AIDS Lifecycle Day 1: 89.9 miles - San Francisco to Santa Cruz

The number 545 was my first thought as I rolled out of Rethans' hide-a-bed in the early hours of Sunday morning. As I went about readying myself for the journey ahead, I had to laugh, for I had yet again put myself in a position to complete some silly amount of mileage on my own power. Thus is the life of a sockmonkey...

After saying goodbye to Rethans, a fellow Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, I headed into the Cow Palace, our launching point for the AIDS Lifecycle. Thousands packed this agricultural expo center for the Opening Ceremonies and last words of encouragement. An hour or so later, with all my "important parts" covered in bodyglide, I was on my bike at the starting line next to my tentmate Jim, who I had just met the day before.

A fog and a crowd of spectators saw all 2300 riders off as we left the Cow Palace and climbed out of San Francisco. The going was slow as we climbed small hill after small hill, eventually making our way out of the urban setting. One thing I noticed immediately was how courteous the riders were out on the road. "On Your Left!" was something you'ld say and/or hear a lot throughout the week. This simple comment defined the AIDS Lifecycle a "ride" and not a "race."

Day 1 provided the hardest climb of the week. After rest stop 1 at mile 20, the route finally broke out of the fog, and with it a 2500 foot climb over 11 miles! Powering up the winding Skyline Blvd brought spectacular views of the Bay Area off to the east and an inverted cloud cover over the ocean to the west. Rest stop 2 was conveniently located at the top of the climb. A quick fill of my water bottles and off I went down the 12 mile decent through beautiful forests and canyons.

Fuji-Ma, my steel frame Fuji road bike, at the bottom of the decent.









The fog returned as the route pushed toward the ocean and our lunch break! The route continued up the hill (on the left side of the picture) - part of coastal Highway 1. We would see much of Hwy 1, along with Hwy 101, and the Pacific Coast Hwy throughout the week.



After lunch, the route hugged the coastline along Hwy 1. Rolling hills and beautiful, open skies provided much the backdrop for the rest of Day 1. I let the feeling of being free out on the open road wash over me. Then, I came upon this...




...dancing monkeys from the Wizard of Oz! Huh?

Each rest stop had a theme to it, and provided a little humor to keep you going. I found myself curious and excited to see what each up and coming rest stop would be. I made sure to stop at each rest stop, at least for a minute, to see what production and decorations were up. More rest stop pictures to come...


Day 1 ended in Santa Cruz where our campsite was located in the outfield of a baseball park. To the left, you can see the row of Budget Rental trucks used to carry our gear from camp to camp. This daily logistical challenge was carried out each day by Roadies - a group of volunteers who also each raised the minimum $2500 to participate.


Camp life was like no other camp I had ever been to. Semi-trucks with hot water showers, massage tent, dedication tent, hand laundry area, medical/chiro/sports medicine tent, information tent, breakfast and dinner tent, morning stretching, yoga, an organized grid of personal sleeping tents, port-a-pots with an endless supply of hand sanitizer, bike techs, protected bike area - it was essentially a moving town.


Area B/Spot 45 was where Jim, my tentmate from Los Angeles, and I shared a tent. Although Jim hardly snored, earplugs are a good idea to have while trying to sleep at night - snorefest!


Of course if you decided not to stay in camp, you could also go the route of what people were calling "princessing it." As in, I'm going to princess it tonight and stay at the Days Inn.