This past week I participated in the AIDS/LifeCycle 8 ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Last fall I decided to sign up for it and began the work of fundraising and training. After thinking about and planning for it for so long, it was hard to believe that the time had actually come to ride the ride. But that is exactly what we did.

My main goal was to spend a week getting some great long bicycle rides in at a moderately fast rate and to raise money for a good cause in the process. I am happy to say that I met those goals. I was among the first 100 or so out on the road each morning and among the first 200 or so into camp each afternoon. I averaged around 15 miles per hour for the whole trip – which is where I was at during my training rides. And thanks to the generosity of my family and friends I was able to meet and exceed by more than $1,000 the minimum fundraising goal of $3,000.

So here are some highlights from the ride:

On the bike:
- I did not get any flats! Even on the day when we rode in the pouring rain and everyone else seemed to.
- I was able to keep a great pace going and enjoyed most of the miles that I rode. Those going into the wind weren’t so fun, but those with a good push from the wind at my back were awesome!
- There was a core group of people who left around the same time and had a similar pace to mine so I saw them often at the rest stops and lunch. It was fun to get to know them during these stops.
- All the people working the rest stops were so friendly and concerned for the safety of the riders. It was nice to have such support out on the road.
- Red Dress Day on Day 5 – when everyone wears red, preferably a dress, and makes a long ribbon on the road like the red ribbon worn to show you support HIV/AIDS research and funding. I had a smashing chiffon dress with a waist tie. Luckily it was short so it didn’t catch in my wheels or chain!
- Day 6: Making it 15 miles in the pouring rain to Rest Stop 1 before the whole day was cancelled due to a big car accident on the road ahead of us. That accident made it impossible for us to get to and through a special CHP-controlled zone for us to cross a narrow bridge on Highway 101 on time. So we ended up just being bussed to camp in Ventura. That was the first time in the 16 years of this ride that a day’s ride has been cancelled.
- The group from LA called the "Midnight Ridazzz" who completed the whole trip on fixed gear bikes - they only had one gear for all of those huge hills (both up and down). Crazy!

In camp:
- My tent neighbors who helped me set up my tent the first couple of days since I came in long before my tent mate.
- Other tent neighbors who shared extra tent stakes with me in King City and beyond when I thought my tent would blow away with me inside of it.
- My tent mate, who was fun to talk to for the few minutes each evening that our schedules actually overlapped! She took down the tent each morning when it was cold and wet. Bless her!
- Evening announcement time and talks from people at organizations that use the money that was donated for the ride.
- Massage!!!
- Comedy routine from Ant.

People:
- Ken, the Dean of Students for a small college in Vermont, who I met in line for the safety video on Orientation Day and then didn’t see again until Day 6 in camp. He was a roadie working on the breakfast crew.
- Ken Simpson, the captain of the traffic crew, who got us safely into camp in the afternoons and out again the next morning. I met him over dinner in King City.
- Brandon and Chris, next door neighbors in tent village. I also crossed paths with them out on the road a couple of times. They ride faster than me but stop for longer at the rest stops so I would see them on the road a couple of times each day.
- Steve and Amir, who rode just slightly faster than me but stayed longer at rest stops so I shared many stopovers with them. Steve let me draft a bit towards the end of the 107 mile day when a cross wind whipped up!
- Heather from Google who I pulled for a while on Day 1 and crossed paths with almost every other day of the ride.
- The moto safety guys who I met at dinner on Day 6. They helped direct us and traffic out on the road so that we didn’t always have to stop at intersections if it was safe.
- David, who I met in SF on several training rides and then saw on the ride finally at dinner on Day 6.
- The guys from Rest Stop 4. They put a lot of effort into making a great experience for the riders coming into their stop.

I was completely amazed by the generosity and care that people showed for one another. I went on this trip alone and that allowed me to meet the most amazing range of people. I never sat alone at a table for long – breakfast, lunch, or dinner. People were so friendly and genuinely interested in getting to know me. There are so many more that I would love to highlight, but I can’t remember all of their names. There were 2,150 riders as well as almost 400 Roadies and Staff. That’s a lot of people to try to remember. I am glad that I had this opportunity. Thanks to all who supported me and made it possible.