Farewell to the ALC!
It's been just about two weeks now post-AIDS LifeCycle and I'm 'recovering' fine. There's been a little dietary issue after I got back, but my body seems to be adjusting well. Other than that, it was a huge hit rasing over $13 Million (a new world record, btw).
This year was the year of the 'newbie'. By this I mean there were allot of 1st time riders which made it exciting to see (and hear) the expressions when they encountered some of the more 'challenging' areas of the ride. I was proud to be a Training Ride Leader to my wonderful team, Team Long Beach. Everyone did great and there were no major injuries to anyone on the team. As for me, I did just fine! I rode all 550 miles of the ride although this year was a bit on the 'cooler' side with the weather. I even got the opportunity to rub elbows (and get a snapshot) with Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester from 'Glee'). It seems that her wife was riding the ALC for the first time and I even got to meet her at closing ceremonies.
When I arrived in SFO on Friday morning, it was already cold and dreary. There was even a good rain shower Friday night which ran into registration day on Saturday. There was fear that the ALC would have an ugly kick-off on Sunday as the threat of rain (and some thunder) was in the forecast. Needless to say, the weather did clear up enough on Sunday to give us a cloudy start, but no rain.... That is until later in the evening while we were all in camp.
Rain came in around 9pm and it was kind of nice as the sound of the drops hitting the tent had relaxed me and put me to sleep. I think it had stopped late in the night as we awoke to a sunrise to start day 2, the 107 mile, day.
There were a few route 'changes' this year, but nothing really significant from previous years. In fact, some of these changes made it for an easier ride at times.
I was surprised at how 'easy'(?) I found riding the ALC. I mean, after 5 years, I think I've gotten used to it and there was none of the anticipation you experience during your first and second years. It was a good feeling and made the ride go by so fast!
So now it's over. Another year of fundraising, training, tears, and laughter have gone by and life resumes. I had a major heart to heart talk with my mom before leaving for the ride and made her the absolute promise that I will NOT be participating with the ALC for at least one year. She had asked me to do this as she worries about me and my health and wants me to enjoy more of life without the stress of the ride. I know I've said this before and had a change of heart and wound up signing up, but this time it's for real. There's no harm in it and my Team here in Long Beach understands. I'll still ride the bike and participate in some of the century rides in the area, but the ALC is not on the list. Besides, it would be nice to put my focus elsewhere even if that focus is just on me for a while.
There it is in the perverbrial nutshell. Another year (year 5 for me) of the ALC come and gone in a blink of an eye. Now time to move forward and start living again minus all the training...
B
This year was the year of the 'newbie'. By this I mean there were allot of 1st time riders which made it exciting to see (and hear) the expressions when they encountered some of the more 'challenging' areas of the ride. I was proud to be a Training Ride Leader to my wonderful team, Team Long Beach. Everyone did great and there were no major injuries to anyone on the team. As for me, I did just fine! I rode all 550 miles of the ride although this year was a bit on the 'cooler' side with the weather. I even got the opportunity to rub elbows (and get a snapshot) with Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester from 'Glee'). It seems that her wife was riding the ALC for the first time and I even got to meet her at closing ceremonies.
When I arrived in SFO on Friday morning, it was already cold and dreary. There was even a good rain shower Friday night which ran into registration day on Saturday. There was fear that the ALC would have an ugly kick-off on Sunday as the threat of rain (and some thunder) was in the forecast. Needless to say, the weather did clear up enough on Sunday to give us a cloudy start, but no rain.... That is until later in the evening while we were all in camp.
Rain came in around 9pm and it was kind of nice as the sound of the drops hitting the tent had relaxed me and put me to sleep. I think it had stopped late in the night as we awoke to a sunrise to start day 2, the 107 mile, day.
There were a few route 'changes' this year, but nothing really significant from previous years. In fact, some of these changes made it for an easier ride at times.
I was surprised at how 'easy'(?) I found riding the ALC. I mean, after 5 years, I think I've gotten used to it and there was none of the anticipation you experience during your first and second years. It was a good feeling and made the ride go by so fast!
So now it's over. Another year of fundraising, training, tears, and laughter have gone by and life resumes. I had a major heart to heart talk with my mom before leaving for the ride and made her the absolute promise that I will NOT be participating with the ALC for at least one year. She had asked me to do this as she worries about me and my health and wants me to enjoy more of life without the stress of the ride. I know I've said this before and had a change of heart and wound up signing up, but this time it's for real. There's no harm in it and my Team here in Long Beach understands. I'll still ride the bike and participate in some of the century rides in the area, but the ALC is not on the list. Besides, it would be nice to put my focus elsewhere even if that focus is just on me for a while.
There it is in the perverbrial nutshell. Another year (year 5 for me) of the ALC come and gone in a blink of an eye. Now time to move forward and start living again minus all the training...
B