AIDS Lifecycle Day 2: 105 miles Santa Cruz to King City

With a century ride ahead of you, it's always good to get out early to avoid as much heat as possible. This 105 mile stretch of road took us through the argicultural land of the Salinas Valley and hugged the base of a few mountain ranges as we headed south. It was a day of survival on a long and relatively flat course.

I stumbled out of our tent around 5am and noticed my right achilles tendon was a bit sore. Ignoring the pain, I got ready for the day's ride by following a schedule I would repeat every morning - eat breakfast, check on my bike, dress in bike gear, pack up, drop off my bags, and head out on the road.

It took about a 1/2 hour of riding to get out of Santa Cruz before coming upon the endless strawberry and artichoke fields. Farm laborers were out in abundance on this cool morning, some stopping to watch and wave as we passed along the poorly paved, back country roads. Just before entering the Salinas Valley, riders came upon...


...Sesame Street Rest Stop! It was great to see Big Bird wearing the latest pair of Nike crosstrainers.

Rest stops provided Gatorade, water, salty and sugar snacks, Clif Bars, fruit, medical services, and bike techs.







Just after lunch outside of the town of Salinas, I stopped to take a couple of pictures. As I was slowing, my tube on my front wheel blew. Too much air in the tube along with the California heat caused it to blow. A couple of riders, Roland and Annabel, who I would end up riding with a lot over the rest of the week, stopped to help. This was the beauty of the AIDS Lifecycle. If ever you had a problem, within seconds two or three riders would appear to help out and provide humor.


Long story short, I blew two more tubes before discoverying my tire had a small rip in it. Luckily, a sag wagon was heading back to the lunch area and was able to give me a ride back. Oh! Did I mention the drivers were dressed as pirates with skull & crossbone decorations all over their large pickup? An hour or so later, I had a new front tire and was passing the same area. Yes, it was turning into a 110 mile ride for me.

The rest of the day was blazing speeds south along the valley floor, as a strong tailwind made holding speeds in the high 20 mph on flat roads easy. Our first siting of wine grapes (above) came just northwest of Greenfield as our route headed eastward. Turning eastward and sideways into the wind was a challenge. You had to lean hard to stay upright. Later in camp, stories were being told about a few inexperienced riders flipping over due to the strong crosswinds.

The last rest stop of the day was the mock California DMV Rest Stop. The volunteers working this stop were in character, acting quite smug and grumpy. This stop also had a photo opp (left). I'm sporting the latest trend: the tri-hawk hairstyle.

The last ten miles into King City ran along a railroad bed. Rolling into camp, it felt great to have this long, hot day behind me. I went straight to the massage tent for my first of two alloted massages.