Days 6 & 7

Day 6

After a light day on Day 5, it finally felt good again to get back on the bike.  Not to mention a relatively leisurely morning of getting up at 5:30, taking a shower!!!, getting my sore knee and achilles freshly Rock-Taped, 600mg of Ibuprofin for the toe, a little stretching class (also part of the all inclusive services) to get everything loose and limber, a real breakfast (the eggs aren't real, of course, way too soft and smooth for massive batches of scrambled eggs but that's another story) and by the time I get packed up and am ready to ride, on the bike by 8:15 (which puts me in the last maybe 5% of riders heading out that day.  These dudes are not messing around with the schedule.  Everyone out by 8:30 means everyone, no exceptions, out, like not inside of the grounds at all, by 8:30, not a second later).

Anyway, its nice to leave a little later because the sun is out and you get less morning fog/dew.   We get a little bogged down at the first rest stop anyway.  We are preparing to come over the Gaviota pass and there has been a bike accident on the downhill side and highway patrol closed the road.  It does make me even a little more hesitant to fly down the backside given that it is one of the steeper descents on the whole ride with a narrow shoulder, lots of truck traffic and a fairly old road.  Especially now that we are all clumped into a big group (they are releasing only a few riders at a time).  Downhills are not my strong suit anyhow.

The highlights of Day 6 include an amazing unofficial rest stop in Santa Barbara known as Paradise Pit.  For the last 15 years, a man named Ron, has donated all you can eat ice cream with all you can eat toppings and a fresh fruit bar for all of the riders on the AIDS ride.  That's a lot of ice cream.  These people can definitely eat (did I mention burning 3500 calories a day on average) and usually its pretty hot by the time the riders hit Santa Barbara (not so much this year, but in years past, or so I hear).  Anyway, good ice cream, good toppings, and amazing to wash your hands with real soap and water instead of sanitizing wipes and gel.

I met a guy on day 6 who really brought home one of the nice aspects of the ride for me.  Jewish guy (I didn't ask, but it was obvious) from Long Island (like both of my parents) in his mid to late 60's (guess).  Riding with his son and his son's boyfriend (this guy, the father, not the son or the boyfriend, was a pretty fast rider and quite smooth with the hand signals.  Apparently he does a lot of Long Island and probably Florida riding) on their way to LA where he was going to meet the boyfriend's family for the first time.  His wife was flying in that night to meet him in Ventura and then the whole mishpucha was going to gather in LA.  Anyway, pretty open minded and cool of this guy to ride to meet with his potential future in-laws like this.  He said he thought this was the One for his son and he seemed pretty psyched about the whole thing.

Finally, the night ended with a candle light vigil.  Actually, before I get to that I should mention the speakers that spoke after dinner every night in the dining tent.   The three core speakers:  Greg Sroda (head of AIDS/Lifecycle), Neil Guiliano (CEO of the SFAF) and Lorri Jean (CEO of LA LGBT center) were all great.  Every night they told stories of different riders, past and present, or of their organization or about the fight against AIDS.  All were charming, eloquent, passionate and funny.  One of the nights, an LA congressman, Adam Schiff (28th district), spoke about his decision to come along on the ride with us.  He had been a key note speaker at the closing ceremony last year (his district includes the LA LGBT center) and was so moved and inspired that he joined for the entire 545 miles this year (including sleeping in a tent with a lottery chosen tent mate).  Pretty cool.  Anyway, there was also a little talent show after the speakers one night.  As you can imagine, there was some talent on display.  Everything from stand-up comedy to cabaret singers to a great rendition of Etta James' At Last.  Even a Jerem Eddy style solo acoustic guitar and song about the day a guy announced to his friends that he was HIV positive.

So the vigil was held on Ventura Beach where we camped Day 6.  It seemed to be at least 2000 people (maybe more, who knows, it was dark after all) each holding a candle inside a little wax paper cup.  The candles were lit by some giant nun-like gentlemen (Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence maybe) and we all stood in complete silence other than the ebb and flow of the waves on the sand.  Everyone was asked to think of people they had known who had been effected by HIV/AIDS.  Pretty moving.  Really intense to be in a crowd that large that is not making a noise.  

Day 7

So, this was it.  Last day on the ride.  Last day of packing up the tent.  Last day of hauling gear.  Last day of mediocre coffee and long coffee lines (I guess those aren't really going away.  We have plenty of long coffee lines here in SF).  Also, last day, with this crazy, incredible group of people.  Last day riding my bike behind guys covered head to toe in tattoos and piercings wearing only bikini briefs.  Last day with the New Bear Republic (and their Canadian contingent the Polar Bear Posse), the B-List, Team Popular, Team Unpopular, the Funky Monkey and Team Mary.  Last day of people cheering for me every 5 miles and encouraging me at every rest stop.  Last day of all the free Cliff bars and Pop-tarts and Gatorade I would ever want to eat or drink.  Last day of beautiful California coastline, farmland, mountains and ranches at every turn.  Last day of "On your Left" 18,000 times (that's the phrase you use when passing or hear when being passed.  It gets real real old although its admittedly quite useful).  It felt good to be finishing and a little sad to be done.

The last day was mostly riding down Highway 1 from Ventura to LA.  It gets pretty crowded down there especially on a Saturday so I took it pretty slow on the bike.  All kinds of gorgeous views to take in and appreciate.  Lots of nice houses down in Malibu to ogle.  Lots of car doors opening and surfers or other beachgoers getting in and out to carefully avoid and warn the rider behind you of.  I think our lunch break this day was at Pepperdine University.  I think.  Nice grassy field to lay around in one last time and stretch the tight and weary legs and slather on another layer of sunscreen.

We rolled into LA through the beach from Santa Monica.  Up a final hill and then a mile or 2 on San Vicente to the LA vet center.  Lots of people cheering as we came through the gates and up the streets of the Veteran Center.  Clearly this AIDS ride, and the money it raises, effects the lives of thousands of people…. and their friends and supporters are happily willing to come out and cheer in the riders.  As a rider, you definitely feel like you've made a difference.  I heard one of the Moto Safety guys who help direct and control traffic throughout the ride say to a rider when they tried to thank him…."NO, thank you.  You guys have helped many of my friends live longer, better lives".  And I guess thats what its all about.  All of the work, all of the infrastructure, all of the time, all of the discomfort…..

Final Stats (for those interested)
532 miles (we lost 12 because of heavy crosswinds on day 4, or so I heard)
14.1 mph ave (my odometer thing actually died on me on the second to last day, but thats what I was averaging before she went down)
0 lbs - Net weight gained or loss - all those damn mojo bars, sports drinks and all you can eat dinners
15,000,195 dollars raised, 70% of which actually goes to the beneficiaries, a quite high percent for the fundraising world as I now understand.  
2,360 riders or, in other words, room for another 140 of you to join us!