Talk about a fantistic two day ride! Jeremy and I joined ALCers Downtown Julie Brown, husband Mike, Michael, Chris, MaryBeth, Charlie, Kelsey and Michael for the 2006 Big Sur Ride, a 170-mile ride that includes 11,100 feet of climbing. The ride begins and finishes in Carmel Valley Village. The route runs along the rugged Big Sur coastline, through the beautiful Salinas Valley, and into the dramatic rolling hills of Carmel Valley. The ride is a benefit for Trips for Kids.

Jeremy & I headed out a bit before the others on the as they were still getting registered, dropping off their camping gear and getting their bikes ready. The sky was clear and it was 45 degrees, it was about 11 miles to Highway 1 and I failed to bring long-fingered gloves, oops.

At 14 miles we passed the Point Lobos State Reserve, followed by Soberanes Point, a whale watching vista. The first rest stop at 22 miles was at the Rocky Point Restaurant where they had a clothing drop (one of two for the day, a very nice feature.)

Leaving the rest stop, we cross the Rocky Creek Bridge, which is often confused for Bixby Bridge and then pass the Big Sur Light Station and into Big Sur, riding by Andrew Molera State Park, the Big Sur Station and the entrances to both Ventana Inn & Spa and Post Ranch Inn. I stopped quickly at Nepenthe for a few photos.

At 48 miles was the second rest stop at the Vista Point just before Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. This served as one of two lunch stops for the day. At about 50 miles, we pass the Esalen Institute. After passing thru the small resort town of Lucia, we came across probably the only bad stretch of road on the entire ride, a ¼ mile stretch of gravel, where Highway 1 was being repaired.

The third rest stop at Kirk Creek Campground at 65 miles and we had already passed 4,400 feet of climbing. We were about midway between Big Sur and Cambria. This is the start of the 7.5 mile 2,500 foot climb up Nacamiento-Fergusson Road to Nacamiento Summit. As Jeremy & I prepared to leave the rest stop, they were announcing that the rest stop would be closing in 20 minutes and if riders were not gone, they would be sagged the rest of the way. Julie arrived just as we were leaving and we passed the message on to her.

The climb up Nacamiento starts with a cattle grate crossing in the first 50 feet, a motorcyclist passed us, and someone hollered something about an engine was cheating. I stopped several times on the way up, under the guise of taking photos, but also a chance to catch my breath. At the 4 mile point, there was a water stop, and I asked the guy if the next 3.5 miles was a steep as the first 4 miles, he assured me it was still a climb, but not as bad. I told him that he could lie to me anyway. Mike B and Chris blew past the water stop here, one of the few times I saw them during the day, they had made various stops along the way in Camel and Big Sur at bakeries. About a mile from the top, I heard a familiar voice behind me, Julie hollering “misery loves company!” and we rode together the last mile or so to the summit.

Jeremy had headed down the backside of Nacamiento towards Fort Hunter Liggett, and we waited as the others made it to the top. After a while Michael S. had not made it, and Mike & Chris, in a sugar stupor headed down to check on him, they found him about a mile down, he had been taking photos along the way up, as I had. Julie & I headed down ourselves and at mile 82 we entered Fort Hunter Liggett, but it was still as of rollers till we got to the campsite.

The Ride offers 3 options for accommodations, camping on the ball field, on a space available basis for rooms at the Hacienda Club, or for $40 they will transport you and your gear 30 miles to King City and back, and you arrange your own accommodations. I was considering the princess plan, however Julie pointed out that it was only one night and I had done 5 nights on ALC. So I set up my accommodations on the field and then headed to the showers in the locker rooms of the De Anza Sport Center.

Showered and refreshed, we all took the bus to the Hacienda Club for dinner, and we opted to walk back as it was a nice evening. On the way back, we watched as several helicopters took off in the distance, against the night sky. And several hours later we hear them return, as it sounded like their approach to landing went right over us on the softball field.

Day two broke clear and crisp, we dressed, broke down our camp, and hauled our gear over for pick-up. Breakfast was at the Hacienda Club, and we rode over. We headed out about 7:30 on a five mile warm-up on Sulpher Springs Road, and then over cement barricades and a gate. We headed east on Jolon Road and after a couple miles, we began the descent down Quadbuster (yes, that Quadbuster from Day 3 of AIDS/LifeCycle.)

After a nice 10 mile descent to King City, we avoided the horrible cobblestone section from the ALC route and instead get on a “new” bike path into King City. I’m not sure how “new” it was, but it was an improvement. It brought us out near the Best Western in King City, and then we continued retracing Day 2 of ALC’s route, out Metz Road, passing the Calpine Power Plant and then left on Elm Street towards Greenfield and rest stop 1 at Oak Park.

Leaving the rest stop, it was 7 miles to the Arroyo Seco River Bridge (also known as the green bridge at the “swim or climb” turn on ALC; for those who want to skinny dip they could swim, for those who didn’t you had to climb on the other side of the bridge.) At this point, we depart the ALC route in reverse, heading west on Arroyo Seco Road entering the Santa Lucia mountains.

At mile 47 was the second rest stop and lunch, before heading onto Carmel Valley Road. After nine miles of climbing, the last 3 miles raises us 800 feet to Cahoon Summit and great views back down the valley on both sides. After popsicles and more at rest stop 3, we head down to Carmel Valley.

Chris had a blow out several miles down, and it wasn’t too much longer after we continued that the same tube blew again. Turns out that they missed a gash in the side and/or perhaps the second blow out made it a huge gash. Several SAG vehicles offered help, but none had any tires left. He was nearly done booting the tire with a dollar bill, when a SAG vehicle stopped and offered a tire, which he took just in case. The gash was so large that you could see George Washington!

So off we went to complete the last fourteen miles without further incident. The day ended with a post-ride Fiesta with great food in the park next to the Community Youth Center. It might have been the fabulous weather, and no doubt the great company, but next to AIDS/LifeCycle, this has been my favorite ride, one that you should consider next year.

My photos are here and Michael C’s photos are here.

After a very strange weather week, Saturday arrive, cold but clear. When I left Hollister at 6:15am, it was 47F; when I arrive at Chrissy Field, it was just about 60F, but a gorgeous clear sky and no wind. I had packed arm warmers, wind vest, knee warmers thinking it was going to be foggy and cool, so it was a nice suprise to have it start as such a nice day.

The AIDS/LifeCycle folks had their orange tents set-up, and folks were arriving. From Different Spokes, Rico, Bart, Leon, Dave F, Peter, Michelle (who also co-led the ride) and myself. Spotted later on also were Mark and Laura. After stretching (typical for ALC rides) and the (mandatory) safety speech, we headed out for the Tiburon loop about 9:15am.

It truly was a gorgeous day, not much wind, we were across the bridge and into Sausalito in no time. The Camino Alto and Paradise loop passed by in no time, and we were in Tiburon at 10:30! Rico, Bart and I head back together, and once back in Sausalito, the presence of the P.D. was quite obvious, so we were careful to err on the cautious side. Crossing the bridge again, we would have been back at Chrissy Field shortly after noon, except Bart had a tire going flat. Good thing the weather was so nice, it could have been miserable on the bridge in drippy fog with a howling wind. After two tube changes (oops!) we were on our way again.

The BBQ was in full swing when we arrived, although the line seemed to be very long and VERY slow. They later apologized for the line, apparently they had been having technical difficulties with the grills earlier causing the delay. They had a raffle for a $250 gift certificate from Sports Basement, and two bikes; Dave F came closest to winning, by one number. But close only counts in horseshoes.

They also announced that they have nearly 1,000 riders signed up from AIDS/LifeCycle6 for 2007. You can sign-up here.

What a fabulous turn out for the Hollister Mini Death Ride! Sixteen brave souls made long drive down to Hollister and the attempt at two of the three climbs that make up the full Hollister Death Ride. From Different Spokes we have Patrick, Jeremy, Bill, Bart, Erik, Rico, Roger and myself, plus new members Michelle & Shance. And from AIDS/LifeCycle (and with a little convincing from Downtown Julie Brown) we have Julie, Julie’s husband Mike, Michael C., Dave T., Robert & Chris Z. After bagels and fruit, we assembled for a group photo, before heading out as the fog began to lift.

Skirting the south end of town, we made our way to Cienega Road, the beginning of Hollister’s Wine Trail, which also goes past the Hollister Hills Recreation Area, popular with off-road motorcycle and ATV riders. We regrouped in front of De Rose Vineyards, which also fronts the driveway to the Pietra Santa Winery. Julie & I headed back after few minutes when Bob hadn’t shown, we found he had been having mechanical issues where his rear brake was dragging, making hill climbing much tougher. All seemed to be ok when we got to him, and the 3 of us were with the others at De Rose in no time.

At mile 17 we regrouped at the entrance to Thousand Trails Campground and then from there it is 5 miles to the Paicines General Store to fuel up for the first of the two major climbs of the day. However, leaving leaving Paicines, Robert had the first flat of the day, I had not heard him holler behind me when it happened (a thorn got him) but when I noticed that he was not behind me anymore. This put us behind the group.

Quien Sabe starts in Tres Pinos and climbs up 1500 feet in just under 9 miles, around Cibo Peak, to end at the entrance to San Benito Cattle Company. There are several spots for relief from the climbs in the lower section along with a decent to Santa Ana Valley Road, where we turn right and then left to continue up Quien Sabe, but the upper 5 miles is all climbing. And according to the Krebs Maps, there is a triple chevron (greater than 9% grade) section. Before long, the first of the group was descending, first Chris and Michelle, followed by Patrick and he stopped and we chatted for a minute.

After Patrick left, I waited a minute or two and after no others were coming down, I continued to climb. Eventually the rest of them did start coming down, and I stopped and took photos as they descended; Shance, Bill, Jeremey, Bart, Mike, Roger, Julie (screaming “aaahhhhhh” as she passed by), Michael and then Dave.

At this point, I turned around and descended the portion of Quien Sabe I had done. It wasn’t too far down before I came upon Shance & Bill; Shance’s tire had come off the wheel as he was descending! We later guessed that the tube must have been getting low to have allowed that to happen. I waited while he changed his tube, and the three of us proceeded down to Santa Ana Valley and into a fabulous head wind, which seemed to follow us, even as our direction changed from northwest to west down to Fairview.

Thanks to Shance’s one man paceline, the three of us quickly caught up with the last of the others just arriving at the Fairview country store, our second lunch/refueling stop. It was nearly 3pm when we arrive, and there was still 25 miles to go, including the 10 mile climb up Lone Tree Road. As we got ready to go, first Robert found his front tire flat (again!) and after his was fixed, Shance found his same rear tire flat (again!) The thorns were winning today, but Roger aka “Thorn Boy” was spared! About half of the group was heading back to the house and skipping Lone Tree.

Part of the reason for leading this particular ride to get some climbing in training for the Big Sur Ride in a few weeks, with 11,000 feet of climbing in two days, 7,700 of it the first day. Lone Tree starts out much gentler than Quien Sabe, but it is more than 2,000 feet in the 9-1/2 mile climb, more than Quien Sabe.

While I felt I should be back at the house to help Bill with the food prep and entertaining, I wanted to at least do a portion of Lone Tree. Mike, Roger and Dave headed out first, followed by Erik, Bill, Bart, Shance, Michelle and myself. Michelle and I rode together as we started out Lone Tree, and chatted and at about quarter to 5pm, I turned around to head back, figuring it would get me back home about 5pm.

Back at the house, the first group were all showered and relaxing, and Bill was getting the BBQ ready, folks were having a great time. Figuring the earliest anyone might be back from Lone Tree would be shortly after 6pm, Bill went ahead and cooked the three tri-tips and two ahi-tuna steaks and we started putting out the potluck. Folks were also getting hungry, so we began eating.

One by one, the eight official finishers of the Hollister Mini Death Ride returned, first Mike B, who described in great detail the small farm house on the right at the end of the road and the gate on the left, proof of having reached the very end of the road. As the other returned, there was much discussion of which climb was more difficult, Quien Sabe or Lone Tree. Consensus was that Lone Tree was much more difficult, especially the last mile or so before the summit.

Eventually all the Lone Tree climbers made their way to the spa, for a well deserved soak after the long climbs of the day. After that, dessert was served including Rico’s fabulous lemon pie. We wrapped up the evening with a viewing of the photo DVD presentation put together by Michael from AIDS/LifeCycle 5, including Shance getting dressed in a dress for Red Dress Day! And it was learned that one of the Day 3/Rest Stop 2 Post Prom Nighters was Chris Z’s boyfriend Rueben (yes, “that” one, for those of you who were there!)

P.S. Bill & Bart were going to go do the Carmel Valley loop the next day. Instead, the four of us ended up going wine tasting along the ALC Day 2 route from Salinas to Soledad, including Rest Stop 3’s Pessagno Winery, along with San Saba Vineyard, 1800 feet above the valley floor near the west entrance to the Pinnacles was Chalone Vineyard, and finally Marilyn Remark Wines. Hopefully they had a nice ride Monday!

Thanks again, everyone for coming down and making our Labor Day weekend special.

What a great turn out for the August Jersey Ride, we had over two dozen riders show, and since all reports indicated that Paradise was closed to cyclists from the slide and the repairs in progress, we opted to make the ride to Fairfax for lunch, about the same distance as the normal Camino Alto-Paradise loop would be. And it seemed like a good opportunity to continue on and do the Alpine Dam loop, the hard way.

Stephanie V. led a few riders directly to Tiburon for lunch, while the rest of us headed to Fairfax for lunch. We met at the park on Bolinas Road off of Broadway and ate together, before separating with 10 of us heading up to Alpine Dam. Bill lead the “pain” people, including Bart, Erik, Mark H, Joe & Mark Y, followed by Michael S, Roger, Will and myself.

This was the first time for me to do this loop this direction; the Evil Step Sisters ride is up Mt. Tam to Alpine Dam and then to Fairfax. While this ride has been led several times by either Bill or Dave G, I’ve never been able to make it. So I was curious to find out why we refer to this as the hard way.

The route from Fairfax consists of a three good climbs, the first is leaving Fairfax on the way to Alpine Dam, it’s about 1000 feet in 5 miles, before you head down to the dam. We regrouped there, and then Bill led the six on to the summit parking lot, where they would do the extra 3 mile ride to the very top, an additional 1000 feet of climbing, and we would meet them there.

The second climb is out of Alpine Dam to the crest of Bolinas Fairfax Road at Ridgcrest Boulevard, and the third climb is known as the Seven Bitches, and these two combined add another 1200 feet or so. The Seven Bitches were not quite as hard as I thought they would be, so I guess I was having a good day. We regrouped at the summit parking, figuring that Bill and the gang would be waiting for us already, billy goat climbers that they are and such.

We decided that they must have gone down to the ranger station parking lot, when they were not there on our arrival and did not show shortly thereafter. No sign of them at the first ranger station, but we used the facilities and got some water, then headed down to the next ranger station, no sign there. So we continued on down 3 miles. The section along Edgewood was where the wind was blowing quite hard, trying to blow us into the street. Below that we continuedo on down Moline and Montford to Miller Avenue, which leads us back toi the bike path and the return to the city.

Bill and the gang caught up with us and we continued on back to the Golden Gate Bridge, and a windy crossing, so windy you can barely go into the wind as you ride around the towers. Michael, Roger, Joe and Mark and myself did finish up at Peet’s for coffee.

Another fabulous DSSF ride, sorry I only got a few photos.

I say centuries, as in plural, as there was a great turn out for both the Marin Century and the Double Metric Century (130 miles) by Different Spokes and friends. Tony M and Roger H, Bill B, Bart N, Erika H, Anne Z and Chris L, Scott S, Kevin T, Don D and Gabriel, Doug D, Rico N and myself were among those seen on Saturdays ride.

Erika H was spotted riding out at 6:30, right as Rico and I rode up to the school on our bikes, and she was never seen again. Bill and Bart headed out next on the Double Metric, followed by Tony and Roger on the tandem, opting for a bit of a head start.

The first climb of the day is Lucas Valley Road, while only 8/10ths of a mile, it averages an 8.4% grade. From there on to Nicassio and out Pt. Reyes-Petaluma and past the Cheese Factory to the first rest stop on Hicks Valley Road at Lincoln School. Doug missed us at ride out, but caught up to us here.

Chris opted for the metric at this point, and turned off after the first rest stop, as an injury was bothering her. Not long after leaving the first rest stop, we began the second climb of the day, the infamous Marshall Wall, a 1.3 mile climb with a 6% grade and a false summit. The down hill had a few bad patches of road, most were marked, and it was not as bad as the descent down Coleman Valley Road was on the Wine Country. From there we head north along Highway 1 to Tomales, then on to Valley Ford and the second rest stop at mile 49.

You couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather. In fact, the only thing we did ask for was less headwinds. But then again, when one expects tailwinds on Chileno Valley Road on the way to Petaluma, and you have headwinds, one might get a bit cranky. At least it wasn’t in the 100s when we arrived in Petaluma in the afternoon at rest stop 3 at 77 miles.

The climb at Red Hill after you leave Petaluma can be quite brutal when it is 100 degrees, even in the mid 80s it was still a nice break with the water/ice stop at the top of the hill. From here, we retrace the route back, past the Cheese Factoryand to the last rest stop in Nicassio. From there, it was 12 miles, and the return climb up Lucas Valley Road while only a 2% grade, it is 3.7 miles.

Marin Cyclist definitely put on one of the most well run organized rides, and the post ride meal is outstanding; salad, choice of four different pizzas, pasta, lasagna, grapes and watermelon, cake or brownies and ice cream.

Details of the ride can be see at MotionBased.com, where you can export the file to view on Google Earth, if your interested.

By the way, Tony and Roger are back from two weeks of cycling in the French Alps, including climbing l’Alpe d’ Huez on the tandem, no less!!

After the long heat wave, it was a relief to wake to the overcast morning for our jaunt to Freedom/Corralitos in Santa Cruz County. I was joined by ALC friends Michael H. and Keith W. along with potential new DSSF members Chris T. and Jeremy J., who met last weekend on Stephanie’s East Bay BART to BART ride. Chris drove over from Fresno and Jeremy drove down from the City, pretty much a toss-up on who drove the furthest!

We headed out Union Road and across the valley, bypassing busy Highway 156. While we were spared heat, we were not spared of headwinds, which is unusual for the morning heading west. We zig-zagged around San Juan Bautista, coming up on the backside of McAlpine Lake & Park where Anzar Road begins the easy ascent to Carr Avenue and the short climb to the top, followed by the descent down to Carpenteria Road and in to Aromas, where the librarian allowed us use of the facilities, before contining on our trek.

From Aromas, we got on Riverside Road Highway 129 for a couple miles, and then on to Carlton Road and more zig-zagging, and crossing Hecker Pass Highway 152 onto Casserly Road. This took us to Green Valley Road and after a few more turns, we arrive in Freedom, where four of us opted for Mexican food, and one opted for a sandwich from the grocery store. A few quick photos, before heading to Corralitos; Chris had headed out ahead of us to get a head start on the climb up Hazel Dell Road.

Hazel Dell Road has it’s memories for me, as my family owned 48 acres in the area known as Game Cock Canyon Ranch. This climb is actually higher than Carr Avenue, fortunately it’s not as steep.

The descent down Hazel Dell Road puts us on the lower portion of Mt. Madonna Road before we arrive at Casserly Road, and after a quick water refill, we continued on the return portion, onto Carlton Road again, and then east on Riverside Road Highway 129, and then to Aromas.

The climb up Carr Avenue heading home is the steeper and longer climb. I had told Bill that I would call him from Aromas, to give him a heads up on our estimated ETA back home. After starting the climb, I realized that since we didn’t stop in Aromas, I had forgot to call him, so I pulled off in a driveway to call him quickly. It also gave me a chance to catch my breath, as I was unable to keep up with Michael, Keith and Jeremy. I figured I had better call while I was thinking of it, because if I thought I was going to do it at the top, I’d have forgotten to, from relief of getting to the top and heading back down hill.

The jaunt back around San Juan Bautista this time found nice tail winds, and I noticed that I was averaging between 18-24 mph. The GPS route can be viewed at MotionBased.com where you can view detailed metrics of the ride or run it on a map player.

We returned home and Bill was in final preparations for the BBQ. Chris changed and headed on to the City, so as not to run into any of the Garlic Festival traffic. The rest of us took our showers and then relaxed and began refueling and rehydrating with tortilla chips and Michael’s guacamole and bean dip,and a bottle of Sterling Diamond Mountain Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Before we knew it, Bill had dinner ready, BBQ tri-tip, BBQ ahi tuna, cheesy garlic bread, grilled asparagus and bell peppers and a couple pasta salads, topped off with Joseph Schmidt truffles for dessert.

Congratulation to Jeremy for success on his longest road ride yet! Great job!! And thanks again all for making the trek to Hollister and joining me for the ride! I very much enjoyed the company!

OK, it has taken a month to recover from this years ride, well maybe recover isn’t the right word, maybe get caught up is better. I had delusions of posting an update on our adventures and our fundraising shortly after we returned from Los Angeles.

First, some statistics for you about the ride, you may find interesting. There were approximately 1800 riders this year and 400 roadies (compared to last years 1400 riders and 425 roadies.) The total raised was over $8 million, up from $6 million last year. They announced that this was the most successful AIDS fundraiser in the country.

The original sixteen members of Different Spokes Team #120 raised $11,580 from fellow members and freinds. That amount was shared by the sixteen of us who formed the team, and it helped us each towards our minimum fundraising amount, $2500 per rider.

By my count, there were 25 club members and friends participating this year as 22 as Riders and three as Roadies in the Traffic, Medical and Advanced Setup teams, and three club members who were unable to do the ride but did raise money. The total raised by this group was over $89,000, which is just amazing!

If you are interesting in some morte statistics, you might want to check out Fun Facts; for example, we consumed two tons of oatmeal. So on to the last 4 days.

We started out Day 4 in Paso Robles, where it appeared that one of us had his bike stolen. A bit more checking and he found out his bike had been pulled to a holding section, and he had to go see the man in charge. Turns out this rider had been spotted in a pace line (with several boys from LA). A paceline is one of the actions that can get you expeled from the ride. Fortunately, he got off with a warning, and a complement, as he was in “good form.”

On this day, we covered 96 miles on the way to Santa Maria, and the day begins with the Evil Twins on the way to the “official” halfway to Los Angeles point.

From there, it is a nine mile downhill to Highway 1. Lunch was at El Chorro Regional Park at mile 50 outside of San Luis Obispo, where someone commented that they were starting to feel a bit like a squirrel hoarding nuts for the winter (as they proceeded to pull out package after package of Planters Honey Roasted peanuts from their pockets.) I think many of us found that at the end of the day, we had extra food in our jersey pockets, I know I collected several Cliff bars, and I know someone ended up with a 4 or 5 apples in their bag too.

The next 10 miles were quite warm, approaching 90 degrees I’m sure, until we left rest stop 3 and turned a corner on the way to Pismo Beach, where the ocean breeze cooled things down comfortably. A group of us stopped for coffee in Pismo Beach, before continuing on towards Guadalupe and rest stop 4, but not before a tough little (at 76 miles) climb after mostly flat road and rollers. This 8/10th of a mile climb is on a narrow road shared by good size trucks, who were quite considerate of the cyclists slowly climbing to the top. After rest stop 4 in Guadalupe, it was only another 12 miles to camp at Preisker Park in Santa Maria.

Day 5 is Red Dress/Dress in Red day, so it was quite festive to see a number of Spokers in red tuts.

It’s a relatively short day as miles go, only 44 miles. But it is day 5, and we have already traveled nearly 360 miles in the previous 4 days. It gets a bit tougher to get back on that bike seat (at least for me) by day 5. And day 5 isn’t without it’s share of climbing either, as we circle Vandenberg AFB on the way to Lompoc.

Rest stop 2 is in the town of Casmalia at the Winifred Wollman School, where the grade school children have prepared letters for riders. Leaving Casmalia, you go back thru the town (all of three blocks, that is) to the blaring disco music and the sight of cyclists dancing in the streets. Between here and the lunch stop are the two major climbs of the day, the first as we leave Casmalia, a 1.4 mile climb. The second climb begins at a right hand turn onto Highway 1, which to my mind it seems we would be heading north, the wrong direction. Now that I can see the route from the GPS routing, I do see that we did turn onto Highway 1 South. It’s still a tough 1.3 mile climb. The LA Gay & Lesbian Center board members are at the top with red & black vines, M&Ms and cookies; they always seem to find a good place to camp out waiting for us toc ome by. Lunch was just on the outskirst of Lompoc, and we finished the day with lots of time to relax before dinner.

Leaving Lompoc on Day 6 we begin the day right away with two climbs as we head for Ventura. At mile 18, we are back on 101 heading towards the coast, and this stretch of 101 is much busier than that section we dealt with on the way to Bradly on Day 3. The CHP has closed down one lane of 101 for one bridge crossing after rest stop 2 fortunately, just too narrow for us to cross safely. Lunch was in Tucker’s Grove Park in Goleta and finally we got a bit of sun. We stopped quickly at Rest Stop 3 to get layed, um, I mean leied and use the portopotties before heading to Paradise Pit.

Every year, the local community in Santa Barbara provides riders with ice cream, cookies & brownies, this year they even had massage tables set-up and riders are lined up waiting (or lucky enough to be getting one.)

Someone had mentioned to me earlier on the Ride that there was a climb not long after leaving Paradise Pit they disliked, and for the life of me, I couldn’t remember it; that is until we turned the corner at mile 60. I was glad I only had one serving of ice cream, and I won’t say how many brownies, but sufice it to say, it was slow going up this hill. Fortunately it was only 24 more miles to Ventura. The campground is at San Buenaventura State Beach, within walking distance of both a Marriott hotel (where we are on a mission for margaritas) and an In-N-Out (where one of us a second meal, and then dessert back at camp, I believe.)

Day 6 concludes with the candlelit vigil on the beach. It is still difficult for me to believe that it has been 25 years since june 5th, 1981 when the CDC reported an unusual outbreak of Pneumocystis carini pneumonia (PCP) among young gay men, followed by the New York Times in July reporting on the appearance of a rare cancer, Kaposi’s sarcoma, among 41 gay men in New York and California. And in 2005 1.1 million Americans are living with HIV, with an estimated 25% unaware of their sero-status. That is what this ride is all about.

Our final day, Ventura to Los Angeles, and Day 7 promises to be a fairly easy day. We have decided to meet at the lunch stop at Malibu Lagoon State Beach and ride the final 15 or so miles together as a group. Nevertheless, there are still 60 miles to ride, but leaving Ventura it is all flat. Not until we leave rest stop 2, do we start with the rollers; Pt. Mugu, Leo Carillo, Zuma Beach, Escondido and finally the Pepperdine climb. We leave the lunch stpo at 12:45 so as to time our arrival in Los Angeles at 2pm, where Bill, Jon and Tia will have hopefully met up and will be there for our ride in.

But not before a stop at Starbucks, or course. Well, actually, it was so a one of us could catch up with the group, having riden ahead to get a rental car, for a quick getaway after Closing Ceremonies.

And so at about 2:15pm on Saturday, June 10th 2006, we arrive in Los Angeles, having completed 553 miles and 24,000 feet of climbing in seven days.

Online registration for AIDS/LifeCycle 6, taking place June 3-9, 2007, is now open. At last count, there are a half dozen of us having already signed up or committed to it. How about you?

Well, three days down, 4 to go. At last count there were 23 (members and friends) of us riding and 3 Roadies. With this large of a group you can imagine it’s not easy to get us all coordinated and riding out together. But we’ve run into each other along the route and in the morning before breakfast or at dinner.

Day 1 from the Cow Palace to Santa Cruz was uneventful, although foggy along San Bruno to Half Moon Bay and southward, it cleared up around Pescadero, and ended as a beautiful day in Santa Cruz.

Day 2 started foggy and riding thru the streets of Santa Cruz, Aptos till we hit the first rest stop was slow with commuters and on city streets. As usual, the walls of wind presented themselves from the north for the west to east crossing not too fun. After that, it was tailwinds to King City.

Today was King City to Paso Robles, not a long day, but it got warm heading to the little town of Bradley, and stayed in the high 80s or 90s all the way to Paso Robles. While we still had a 5 mile stretch on 101 before Bradley, this year we did not have to get back on 101 on the way to Paso Robles, nice routing.

Here’s an interesting photo from yesterday’s ALC photocast….