Expo Renegade Ride

April 1st was the day of the AIDS Lifecycle Expo. I had expected to ride the training ride starting from the Expo in GG park to Fairfax, but since we got word that the Bridge would be closed to cyclists in the morning, all rides got re-routed the week before and were all going south instead. I knew the day would be cloudy and foggy so I invited several newbie riders and oldbie riders to join me on a Renegade Ride (aka unofficial ride) from my house in San Anselmo to the Expo in GG park. It was gloriously sunny and warm for most of the day!!

9 people met at my house at 9 am and we rode out to the base of Camino Alto where we picked up 5 more riders and headed over to Tiburon for coffee and pastries at the Sweden House.

Bill, Kimberly & Nicole
Shayne, Kelly,Elizabeth, me, Tammy, Bill, MB the Donald
We ride to eat!!

After Tiburon, we headed toward the Bridge. Poor Loree had a problem with her chain dropping so badly that by the time we got across the bridge she decided she'd head over to the Sports Basement and have someone give her a ride. So she and Kimberly headed over and we proceeded to the Expo.

It was a fun day, tried to win a new bike for our friend Matt who had recently had his bike stolen- but no luck. After the raffle and visiting with our friends, we decided it was time to head back.... a good day with about 54 miles total round trip. (needless to say a very LOOONG day too!)

"Cowbelling...."

Juliebrown, Marybeth McSwigan and Mark Smith at the top of White's Hill 3/30/07

If there is ever a Roadie job in AIDS Lifecycle that involves driving to the top of each hill and ringing a cowbell for all the climbing cyclists, that's what I'll sign up for. It's a ton of fun!!

A ride with Ananda

Most of you know that I work in the South Bay but live in Marin. Besides having a gnarly commute (it's not that bad, I stay with my 85 year old mother every other week), it means I get to ride in some awesome places with little or no "after work" traffic.

Yesterday, David Gaus and I rode after work with our "newbie" friend and co-rider, Ananda.
We took her from the Pruneyard in Campbell, out and over to Cupertino and around Stevens Creek Reservoir and oh yes, up Mt. Eden road- hey, you tell me you wanna practice climbing hills and I'll take you out to practice climbing some hills. We stopped at the top of Mt. Eden to take some pictures to commemorate Ananda's accomplishment.

Me and Ananda at the top of Mt. Eden road with...
David (he lives in Hollister!)

After Mt. Eden, we look her on a little climb through a McMansion neighborhood, and then up Pierce Road to the Mountain Winery entrance. Then down down down on Highway 9 thru Saratoga and back to our starting point at the Pruneyard. Afterward, we went to Togo's for dinner, YUM!!

10 miles running....20,000 miles riding!

This weekend was rather momentous. I ran 10 miles on Saturday for the first time ever! (I'm training through the AIDS Marathon folks - for the SF Marathon in July, ask me about it when you see me.)

And then, on Sunday my odometer rolled over 20,000 miles. I've ridden 20,000 miles since my first pedal stroke in February of 2003. That's 4 AIDS Lifecycle rides and many many Tib Loops!

The Solvang Century

Although I've ridden just about every organized Century and Metric Century in Northern California in the past few years (some of them twice!), the Solvang Century was one I'd never done before Saturday.

It's a beautiful route, and would've probably been pretty easy if it wasn't for the gnarly headwinds for the first 45 miles! And then, all of the significant climbing comes at about mile 80, so by then I was so beat that I couldn't truly enjoy the view at the top of the climb but that's ok- Solvang is a pretty cute town!


After the ride (which was about 7 hours of sitting on my bike seat- not counting rest stops) we were exhausted and decided we'd pig out on pizza.

We don't look too bad considering what we went through...

But I don't think I need to ride a hundred miles in one day for awhile, right Donald?

Silverado Trail, Napa Valley

One of my favorite rides is up and down the Silverado Trail. It is a 28 mile ride up to the town of Calistoga where we stop at the Palisades Deli on Lincoln for lunch. Then it's back down the Silverado trail to Napa for a total days mileage of 56 miles. There are no hills, well ok very small rollers and the day is enjoyable for everyone. Yesterday we made record time for a group of 26 people. We were all out and back (with lunch!) in 4 hours and 45 minutes. That is pretty darn good for folks who average about 14 mph.... be proud!

Here's our stretching techniques:

And this is what the Napa Valley looks like in March:

GG Bridge to Woodacre

Friday, March 2nd- Golden Gate Bridge to Woodacre

Friday rides are taking off! Every week we have different people who come out to ride, having taken the day off to ride. And each week the people count gets larger.... this week there were 18 of us riding. We have only about 12 more weeks left 'til we ride out on June 3rd.
Today was 40 miles.... each Friday we'll try to mix it up and add in more miles too. Come on out and ride with us, it's a blast!

Riding, Running,Cheering, Riding...

What a weekend!!

It was a fabulous Friday ride from the Bridge to Tiburon and back. Newbie Rachel came out to ride with us, and after the stop at Peets in Corte Madera, proceeded to ride over Camino Alto. All of a sudden we heard a loud blast-- it was Rachels tire! Apparently she had over inflated it (the bike shop told her 120psi, when actually it should have been 102psi!) and it eventually gave way. Rachel had no spare tube, no tools, no nuthin.... luckily I had a tube and CO2 to spare so we got her fixed up and back on the road in no time.... that was Friday

Saturday, Daniel and I ran 6 miles with our AIDS Marathon pace group. I am still amazed at how do-able it has been for both of us. We are meeting lots of fun people too, so it makes it nice to chat and passes the time quickly. After the run we decided to chase down the CAT 1 ride to Tiburon that was riding in the rain, so we found a bunch of riders and passed them in the car, ringing cowbells and yelling "go Riders!!".... they thought it was fun and we had a hilarious time doing it!

Sunday we collectively decided to cancel the Pt. Reyes Loop ride due to rain. Of course, an hour after we canceled, the sun came out and although it was windy it turned out to be a nice day to ride around town. A couple of other riders and I decided (after eating breakfast of course) to do a little ride out toward Lagunitas, turned around did a little ride over Camino Alto to Mill Valley and then came back. A total of 25 miles, so the day was not a total loss.

Three of the guys-Brian, Peter and Lawrence- who came out to possibly ride (even tho it looked like rain) went ahead and rode the route anyway and had a good ride, although they said there were head winds for the first 25 miles of the ride. Ugh! The ride back over White's Hill was nice and fast because the wind was so strong that it helped push you back over the climb!

Good day for all, see you on a ride soon!

The AIDS Marathon too!

This year not only will I ride 545 miles in ALC 6 to raise money for the SF AIDS Foundation, I'm also running in the AIDS Marathon in San Francisco (the SF Marathon) on July 29th to raise money for the SF AIDS Foundation. Much like AIDS Lifecycle I am required to raise funds in order to run- $1800 to be exact.

If you'd like to help me out by donating, please consider doing so ( I can't really go back and ask the same people who I asked to donate to ALC- it might come off as a little greedy!) at my homepage for the AIDS Marathon.

Any little bit you can donate would be great! I think most of you know how hard it is to fundraise, imagine doing it twice in one year!

What A Ride Looks Like...

I've gotten feedback and questions from riders regarding the "organization" of official ALC training rides lately. So to clear things up for folks (who happen to be reading my blog at the moment) here's a little insight.

Generally leading rides is a whole lotta fun for me, and sometimes it can also be alot like herding cats... :-) but I digress...

All Ride Leaders are required to be at the meeting place at the designated meeting time, or earlier. Generally, as a captain I try to get there about 15 minutes earlier so that I can get my gear on, set up and greet those riders who get there early. At the meet time I usually have one of my co-leads start leading stretching, all the while I'm reminding folks who havent yet signed the waiver to do so. If you are participating in this Official ALC training ride you required to sign the waiver. You are also required to wear a helmet. Hell anytime you ride with ME, official or otherwise, you are required to wear a helmet. I don't feel like being the one to clean your brains up off the road because you weren't wearing a helmet so I won't let you ever ride with me without one, period.

I also will yell out what time it is and remind folks that we ride out at XX time to get you moving faster and ready to ride out when we do. PLAN AHEAD- 30 people on a ride get rather annoyed if they have to wait for 1 person to get going...

Stretching goes on for about 10 to 15 minutes. 15 minutes after meet time, I gather everyone around and review the route. I try to point out and even do a major red flag alert about dangerous spots along the route (ie; descending White's Hill into Fairfax). After the route review, I really make people gather in closely to read the safety pledge with me. Mostly I make people gather in so they feel they are part of the group, and also because by then my voice gets scratchy and I get tired of talking. By rideout time or maybe 5 minutes after, depending on the size of the group- we are on our bikes and riding.

Generally I have 1 or 2 leaders lead out, but they don't take the absolute lead because we are required to ride at the posted pace, (ie; CAT 2 is 10-12mph) and our main concern is to pay attention to those folks who are riding at the back of the pack. We always have 1 or 2 Ride Leaders as the "sweep". Usually I will take the last leg of the ride and ride as the sweep, to make sure that every single person on the ride has made it back to the starting point safely. I then check to make sure I have the same number of sign outs on the sign out sheet, as I did signatures on the Ride Waivers that morning. Note: the Sign Out Sheet is a different sheet as the Ride Waiver signature sheet, and it's usually left on the windshield of a designated car.

Riders at the back of the pack are usually those who are doing ALC for the first time, heck maybe haven't even been on a bike in 20 years, and need more attention than those who bust out at a 22mph pace! Make sense? I don't need to take care of fast riders- they are capable, believe they are capable, and if they need help with the route then can stop to read their route sheets or wait for a rider to come up who does know the route.

You can ride at whatever pace you are comfortable with, but it must be at least the minumum Posted Pace.

After a ride, alot of times the ride leaders will get together and go somewhere to eat. You are welcome to join us, just hang around until the last Ride Leader (usually me) gets in, and ask us if we have any plans to eat afterward! This is a great way to get to know other folks and find out LOTS about the Ride in June!

COME OUT AND RIDE!!! :-D

Friday Ride- GG Bridge to Tiburon 32 miles.
(There were 20 of us! Don't you people work?)

MySpace addict...

Ok I used to laugh when my friends would talk about how addictive MySpace is... little did I know that a year later I'd be an addict too! Wanna see it? Ok I'll let ya

Get it. Read it.

The Ride- How to Ride your Bike from San Franciso to Los Angeles Without Even Dying.

If you ever wondered (or heck, if you are wondering now) what it's like to go through training for AIDS Lifecycle, get Russ' book and read it. He covers it all. All the nervousness, all the excitement, all the "what ifs", and all of the "what do I do nows". You can order it directly from him and proceeds go to ALC. Or you can order it from Amazon (and not a whole lot will go towards ALC), your choice- but read it if you want to know what you're in for!

You can go to Russ' website Here

Running....and Cheering!

So today was the first day of training for the AIDS Marathon.

They had us run at a "conversational pace" for three miles. You had the option to walk for part of it if you needed to, but basically it was just a run for them to time you and see what your pace is. I fall into the 12 minute mile pace, not bad considering I have never run a step in my life. That was the first time I'd ever run 3 miles without stopping to walk, or without stopping entirely.

Daniel kept the pace with me, and he slowed down whenever I felt like I was going too fast. I'd just say, "um... I think I need to slow down" and he'd immediately slow the pace. It was fun because we got to talk and laugh through the whole three miles. I'm impressed at us both, we really are fitter than we thought. Must be all that cycling.

The run was at 8am, so we were home by 10am, just in time to park at the top of Camino Alto to cheer for those ALC riders on a training ride to Fairfax. It was a lot of fun for us, and a lot of fun for the cyclists who rode by- ALC'er or not, we got great feedback for standing there ringing the cowbell, just like in the Tour!

You know it's an AIDS training ride when you hear cowbells at the top of the hill and Madonna blaring on the speakers!!

Riding in the Rain.... and Beau's New Bike!

All of us with bike envy!

It rained today... but more on that in a moment! Beau came out to ride with the Friday Riders on today's ride from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Tib Loop. Beau's bike is "special" (no I don't mean it THAT way). Beau has the limited edition Cannondale AIDS Lifecycle Bike -he won it at the Kick Off Party earlier this month. (see previous post with pictures).

We rode out of the Conzelman parking lot- down down down the Ft. Baker bike path toward and through Sausalito. I felt a few sprinkles on my face as we road over Camino Alto, but they stopped falling as we rode the rollers of Paradise Drive toward Tiburon. We stopped in Tiburon for a "snack" at Sweden House and as we sat snacking the rain really began to fall! By the time we finished eating and headed out it was once again a slight drizzle until we hit Sausalito and the climb back out of Ft. Baker. Right about there it started to come down a little heavier but nothing too miserable.

It wasn't bad, the rain riding- I just felt bad for Beau, whose new bike now needs a thorough cleaning!!

California Cold Weather Wear...

My thoughts on layers? Last Friday and Saturday I rode in 35-40 weather and had on a long sleeved base layer, long sleeve wool jersey, a windbreaker, shorts, wool knee high socks under tights, a fleece watch cap under my helmet, and long fingered gloves. Oh yes and Pearl Izumi Amfib shoe covers over my shoes (they're light fleece lined!)



Once I got moving this proved the perfect amount of layering, in fact eventually I took off the windbreaker only to have to put it back on on the downhills. You don't want to overdo the layering because you want to move, and even if it's cold you will sweat, and that sucks if you get all sweaty and then have to ride downhill in cold. Think "wind chill" on your sweaty body.

I think it's the toasty headcover, finger covers and foot covers that keep me warm.

Here's a pic of my favorite cap, which you can also monogram! Sorry all that was available was this teensy image from Land's End.

Consider signing this online petition...

California's "Share The Road" License Plate petition can be found here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/str1234/

How to warm up for a ride...

My routine is right here. Thank you michael. (it really does work to keep you warm!)

A cold day on Tam

Saturday the 13th we rode out from San Anselmo to the East Peak of Mt. Tam. It's only 37 mile loop, but with about 90% climbing. The day was sooo cold, but also so clear that the views were amazing. You can take a look at more photos on my Webpage

Here's a view of SF from the East Peak of Tam,

and us somewhere between the 7 Sisters... (before the East Peak though)

It sounds crazy to do so much climbing this early in the season, but to tell you the truth as cold as it was, it ended up being a really nice ride because you basically stayed warm (if not hot) during the entire ride.... until you descended the mountain.

We ended this fantastic day with lunch at Joe's Taco Lounge in Mill Valley.

Call me Crazy....

Call me crazy....

A couple of months ago, Daniel said he wanted to train for the AIDS Marathon (as well as AIDS Lifecycle) which takes place July 29 in SF. It also benefits the SF AIDS Foundation, so since I am a Foundation groupie I figured what the heck, I'm up for the challenge, and I've never run a step in my life!

Last Saturday after the Three Bears ride, he started talking about it again to a few folks sitting around eating at the Greek restaurant Alekos (in Orinda). Robert Blake (no, not THAT one) was sitting nearby and started thinking... this could be a good goal for the year!

So this past Wednesday, the three of us went to an info meeting for the AIDS Marathon. The training schedule didn't seem TOO bad, and we could cross train by cycling so all three of us signed up to run 26 miles in July.... after riding 545 miles in June!

Call us crazy...

I'm sure you'll be getting fundraising letters from us soon!

Cannondale and AIDS Lifecycle

Cannondale created this bike for AIDS Lifecycle.

It's ALC blue and orange and has "Ride to end AIDS" printed on the top tube. Mike's Bike's will be selling them here in Northern California with limited quantities. It was a pretty nice paint job and made the bike look pretty sweet! This bike was one of 6 assorted bikes and gear that were raffled off at the ALC Kickoff today.

Beau Thomson, TRL and Pos Ped and who has recently proclaimed that he has OCD for ALC was the winner of this bike.... so perfect for Beau!!

I look forward to seeing these out on the road!!

Training Rides... don't be shy or afraid!!

Let me clear about training rides:

When you come out to ride, we don't expect you to ride fast ( you can if you like but you don't have to), we don't expect you know what you're doing, we do expect you to try and we do expect you to be safe! (you know: wear a helmet no matter how dorky you think you look- believe me with this group you will look dorky if you DON'T wear one!)

You are a grown-up who makes daily life decisions, you CAN do this if you really want to, and we are here to help you do it.

ALC training rides are designed to help anyone who wants to become a cyclist, learn the basics. I didn't say "who wants to become a fast cyclist" or "who wants to become a hill climbing monster cyclist", just a cyclist plain and simple. The other stuff you can learn later.

With our help you learn how to get through riding 7 days in a row, an average of 75 to 80 miles a day. The shortest day on AIDS Lifecycle is about 45 miles, the longest day is 105 miles, and along the route there are rest stops every 20 miles or so to re-fuel. You have lots of help along the way.

But you have to start riding now, to get good at riding for 7 days in June. Come on , RSVP now for a ride, let the ride leader know you are really new and a little nervous, and we will make sure your first experience with us is a good one. (And if it's not, drop me a line 'cuz I really want to know if you DON'T have a good experience, in order to make it right!)

Don't be afraid- really- we all had our "first time" and we all remember what that felt like. Our goal is to help you through the nervous first time, and help build your confidence on the bike to get you riding riding riding! SO COME ON OUT AND RIDE!!

So come on out and ride while it's still early and everybody is still a newbie!

Mary Beth's first ride as TRL "Captain"

Today was the 22 mile "Three Bears Loop" in reverse. It's a nice route climbing Bear Creek Road in Orinda, winding down to Alhambra Valley Road out to Castro Valley Road back to Orinda BART. Mary Beth "captained" her first training ride as a Training Ride Leader (TRL) and she did great! We had about 18 riders who met us at 9:30 this morning to ride. We rode out at 10am and were back by 12:30. Afterwards, a group of us went over to Aleko's for greek food!

The group who chose to climb hills on January 6th.
(They're crazy)

By the way, on my way down Bear Creek as I was approaching the Alhambra Valley Road intersection, someone riding up Bear Creek (in the other direction) called out "Julie Brown!".
I have no idea who it was, so if it was you would you please let me know? I yelled out "Hey!" but I have no idea who I was yelling it out to....

See you at the Kick Off Party tomorrow!

Happy New Year!

Riding on New Years Day is fun- especially when it's not raining! Today was a bit foggy in the morning on the way to the start (Mike, Donald, Mary Beth, Daniel and I rode in). We had 24 riders leave the Sports Basement in the Presidio after the necessary rituals for riding an ALC Ride. We headed over the Golden Gate bridge toward Mill Valley with a stop for caffeine and snacks at Peets Coffee.... a bikers haven!

Happy caffeine addicts... well ok, maybe not Lawrence (guy on far right)

Daniel, MaryBeth, George & Michael (definite caffeine addicts)
Khang & Albie

We rode back to SF only to be stopped at the Bridge by Bridge Patrol who told us that the pedestrian and bike paths were closed because of some protest march that got out of control.
Great. Just fabulous. Talk about a lively way to start the New Year!! And to top that- Khang (photo above pre-incident) was walking his bike into the parking lot to wait it out and was bitten by a dog!! No warning, no bark- just "CHOMP!" Our riders hurredly helped him clean the bite (which immediately started to swell) and cover it with a bandage. There was absolutely nothing else we could do for almost two hours...

Khang's dog bitten leg.

We eventually got to cross the bridge at about 3pm (we had left the Sports Basement at 11am to ride 22 miles!) and everyone returned safely. This was definitely a New Year's Day that we (especially Khang!) will not forget!

19,000 miles and counting...

Ride Leaders Julie Brown & Valdez Hill
(you need to worry when a ride leaders last name is "Hill")

People think its funny that I make such a big deal everytime I roll over another 1,000 miles. Yes I know plenty of people who have ridden waaay more miles than I have, I am just one of the few who actually celebrate it!

When I started riding in February of 2003, I was about 30 lbs overweight and had not been on a bicycle since I was 16. I was 40 when I started riding again, so to come all these miles and still be riding is a darn big deal to me considering I never thought I'd actually continue to ride after AIDS Lifecycle 2.


So today was the day I rolled over 19,000 miles on my bike odometer. That means I have ridden 19,000 miles with these two skinny legs (and believe me they weren't skinny when I started out!) It has taken almost 4 years to do it, but here I am still riding.

The fun thing about today's ride was not only that it was a 50 mile flat ride, but that I rolled over 19,000 miles on a ride with Bill Henry, who was with me when I rode my first 20 miles back in 2003. In fact on that ride, I fell on him twice (getting used to my new clips!).

But that's a story for another day...

Me and Bill.... I don't fall on him anymore.

Fifty Miles in December?!

Only Valdez Hill could talk me into riding a 50 mile ride the day before Christmas Eve. He has the way of innocently asking if you'll co-lead... knowing full well I don't pay attention to details, I just say "ok!".

25 or so of us rode out from Orinda BART out into the Danville/San Ramon direction. It was quite pleasant actually- relatively flat and alot of it on bike paths. We stopped at the Rising Loafer for lunch and took this group photo:


Afterwards we took the same path back to BART, my legs tired from the long ride but feeling pretty good about 50 miles in December.

I have 62 miles to go to roll over 19,000 miles on my bike! Weather permitting, I should be hitting it before the new year, probably sometime Saturday the 30th when I will be doing ANOTHER 50 mile ride with Valdez.... come out and join us!

Julie Filarca-Hoag-Brown

I ran into an old friend the other day and she told me she once tried to find me by googling my name.... Julie Filarca. Figuring I didn't have that name anymore, she gave up and instead found me through another friend... so I figured heck- I'll put my name(s) out there just in case my old friends from kindergarten really are trying to find me! :-) Oh and yes, I attended Miller Elementary School in East San Jose... right near the notorious intersection of Story and King Roads... yep, my old 'hood in El Barrio Tropicana! Ora le'

And "Hoag"? Well, that's a story for another time...

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures...

I try to post photos here as often as possible, but just in case you want to see them all (rides/friends/etc) they're HERE

There are various pages and the titles are at the top of the page, all you have to do is click on 'em.

I don't always get the chance to update this blog after a ride, but if I take pictures on a ride I'll usually have them on the webpage.... can you tell I'm gearing up for ALC training season???

"Fifth Time's A Charm"

I did it. I registered for my 5th AIDS Lifecyle ride. Glenn and Dave guilted me into it, so now I have to talk Michael in to riding one more time AND still saving vacation time up for a trip to Italy in October..... guess there are worse things I could be complaining about!

Thanksgiving at Pajaro

We spent Thanksgiving out at Pajaro Dunes in a vacation home for 4 days. The weather was beautiful! Clear blue skies all week and it didn't rain once! My family came out with a turkey and fixin's and we had a potluck at the beach (in the house). On Saturday a few friends (15 or so) came out to spent the day at the beach with us and have dinner. Donald, Matt, Daniel and Michael spent the night and we hung out by the fire in the evening. Hannah had a blast, learing to ride her new skim board and playing games with all of our friends.

Hannah and her dad, with a little help from Kevin- built an awesome sand castle. Dad- ever the contractor- had brought a shovel, and many cement trowels to make the castle a little more than kids play... All in all it was a fantastic Thanksgiving.

Friday Tib Loop Rides...

These days I spend my Friday mornings riding with ALC folks training to do the Ride. We usually do some variation of the Tiburon/ Paradise Loop. This is what a typical group of riders looks like- we took this picture on Nov 10... thanks to Bob Katz for the copy (and for taking the picture).

Robb's Birthday

I love being a trendsetter! 4 years ago when I started riding, I started my "Birthday Ride for Cake". People love the idea (hey, it means you can eat all the cake you want, as long as you ride), and four years later I rode with my friend Robb and his 20 closest friends to celebrate his thirtysomething birthday! We rode from Orinda Bart to the French Cafe in Danville and back, about 40 or so miles.... I love celebrating this way! (And so did Robb, he rode faster than I've ever seen!) Happy Birthday Robbie!

2 Day Training Ride Leader Certification

I had someone ask me my opinion about the new 2 Day TRL certification program. Here was my response:

"So I had a few thoughts- the same as yours, but probably more colorful- when I first heard about the 2 day training. I gave myself a few days to digest it before commenting on it too. Then I realized that the perspective I was taking was sort of a selfish "me, me, me", " how can they make ME give up MY weekend, etc... what more can they teach ME? I'M not a newbie." (of course it was really MY choice to give up my weekend) but then I thought:

Are there new things I might learn? probably, cuz I really don't know it all- I just know I like to ride my bike with others.

If I was the parent or partner of a new rider, would I want the TRL's to be trained for 12 hours or 3? um, as many as possible.

Do I remember from year to year, what we should be doing--- have ALL of the rules ever been stated to everybody at the same time, veterans & newbie TRL's alike? um.... I don't remember, but I think so but I'm not really sure.... but I would like them to be.

Have I ever been frustrated because there were all of these TRL's who were certified (for the 3 or 4 hours), and THE SAME PEOPLE KEEP LEADING RIDES? hell yes! .... if I remember correctly there were 80 TRL's on the list last year, and the same 30 kept volunteering to lead/co-lead!!

Have other TRL's ever called me because they were in a situation where they didn't know what to do, and wanted to know what they should have done? yes... and I could only answer them based on experience, not on what ALC wanted because I was never told their perspective in training...

.... and other thoughts like that.

For me, a 2 day commitment from a TRL to be trained hopefully means more of a commitment to lead more rides, bottom line.

We have gone through the same training for the past 3 years and have never given the newbies (us included when we started) the skills to train others, ie: riding behind someone to teach them how to shift (have you ever had to do that?) , talking someone OUT of riding the training ride that day because they are obviously not ready- but they have emotional reasons for doing it, making someone turn around on a ride... etc. Even if you are experienced, I think there is always something new you can learn (as happens in life!) and can also share with others.

I've learned how to do that stuff during "forced on the job training"-- which I've been lucky at, but would have liked to have known how ALC wanted us to do it. There are others who have never had to do it, or have muddled their way through it. And when that all relates back to the safety of others, I want to know that I'm making a decision based on experience I got in training (especially important for newbie TRL's), as well as the fact that I am representing how ALC wants be to deal with it. Does that make sense?

Now with all that said, I will tell you honestly that in my opinion not everyone who has been a TRL should've been a TRL. I have co-lead rides with lots of leaders and some of them are just there to ride, not to help. I would presume that anyone going through this training will understand that THAT is not acceptable to other leaders anymore, period.

We are there to help others in their training, and that training strongly involves training people to automatically follow the basic ALC ride rules so that they are instinctual during the week of the actual Ride, ie; Single File riding only, following ALL traffic laws (especially stopping), calling out, signaling, etc. You know as well as I do, this is a HUGE problem during the actual week of the ride.

Ok, I will get off my soapbox now."

On Top of the Golden Gate

Last Sunday Mike and I met our friend Daniel who took us on a tour of the top of the South Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Yes THE Golden Gate Bridge. The one you see in all the movies, that gets blown up, that people fall in love on, that people jump off of. Probably the most famous and most photographed bridge in the world. WE got to go up to the top of it! My friend Daniel, whom I met when he was training for his first AIDS Lifecycle ride, is a Sargeant on the the Golden Gate Bridge. One day he emailed me and invited me and a friend to tour the top of the bridge. Talk about a once in a lifetime trip. "Of course!" I emailed back. And with that we set the date for October 1st. The south tower is 760 feet tall, and you have to ride a very small elevator to the top, climb a ladder that is about 20 feet, flip open a hatch and climb out. The view, as you can imagine is spectacular!


We spent almost an hour at the top, taking over a hundred photos from different vantage points on the tower. It was a pretty clear day, with only high clouds to worry about and very little wind.
How many times to you get a photo like this in your life?

The Big Sur Ride

About three months ago Mike decided that he wanted to ride the Big Sur Ride in September. Last year I did the ride with a handful of friends, and Mike drove and met us at Ft. Hunter Liggett and then at the end of the ride. Big Sur is a two day ride, with overnight camping at the Fort. Day one is about 92 miles starting in Carmel Valley, will a hellacious 7 mile climb up Nacimiento Road at mile 60. Day two is about 76 miles back through King City (over Quadbuster in the opposite direction), up to Cahoon Summit and back up Carmel Valley Road. This year there were nine of us: Mike & I, David, Jeremy, Charlie, Kelsey, Michael, Chris and MaryBeth. We left Carmel Valley at 7:30am on Saturday morning, and had a gorgeous ride down Highway One all the way past Big Sur, almost (about 45 miles short) to Hearst Castle! Charlie, Kelsey and I rode most of the first 2/3 of Day One behind MaryBeth. She is a little slower than us, and we were all wanting to take it easy so by riding with MB, it insured that we would not go to fast, nor drop her and never see her until camp.
If you've ever driven down Hwy 1 south towards Hearst Castle, you will recognize the pictures. Let me tell you, riding it on a bike is so much different because you get the sounds and smells of the sea and as Charlie says, you also don't have to worry about getting car sick because of the winding roads. In fact, the rolling winding roads on a bike are simply awesome!

At mile 60 or so, you make a left turn off of Hwy 1 onto Nacimiento Road which is a 7 mile, winding, two lane road with a climb up to about 2500 feet. At the top, there is a rest stop and lots of folks applauding the completion of your ascent. I road up the road at a snails pace, but was happy to meet up with David on the way who had stopped to catch his breath and take some pictures.
This is what Nacimiento looks like after you've climbed a couple of miles...
After the climb there is a great, winding, fast downhill a few miles until you get to the gate of Ft. Hunter Liggett, where we camp overnight. Once you are through the gate, it is another 10 miles of rollers, if you're lucky you miss the afternoon headwinds. We were lucky.
Without going into too much detail, I will tell you that Mike and I have decided to make this an annual ride, something like our annual rafting trip, where we invite everyone we know (who bikes) to come out and join us. It is a great ride, well supported and when you ride it with good friends, it really is an event!