petaluma is pretty.

But Petaluma is far, far away- 95 miles roundtrip from San Francisco! So we went over the Golden Gate Bridge (btw, I'm so over riding that bridge), over Camino Alto, stopped for coffee in Fairfax, climbed over White's Hill, went over the unnamed Nicasio 
hill...

13 miles to Petaluma!

Are you ready to take it to the limit, one more time? Yes, he really said that.

And then we went over that damn cheese factory hill: Alpe du 

Fromage and this was the 1st time I have ever gone over these

hills without stopping. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it took

me so long, but it felt pretty amazing! And that's the truth,

Ruth!

Dave checkin' the route sheet at the Cheese Factory

some of my much faster co-workers... it's not a race. it's a ride. i know.

And just when I felt fantastic, we added another climber- the Wilson Wall

Dave is the little white jersey, up near the cows. I stopped & stretched.

But I got back on the bike & climbed up w/one of my favorite training ride leaders, Joseph. I love him! Doing AIDS/Lifecycle (ALC) is obviously very important to him since he volunteers this time, but it is also part of his training- he has done many marathons, just recently completed his first triathlon, and will be participating in the Gay Games in Cologne in July! Oh, and he's lost like 80 lbs since my first blog post. Go, Joseph!!!! 

Smogivars

The descent was TERRIFYING! I could smell my rims burning.

Dave with llama- you can click these pictures to make them bigger. That llama's cuuuute! And then we finally got to lunch and let's not talk about the rest. I did not eat enough or something (and lady stuff- blah, blah- I'll spare you the deets) so I called it a day around mile 50? Dave went 95 MILES!!!! And then we showered & went to a party as total zombies. Sorry, Stephanie. We tried.

raising money, y'all!

So one day while Dave got ready to go on a training ride, I began freaking out about how low my fundraising thermometer was and decided to do something about it! I took my bike, the stationary bike trainer thingy I borrowed from Russ, and my boombox down to the Ferry Building Farmer's Market. I also took this time to test out my red dress.

Day 5 on the ride: red dress day! Or just dress-in-red, if you're boring. ;)

It was mostly fun & successful but there was definitely some stranger-danger weirdness sprinkled throughout the 3-4 hours I pedaled by myself- nothing super hateful or anything worth repeating. This youngster in the black shirt hopped on the bike when I got off to stretch... um, OK:

Dave & I had been planning to sell rainbow cupcakes with cloud frosting in the park for ages, but the weather never cooperated. It has been a wet spring here. So we finally did cupcakes & brownies for a bakesale at work-- actually, it was Dave who did it. One of my co-workers, Mary, also made a ton of brownies and homemade coffee cakes that she brought in on her day off! Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera to work. I sooo should have! 

Dave, the baker. Who knew? I was running late so he just started... and then whipped up some frosting & finished them.

homemade vanilla butter cream frosting yo!

I put the yummy goods on a trolley, like a dim sum cart, & took them around to all the different departments, covering several floors. I was actually a little nervous since I didn't know many people in the other departments personally. I could not believe how supportive people were! Almost everyone had words of encouragement since many had done the ride before, are doing it again with me, or had/were working as a roadie- they are the ones who haul everything & set up everything & feed you & work as "sweeps" who pick you up if you are having heat stroke &/or start to totally freak out. 

I raised a whole bunch of dollars that day. And I continued to get online donations when I got home- and some of the spouses worked for companies who had matching gift programs! There were people who did not want a baked good because they were dieting or were allergic to gluten-- but still donated!  I heart you, SFAF! 

The Jonathan Pon Memorial Ride- May 1&2

I can not even begin to express in words how amazing this weekend was for me & Dave! This was a fully supported two day ride put on by the Positive Pedalers in memory of their founder and friend, Jonathan Pon.

We met up in Sausalito around 6AM. These are some of the wonderful ride leaders, many who are Positive Pedalers. The woman in the blue bandana, is Julie Brown and she gave us all red bandanas with the H.E.R.O. (HIV Endeavor for Reaching Out) Creed on them:

So sweet! I'm not sure you can read it. It says: 

I have risen before dawn in this fight against AIDS-

I've rallied family, friends, and strangers to support me in this fight-

I've spent mornings, afternoons, and weekends training for those who can't-

I have spent hundreds of dollars on equipment, clothing, and energy bars- 

I have learned hand signals, how to clip in, and the importance of stopping at every stop sign- 

I have yelled "car up!,""car back!," and "On your left!" approximately one million times-

I've raised thousands of dollars to support the well being of someone else's life- 

I have learned that if I don't talk about HIV, to prevent it from spreading, who will?- 

I will stand in line with my closest friends for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and to use the bathroom- 

I will ride side by side with them for the same cause- 

I will spend a week sleeping in a tent, eating in a tent, and showering in a truck- 

I will make over two thousand new and interesting friends while raising awareness of HIV/AIDS- 

I will laugh out loud and cry with them- 

I will dedicate a week of my life to improve someone else's- 

I will do things my body did not think I could do- 

I will boldly show the world how strongly I believe in this cause- 

I will ride my bicycle from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise awareness and money in the fight against HIV/AIDS- 

I am a California AIDS/Lifecyclist- 

I am a HERO.

We shaved some time off the SF part of our ride and headed through Fairfax, and over Camino Alto- where we saw wild turkeys and deer jumped out in front of us- and then past cows in Nicasio.

Old St. Mary's Church is so cute!

At the top of some hill in Lucas Valley (I think) overlooking a farm and windmills.

mile 35- lunch!

The good eater- I'm not bonking today!

This was in the Point Reyes/Petaluma area

We were so excited it was flatter after lunch but the headwinds were insane. Dave is making a funny face because of the wind. But look at the cute goats!

My magical rainbow unicorn socks carried me all the way to Cassini Ranch in Duncan's Mills/Russian River area. I was the last one in, but I made it! The bottom of my socks say better than horses!

72.22 miles- check.

We set up our AIDS/Lifecycle tent, which is quite spacious actually.

Today on AIDS/Lifecycle cribs...

I pretended I was at the Hotel San Jose when I showered. What's up, Erin & Chuck?!?!

Traumeel is one of my good friends (homeopathic anti-inflammatory.) The big pill is carrying Traumeel tablets.

Lady Gaga- one of the SAG vehicles

Super friendly guy watching over the animals at Cassini Ranch.

They were right across from our tent sites. So cute!

AMAZING dinner!

There was music & merriment but I think we were asleep by 8:30PM

Oh yeeeeah! These foam rollers are heavenly.

Get in line! A super nice PT heard me complain about my knee and fixed me for free with her magic tape. Everyone was ridiculously nice!

Stretching party! The woman w/the blond hair is Laura, awesome training ride leader!

Buz, one of the ride leaders. He is hilarious! 

(my poor eyes are so puffed from the wind & allergies)

Yummy breakfast. The vegetarian food they had was delish!

Warming up. It was so *cold* in the morning!

Just biking along Hwy 1 
{scary at times! but not bad since it was like 7-9AM}

Wish you were here!

Taking over Valley Ford Market. There was a lot of Lady Gaga.

I think this was Charles, Gabriel, and Bob. Testosterone, you gotz it.

Another rest stop with my super awesome & extremely supportive co-worker, Albie. He works for the Stonewall Project, providing counseling to gay men who use speed. 

TA-DA! Back in Sausalito. Thanks Poz Peds! We couldn't have done it without you!

Yay! Our new friend Mineska (pretty sure I'm butchering that spelling.) 

She was the PT who fixed my knee with her magic tape- Thank you!

Phew! 2 days, 150 miles. That was a great weekend. One of my favorite parts was going through Samuel P Taylor Park. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been! Redwood groves get me every time!

This was my magic knee tape. 

Not sure why this is sideways, but anyway- that is the max speed Dave did on this ride: 40.8 miles per hour-- which makes me nauseated! Yes, he always passes me on downhills. Ugh!  

Thank you for checking out our blog and supporting our AIDS/Lifecycle fundraising! Your support means so much to us!