Friends, family, and amazing donors, I have returned safely to LA after a week of cycling down the California coast with 2300 other cyclists and over 500 support volunteers. The past seven days were some of the most challenging of my life, but they were made easier by the funny, creative, and inspiring people I met along the way - as well as my teammates. My team, the Funky Monkeys raised nearly $350,000 and the event in total raised 10.5 million for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention in California.
Below are some highlights from the photos I took but please check out the large pro photosets on flickr: AIDS/Lifecycle FLICKR set
Day 1 - My Sister Ellen and her husband Steven arrived bright and early in San Francisco last Sunday to see me get on the road. Road conditions were not ideal as fog condensed into rain. We worked our way south to the first Rest Stop where Ellen, Steven and Zoe (their dog) welcomed me. I then headed up a steep climb and down into Half moon bay. On the downhill most cyclists hit a top speed of 40 mph (a record for me). Unfortunately that day there were a lot of accidents but I was very fortunate. We worked our way down the Coastal Highway 1 and camped in Santa Cruz that night.
Day 2 - We traveled from Santa Cruz inland to King City. Most of the riding early on in the day was through farmland where migrant workers harvested cauliflower and broccoli. The day ended with rolling hills that allowed us to coast into the campsite right as the sun was setting. All week long along the way are rest stops populated by roadies who take pride in transforming the mundane task of feeding and hydrating the riders into little slices of theater. Each stop (nearly 30 of them throughout the week) had a different theme: the one at right was the "Birthday Party". The martini glass is filled with Powerade.
Creativity was also on display among many of my teammates. While all of the Monkeys had small stuffed monkeys on their helmets, top fundraiser Doug, at left, had a donor sew him monkey ears for his helmet and a large curled monkey tail for his bike. Gabriel, at right, had a flower sprouting from his helmet that stayed on and up straight all week.
By Day 2 I realized that the infamous "Butt Butter" could no longer be avoided and I would need something to sooth my skin. Hundreds of miles of cycling creates a lot of friction and some simple lubrication (pictured at left) prevents irritation. I guess the Belgians are into cycling and know something about lubrication. A little dab of their "budder" each day helped me stay happy in the saddle.
Day 3's big hill known as "quad buster" turned out to not be very bad. I tend to enjoy climbs that I can sprint; it's the long, steep climbs that wear me out.
Day 4 was filled with more climbing as we made our way to the halfway point. The picture at the top of this page was taken at the peak halfway to LA. Another steep downhill followed and then we rode through beautiful countryside seemingly untouched by mankind. Our lunch stop was in the tiny town of Bradley (population: ~60) where each year the town sells lunch to the passing cyclists to raise funds for their school.
Day 6 was a bust. My tentmate and I woke up laying in two inches of rain water that had seeped into our tent. Our sleeping bags and gear bags were wet as well. Despite this I got on the road and started biking uphill, in driving rain, with a headwind. I was ready to quit as I approached the reststop. To my relief the entire rest of the route was closed by the CHP due to a car accident further down the road and unsafe conditions. All cyclists were being bussed to the next camp site. The ALC organizers acted quickly and efficiently to change plans and move nearly 3000 people, 2300 bikes, and all camp infrastructure to the next site. I don't have any nice pictures from Day 6 so I provide you with a picture of my teammate and tentmate Steven at closing.
Day 7 everyone was really fresh from a day off and we made great progress with the wind at our backs from Ventura into West LA. I was able to coordinate with my sister Juliet and her husband Trevor along the route in Malibu.
Trevor played the role of paparazzi...
... while Juliet played the role of elf/cheerleader/magic wand/fairy making it easy for me to find her on the side of the road. The other hundred cyclists who passed also got a kick out of her. (She's even thinking about being a roadie next year).
Juliet had rounded up friends Johnny and Perry (pictured) as well as Butch and her son Luca to welcome me as I rode in. Trevor generously carried my heavy gear bag to the car.
It's been one incredible week and I am definitely considering doing it all over again. It wouldn't have been possible with out the financial support of my donors (especially super-angel-level donor Ellen) as well as the words of encouragement from everyone who wished me well.
THANK YOU!!
(picture at left is of me in Pismo beach)