[Sosfbay-discuss] Thank You -- ALC 6 Bike ride is over

[Bob Alavi]

Greetings Jack:
   
  The SF to LA bike ride was over last Saturday, June 9.  Thanks to you again, I made it!  Rode all the way and arrived in LA around 1 pm.  Daniel arrived ahead of me.  That goes without saying!  Our actual ride turned out to be around 560 miles.  Each day would start out of the camp between 6:30 to 8:30 AM, with stops for snacks, water, refreshments and lunch.  Dinners were served in overnight camps.  “Portapotties” and (semi) truck showers accounted for our “facilities.  Tents were provided for camping.  Humidity increased overnight to such a point that made everything wet.  We did not have “time” to let them dry out in the morning.  Our best hope was to make it early enough to the next camp to let them dry in the afternoon sun.
   
  Some of you may wonder about our “route”!  Although some parts were along “101”, then others along “1”; our group of about 2300 bicyclists, then another 500 + support crew, stayed off those major roads as much as possible.  The mood was very festive and spirits high.  On Wednesday (6/6) and Thursday (6/7) we had hurricane level winds!  Then all along we came across scenes that were awesome and breathtaking.  Day 5, Thursday 6/7 was called the "Red Dress Day".  I had heard of it before, then interpreted it to mean "dress in red something".  For a majority, the interpretation was different.  See "Day 5 pictures".  It turned out to be more outrageous than San Francisco Haloween Parade -- short of nudity!  It was explained to me that many years ago a truck driver beat up a bicyclist in a fiat of road rage.  Then this was a group response and reaction to commemorate that event.  The stretch from Santa Barbara to Ventura was mainly on “bicycle paths and trails” which made it
 specially pleasant.
   
  Schedules were very individual.  We got up and went to bed as we wished.  There were “closing times” for breakfast, camps, and break stops.  After each closing time, anyone remaining would have been “swiped” (a truck or van would have picked and driven the rider and bicycle to the next camp).  Daniel and I were not swiped.  Some riders did have minor accidents and/or heatstroke along the route.  Again, thank goodness, we made it okay.  Both of us had a chance to help other riders to fix flats, loose chains or tangled cables and continue their ride.  My sweetest surprise came during an uphill struggle.  Then all at once I found myself moving easily.  When I looked to my left, it was Daniel with his right hand on my back, pushing me uphill!  I don’t quite know how I might have been riding ahead of him.  Perhaps I may have skipped a stop, or he might have overstayed one; or both!  But the exhilaration of that moment is beyond description.
   
  There were some pleasant, unscheduled surprises all along the way.  The huge, sweet and delicious strawberries (size of an apple) near Santa Cruz, support “letters from Grade School Children” in Bradley, “M&Ms” near San Luis Obispo (and elsewhere) in addition to the huge block party near Biltmore Hotel in Santa Barbara (ALC riders called it “paradise pit”) come to mind.  Those are but a few that came to my mind to jot down, but the ride had a lot more surprises that were easily felt, but not so easy to articulate.  Oh, one more thing!  I had a honeybee sting (on left ankle) in our Day 2 Camp in King City !  Not a pleasant thing, but nothing that couldn’t be dealt with either.
   
  I hope I have been able to give you a brief summary with my thanks.  It was an experience, well worth the first time.  Daniel thinks he may want to repeat it.  I am not so sure, although I will repeat sections of it, especially between Santa Barbara and Ventura with bike trails all along Pacific Coast .  Then in North Los Angeles County and Malilbu, again along the Pacific Coast .  I have been blessed to have gone through “similar” spots in the central coast ( San Luis Obispo to Pismo Beach ), or around Santa Cruzto San Francisco.
   
  As soon as I arrived in Veterans Center in LA; I managed to rush to LAX to pick up my rental car, before the rush of ALC crowd.  Thank god, I was able to do that.  Then Daniel and I drove to his place in Orange County , then after taking a shower, I headed back North, arriving in Mountain View by Noon on Sunday June 10, 2007.
   
  ALC 6 raised over $11 million through your generosity, plus coordinated effort of thousands of others.  Let’s hope the spirit of it may transpire to other facets of our lives.  Then the proceeds may help eradicate AIDS forever.
   
  Thanks again,
   
  Bob Alavi
   
  Here are the “official” ALC pictures for all seven days.  (Day 7 -- pic 13 of 141 -- is Daniel, the only one with UC, Irvine Cycling Jerseys J  
   
  http://aidslifecycle.typepad.com/alc6/2007/05/aidslifecycle_6_1.html 
   
   
  A “rider” had these pictures:


  Photos Page 1

Photos Page 2
   
  Another had these detailed “Write up”  and photos:   
   
  write up of the event Here.


photos can be found here. (photo transfer rate may be slow)
   
   
  Elevation gains for each day were as follows:
   
  Day 1 - 5206
Day 2 - 2588
Day 3 - 2191
Day 4 - 3254
Day 5 - 1853
Day 6 - 2828
Day 7 – 1407
   
  I took some pictures, but have not had a chance to organize them yet!

       
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