits; actually sounded as tickled as a newborn in a room full of aunties. I'm sure she'll enjoy an afternoon off to enjoy camp life.

spazz-the reporter-dog off duty until tomorrow :cool:

[jobob]

Oh, this is great spazz, thanks for the updates !

Give Trek and BG a big hello for me (I'm also going to post them a hidey-ho on the message site).

That's neat that Dusty has a twin on the ride. I know Pokey (my blue Riv Romulus) also has a twin on the ride, it's being ridden by a man named Jeremy from SF. ( Of course Pokey made me sponsor Jeremy too ... :rolleyes: )

- Jo (just back from vacation, I'll fill y'all in on it in a bit)

[spazzdog]

Well, I've sent my usual "get out of the tent and roll!" txt to Trek420 and await the daily progress reports.

Todays stage is noted as 84.1 mi, give or take, so it'll be a long one. Hopefully with yesterdays short distance and the camp festivities that went on, the riders will all be well rested and re-energized.

-reporting from Massachusetts

spazz-o-reporter

[snapdragen]

This will be a fun day, usually there is a special treat waiting for the riders in Santa Barbara - hot dogs, ice cream, all manner of yummy treats. I believe it is a local bike group that does it. They end up in Ventura tonight, by the beach. What could be better?

[spazzdog]

9:30 am PST

Trek420 reported in from Pit 1. She want quite the excited cyclist, let me tell you. Amd laughter from her surounding buddies (unseure who they were) she explained that, due to a small equipment failure for Bike Goddess (sunglasses??), Trek420 found herself in front of the speed demon. She stated it was short lived and BG blew past her up the road a piece and that was that.

11:00 am PST Trek420 txt's from Pit 2... apparently the riders are being cared for by a pit stop full of French maids. Hey! What's not to like there!! :o

[spazzdog]

1:09 pm PST - Trek420 hits the lunch stop

2:50 pm PST - pit 2 and still smilin'

3:37 pm PST - She arrives at an impromptu rest stop manned by past riders and friends in a "Paradise" motif.

6:50 pm PST - Trek has put her bike to pasture for the night and is digging' into some well earned chow. She asked that I mention that she has done extensive research on the whole "Boobage banging on descent" issue and has personally experienced no problem :D

signing off for the night...

spazz-o-reporter

Tomorrow, The Big Finish.

Full reports from the riders upon their return: "In Their Own Words: The Odyssey"

[SadieKate]

Spazz, you may be a potential Pulitzer winner here. Thanks for all the reports and passing on the words of cheer. Tell Dita that we're greatful for her continuing boobage research. :D

[Hill Slug]

Great job reporting just the facts m'am!!!

And let her and Bike Goddess know they are the BOMB!!!!!

[spazzdog]

5:30 am PST - sent the following as my morning wakeup msg:


Hallelujah! It's Day 7 and you are almost home!
Saddle up grrl, it's time to close the rodeo.
Ride tall in the saddle. You done good!

Will keep you posted as I receive news. It's a 60.8 mi stage to LA. If you're in that next of the woods, go greet our TE sisters!

11:00 am PST - got a call from Trek420. She's at Pit 2 and assessing her energy level. Despite the feeling that she may have to SAG in today, she's feeling really great about her performance. As she put it " I've gone faster and further... flown higher than I did last year and I feel great!"

To that I say, She most certainly has! Congratulations to you Trek420, whether you ride or carry your bike across the finish.

1:00 pm PST - Trek420 is STILL pedaling. She's at the lunch stop with 15 mi to go. Keep chanting TE... keep chanting!

2:49 pm PST - Yee-hah!! Trek420 has finished the 2005 San Francisco to Los Angeles Aids Lifecycle.

She's at the finish area, probably looking for the other TE grrls that rode (5481 Bike Goddess, 3370 Annerol, 5292 Amondala) Bigs cheers for all of them gang!

And that's it for me. Reporting from Massachusetts, this is spazzdog, returning to my usual routine.

[aka_kim]

http://tinypic.com/2be5ow http://tinypic.com/2be5ow http://tinypic.com/2be5ow http://tinypic.com/2be5ow
The TE ALC Team, and their intrepid reporter, ROCK!

[jobob]

Many congratulations Dita & Nancy & Annerol & Amondala !!!

You are all worthy recipients indeed of the She-Ra Princess of Power Tiara


Here're some fun photos on the ALC website from day 5 - obviously that was Red Dress Day. :)

http://experience.aidslifecycle.org/2005/photos/day5/index.html

[SadieKate]

Yipee and bravo! Good ride, one and all!

[Trek420]

BG, a Southwestern Airlines plane full of tired sweaty stinky riders and I have arrived back home.

Reading Spazz's reporting and my TE sisters words of encouragement brought tears to my eyes (much of it laughter).

I'm off for a hot soak in the tub, I hear they've invented indoor plumbing since I left. Much details and stuff to catch y'all up on.

I could *not* have done this without you all.

Special thanks go to the Mt. Diablo gang for teaching me how to descend in the drops, and "coach" Spazz.

Note to Sadiekate: BG and I tried to get the Team Amici temp tatoos on to wear to closing ceremonies, they wouldn't stick. Note to myself: when/if I do this again bring sponge for temp tatoos.

[Trek420]

I wrote: "Last year Tracy Chapman rode, did I ever tell you the Tracy Chapman story? Remind me when I get back. And when I crewed on CAR4 Gregg Louganis rode (both did not camp, stayed in hotels)."

Well, I'm back and gathering my thoughts will be starting on a journal of the ride so check my homepage in about 3 weeks I'll let you know as new pictures are uploaded. Just taking a moment between washloads, and before i go pick up Mae (can't wait!) got tons of stinky bike clothes to wash so before i forget to tell the aforementioned Tracy Chapman story. It's kind of typical of the humor of the ride.

One gets familiar with your "neighborhood", your block in the tent city and last year on Day 1 I was talking to the couple next to us about an unusual experience she had on the road to Aptos. Seems she was riding along, just minding her own business when a rider calls out, passes her, looks back to see that he's clear, prepares to merge back to the right (sounds good so far, eh?) and then stops dead in his tracks right in front of her (yikes, she avoided the crash) points at her and starts screaming "you're Traci Chapman! You're Traci! They told me you'd be on the ride! You're..."

In a voice quite calm, she just says "uh, no, I'm not Traci." Convinced or not of that fact, he rides on. So that night telling us this her husband joked "and we're going to sign her up to sing on talent night and PROOVE without a doubt that she's not Traci" we all got a laugh.

So I think it was the night 3? 4? I'm standing in the dinner line and the guy behind me starts snapping pictures wildly. "What's up?" I ask. "It's not every day you're 4 feet away from Traci Chapman" he says. "Yeah, right." I think but then I look and dang, it IS Chapman (who looks magnificent but NOTHING like my neighbor other than they both are black and have dreds). And that night, she sang a beautiful solo concert to us.

Anyway by now my neighbor's story is around the camp, and we know Traci Chapman IS on the ride (Traci? are you here? she passed me many times, everyone does but she's a real strong rider, nice cadence, good pedal stroke). And by morning we are seeing a few folks with plain white t-shirts that are hand lettered "I'm not Traci". It seemed to start in the morning with a few of the women of color riders, but literaly by lunch the fashion statement is spreading; from huge hairy bearded white men "I'm not Traci" to older riders (our oldest is Bert Shaw, good to see him back at 77) the more rediculous the person ie: could not possibly be Traci the better.

Where is the AIDS Lifecycle jersey that says 'I'm not Traci"? ;-)

[Bike Goddess]

I think you all have probably heard a lot about this ride from TREK, so I won't go into the many details of the everyday parts. Suffice to say, I was glad I wasn't at camp the night of the sprinkler incident as I have a down bag. The next day, when I put the tent up, we had to literally drain all of the puddles of water out of it which meant turning the tent upside down and watching the shower! :(

I was deeply moved by the support we received both on the road and on the internet. Every town we passed always had people cheering us on often with signs and candy. On our 1st day towards the end of the ride, we were even treated to free coffee, ice cream, etc. by a local coffee shop. And then later on (Day 3) homemade cookies (she starts a couple of months before the ride), and then in Santa Barbara free ice cream and strawberries. (Food was a major incentive on this journey :D :D ). And, of course, the children were something else again. I've got some pictures of one group I'll put on this forum for all of you to see.

I can't tell you how much I appreciated your comments and support. Although I didn't look at the computer every night, when I did, I felt so honored.

Now for the fun part! For me, a lot of the ride became a mystery to solve. On all but one day we had 4 rest stops and a lunch stop plus sometimes water stops inbetween. I would check my odometer to see how far it was to the next stop and then see how fast I could get there! And what a reward that turned out to be! They set the stops up with the same team at the same number each day. Turned out, each stop had a theme with costumes and music galore! Sometimes, I could figure it out, other times I asked. One of the funniest ones was on day 3 (I think). Women were dressed in high heels, and different outfits- Monica (white on her navy dress), Cleopatra, Peggy Bundy (doing her Bundy dance), Courtney Love, and a Hooter girl. How could we be grumpy with all this humor around! Pretty hard!

The Rest Stop 4 gang has evidently done this ride many times. They were off the charts! When you approached their stop, you were often greeted with the Burma Shave signs. One day, they did a CIA mock up - the signs warned you that you were being watched. Evidently at one point during the day they had a fake bomb scare which meant massive porta potty evacuation and than a check of everyone's bikes with mirrors. They all had on black suits, white shirts, and ties! They had a hard time keeping a straight face as we laughed our way through the food and beverage line.

The same group treated us to a puppet show on the Sound of Music theme. They had matching outfits made from fake rags as they danced their puppets behind the homemade theatre.

As the days wore on and we all got pretty tired, the rest stops became one happy spot to lift our spirits. If you knew there was a rest stop at the top of a hill or just beyond, it made that hill so much easier to do.

On some of the longer hills, there were groups of riders cheering you on as you got toward the top often with musical accompaniment! Often some of the stronger riders would ride back down and push people up! What a team! :D :D

The emotional parts of this ride were memorable as well. Seeing the HIV POS Pedalers with their flags identifying them riding along with the best of us, really touched my heart. When the going got tough (and it certainly did)' I found myself reaching deeply into my body and literally willing it to get beyond that next hill, or next rest stop. I kept reminding myself that what I was doing was temporary, I was fortuneate, I got to go home at the end of 7 days.

It was a caring community, an example of a possiblity of living in a world where its not about you OR me, but about you AND me. We became a moving spirit and what we looked like or what our beliefs were didn't matter. I am proud to have been a member of this special community. It was an experience of a lifetime that I shan't ever forget! :) :)

[Trek420]

I think she's up to a half an hour now ;-)

Here's a write up of Nancy aka BG on the lifecycle website:

http://experience.aidslifecycle.org/2005/daily/day3/index.html

:D

[CorsairMac]

Welcome home all! what an experience and thank you all for taking us along with you!

[Trek420]

thanks Corsaire, I was glad to do it and glad that i can. But Auntie Em there's no place like home, there's no place like home.... :D :p :)

[jobob]

BG, you looked quite fetching on Red Dress Day :D

- Jo " I've seen the picture " bob

[Trek420]

she was stunning! :D

Annerol , amondala, whatdja wear?

[Trek420]

gradualy getting pictures back and putting them on the homepage. Let's try the attachment thing, see if this works.

This is Amondala and I, I think it's day 2.

The blond is "Dolly Parton" & I day 1 at rest stop 4.