The Week of Potato Chips

and Chex Mix and Fig Newtons and Pop Tarts and endless Clif Bars and five meals a day is over.

But what a week it was! Once again, Jerry and I rode every single mile of the ALC Lifecycle ride. We laughed a lot with our tent neighbors and cried when we thought about those we have lost, or could lose, to HIV and AIDS.

We rode through small towns and talked to people about what we were doing. We got cheered by people driving by in cars or standing by the side of the road holding posters to encourage and praise us. The group of us raised close to $12 million. Jerry and I raised about $11,000 again this year.

On Day 7, my friend Buzz had to get in one of the sweep vehicles because his knees just wouldn't let him ride. I hugged him as he cried. But really, the ride part was for him. He had already done the important part-- he had raised money to make sure people with HIV get the services and support they need. I was glad though, when later in the day I saw him back on the route so he could ride into Closing Ceremonies.

And the riding into the arena really was the highlight of closing ceremonies. That, and then cheering in the roadies as they walked into the center of the arena, spraying us with Silly String and water.

Jerry and I know more and more people associated with the ride, so it was great to be at Rest Stop 1 and see my friend Carey at Medical; at Rest Stop 2 Nancy and George were fixing bikes and Lee, a nurse, was looking at road rash, and then along the route Cindy and Alisa, in two different sweep vehicles, would be yelling "Go Carol! Go Jerry!" as they motored by.

We "princessed" lunch twice on the ride. On day 3 or 4, can't remember which, Jerry had gotten chilled so we stopped at a Roundtable Pizza for lunch. We warmed up and used the luxurious porta-potties that flushed, had real running water and most unfortunately, mirrors. It was definitely scary to see oneself after days on the road.
On the last day we also went out to lunch so we wouldn't have to just hang around waiting for closing ceremonies. We couldn't find the charming Italian restaurant we went to last year, so we settled for comfort turkey burgers and skinny fries at Barney's. The familiar is sometimes not so bad. The people sitting next to us asked lots of questions about the ride. We were happy to oblige with details.

That evening Alaska Airlines, full of riders wearing their Victory shirts, flew us back to San Francisco, where our friends Thom and Jeff picked us up. We had left our car at their house, so it was a simple matter of unloading their car, loading ours and getting home to our real bed and real kitties.

We're already planning for next year.