Wet Bikers and Chicken Marbella

This past weekend was the annual Jonathan Pon Memorial Ride. Jonathan was the founder of the Positive Pedalers, a group of HIV positive bicycle riders who are the face of the AIDS Lifecycle. Their mission is to raise awareness and funds for HIV services.

Jerry and I rode the two-day 150-mile ride two years ago, but this is the second year we have been providing dinner and breakfast for the ride. It's my opportunity to do what I love for a group of people I love. In the past, meals were barbecue and over-mayonnaised potato salad. I wanted to take it up a notch or two. Last year was good; this year I think it was even better.

And if any a group deserved a good dinner, it was this group of 125 wet riders and roadies. The rain was fairly steady on Saturday, but the riders slogged on through it all.

Jerry, Rich and Paul and I started prep Friday night in a rented kitchen. The facilities were adequate, but it was a tad funkier than I expected. Not exactly pristeen and the chaos level was a little high. But the four of us brought a bit of calm and humor to the other groups working there, and I think they appreciated it. We got quite a bit done ahead of time because the kitchen facilities at the campsite are abysmal. We completed the chicken marinade, the green bean vinaigrette and some other assorted chopping.

Earlier in the day Rich, Paul and I hit the wholesale food market, which was loads of fun. We found everything we needed so we didn't have to make any other stops, except to pick up donated coffee. Tom and Dave's Coffee, in San Rafael, didn't know me at all, but when I called them to see if I could buy wholesale and I told them what it was for, they donated the coffee. And I'm happy to say the coffee was very good.

After packing the van and Paul's car on Saturday morning, we made one stop to pick up bagels then we headed to Cassini Ranch in Duncan's Mills, just outside Occidental. Having gotten a lot of prep done the evening before we felt pretty confident about getting dinner done in time.

The first riders came in around 3 or so, drenched and cold. We got appetizers of hummus, feta-pepper dip and pita and carrots out, as well as an array of hot drinks-- coffee, tea and cocoa, for them.

Riders trickled in and we got busy in earnest. Rich was the grill man, and he grilled 50 pounds of chicken breast. Some of the pieces were thick, so we worked together to butterfly them.

I took the marinade and turned it into a sauce. It contained olive oil, vinegar, oregano, a lot of garlic, capers, olives and prunes. It was astounding. I added some alcohol-free white wine and just a little wondra flour to give it a little more body.

We made couscous and stirred in Kalamata olives and parsley into it. We had a green salad and the green beans with it.

For dessert, Robin, another rider made brownies and I had made butterscotch bars.

We got out of the kitchen around 8 pm and Jerry and I went straight to bed, which was an air mattress in the now-empty borrowed van. Wasn't the best night of sleep I've had, but not the worst, either.

We were up a little before 5 am to start breakfast. We had great volunteers with Nathan, Beau and John helping us slice bagels and canteloupe and trim strawberries. Rich again was grill man, making scrambled eggs filled with chicken sausage, cheese and mushrooms. I had baked pumpkin breads as well to go along with the eggs and bagels and cream cheese.

It had rained all night and it looked as if there was no sign of it letting up, so Beau, who works for a bus company, got on the phone and ordered up a couple of busses to take the riders back to the start. The bikes were loaded onto the gear truck and a group of riders, still soggy from sleeping on wet ground in a rain storm were happy to see the buses pull up. From the photos I've seen posted, it looked like a lot of riders slept on the bus on the way back to Sausalito.

I am so sorry it rained on this ride, but I think people still had a good time. It's the best group of folks I can imagine spending a couple of days with, so despite the weather, I think most everyone had a good time. I know I did, but then I only had to cook, not ride.

I'm still tired today, but I've already started thinking about next year's Jon Pon ride.