Hill Slug
06-02-2006, 12:26 PM
Well, during May 18-21 I completed the 2nd Annual NorCal AIDS Challenge (http://www.norcalaidschallenge.com/). This ride went through the Sacramento Valley through mainly fields and orchards. Day 2 had climbing up Table Mountain near Chico. While climbing is a challenge for me, riding that many flat miles seemed equally challenging, in that there was plenty of wind and alot of openness. Here are the basic routes we followed:
1st half of day 1:
http://www.routeslip.com/map.php?map=282
2nd half of day 1:
http://www.routeslip.com/map.php?map=283
Day 2: http://www.routeslip.com/map.php?map=284
Day 3: http://www.routeslip.com/map.php?map=285
Day 4: http://www.routeslip.com/map.php?map=286
I admit I didn't ride the third day.....I had a previous commitment, so I left Friday night and returned Saturday night to finish out the ride on Sunday.
This was a great experience. There were only 40 riders, and we had plenty of crew folks watching out for us on the road. It was truly awesome, and I would recommend this type of ride to anyone. The routes were clearly marked, even though I followed a guy and we missed a turn...oops....but the roadies noticed we were missing and came looking for us...four miles later.....they sagged us up to the group, since it was the last day and we were on a tight schedule....:rolleyes:
We also had gourmet catered meals, which was great. It was like going out to dinner, even though we were camping. They did a nice job on the presentation too! A local chiropractor had massage services in camp, and that was welcomed after being on the bike so long.
I spoke with a couple of guys who've done ALC and they liked this ride too. It's a much smaller scale than ALC, but I'm guessing still just as inspiring.
I didn't think I could deal with putting up the tent after riding, but it wasn't that bad. I tried to remember all the great suggestions put out by the group and it helped!!! Packing each days clothes in separate ziplock bags was the best advice!! I had to get up an extra 30 mins or so just to make sure I could get everything back into the gear bag and tent back into it's bag too. That would be my only suggestion, give yourself enough time if you know you're slower.
I don't have my pics yet, but will post them when I get them back.
And......next year the route (http://www.norcalaidschallenge.com/route_description.html) is changing to go from Davis to Calistoga, Calistoga to Lakeport, Lakeport to Woodland, and Woodland to Sacramento. We will overlap with the Davis Double for a day, but should be ok, since the group is not huge...at least for now. Registration is already open for 2007.
Again, this was really a wonderful experience, and if you think you can't do it, think again......as cliche as it sounds, if I can do it , any one can.....
1st half of day 1:
http://www.routeslip.com/map.php?map=282
2nd half of day 1:
http://www.routeslip.com/map.php?map=283
Day 2: http://www.routeslip.com/map.php?map=284
Day 3: http://www.routeslip.com/map.php?map=285
Day 4: http://www.routeslip.com/map.php?map=286
I admit I didn't ride the third day.....I had a previous commitment, so I left Friday night and returned Saturday night to finish out the ride on Sunday.
This was a great experience. There were only 40 riders, and we had plenty of crew folks watching out for us on the road. It was truly awesome, and I would recommend this type of ride to anyone. The routes were clearly marked, even though I followed a guy and we missed a turn...oops....but the roadies noticed we were missing and came looking for us...four miles later.....they sagged us up to the group, since it was the last day and we were on a tight schedule....:rolleyes:
We also had gourmet catered meals, which was great. It was like going out to dinner, even though we were camping. They did a nice job on the presentation too! A local chiropractor had massage services in camp, and that was welcomed after being on the bike so long.
I spoke with a couple of guys who've done ALC and they liked this ride too. It's a much smaller scale than ALC, but I'm guessing still just as inspiring.
I didn't think I could deal with putting up the tent after riding, but it wasn't that bad. I tried to remember all the great suggestions put out by the group and it helped!!! Packing each days clothes in separate ziplock bags was the best advice!! I had to get up an extra 30 mins or so just to make sure I could get everything back into the gear bag and tent back into it's bag too. That would be my only suggestion, give yourself enough time if you know you're slower.
I don't have my pics yet, but will post them when I get them back.
And......next year the route (http://www.norcalaidschallenge.com/route_description.html) is changing to go from Davis to Calistoga, Calistoga to Lakeport, Lakeport to Woodland, and Woodland to Sacramento. We will overlap with the Davis Double for a day, but should be ok, since the group is not huge...at least for now. Registration is already open for 2007.
Again, this was really a wonderful experience, and if you think you can't do it, think again......as cliche as it sounds, if I can do it , any one can.....