Day One, San Francisco to Santa Cruz

Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

and we're off

I decided to do a leisurely 80-mile ride to Santa Cruz today. Oh, and I happened to ride with 2,500 other riders and 500+ support crew. Then again, it wasn't particularly leisurely, at first anyway. Today is the only day when everyone leaves at the same time, so the first several miles are a total cluster. Then there's this challenging stretch along hwy 92 with some serious traffic, that I have been dreading. Once I got past that, the day was downright glorious. Whether I brought everything I need or not, whether I've trained enough or not, there's not much I can do now. We're underway. All I need to do is ride, and eat, and sleep. What a way to spend a week.

After lunch was the best. There's nothing like riding several miles along the California coastline on a clear day. It was cool and overcast in the morning, but not too much so, and then the sun came out, but with enough wind to keep it mild. Oh, and the tailwinds! In the afternoon there was a point where I was doing 22 mph uphill, and I felt like Superman.

And there were some special guests today. My friend Pete showed up for Opening Ceremonies, which was super nice so early in the morning, and my co-worker Kevin happened to be driviing down the coast to go surfing when he saw the ALC lunch stop at San Gregorio beach. Amazingly, despite the crowd, he saw me ride in, after only waiting about 20 minutes.

I saw a few things today I'd never seen before on the ride. There was a tandem recumbent. And a tandem road bike with three people (is that still called a tandem?) I got passed by a couple on a tandem wearing fake fur and tinsel. And there were some Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence who did the ride in full makeup. That was probably the biggest surprise. I spoke with one of them and she hadn't ridden in face before, saying "I expect to look like The Scream by the end of the day". I ran into her at lunch and she was still looking fabulous.

So all in all, I'd say it was a successful day. That, and the donation total continues to grow. I've now exceeded my goal, and people are still giving. You all rock! I have a script that texts me when the total changes, and it was so cool get a text during the ride today. Thanks so much to all the people who have contributed to the SF AIDS foundation in support of the ride. Collectively we have raised more than $11 million this year. Can you believe that?

To see pictures, blogs, etc during the ride, visit experience.aidslifecycle.org. You can also leave a message of support on my ALC home page.