The Week of Potato Chips and Crack Bars is Over

I was going to wait for the blisters on my butt to heal before I wrote about ALC 9, but it seems that might be quite a while. Sitting down is getting a bit easier, but I've still got some hideous sores back there.

Jerry and I once again rode AIDS Lifecycle, a 545-mile bicycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money and awareness for HIV and AIDS.

Our start on Day Zero, Orientation Day was not auspicious. I read the email wrong and we got to orientation just in time to see the last showing of the Safety Video. If a rider or roadie misses the safety video on orientation day, he or she must show up at 4:15 am to watch it on Day One. I am thankful we made it in time. This year's video, while full of important information, also featured cast members of Glee. I learned that the woman who plays Sue Sylvester (cheerleaders coach) did the ride a number of years ago. Way to go!

Because we arrived so late there were no lines and we zipped through Orientation. Jerry had to write a BIG check because he did not raise enough money. We can't really afford it, but without it we couldn't ride. The biggest downer of the day was arriving after the Positive Pedalers had closed up their shop. We had ordered jerseys, but more important, jackets from them, so we had no jackets for Day One. We solved that by getting some inexpensive jackets at Old Navy. Have I mentioned I hate Old Navy's ads.

When we finished Orientation we headed to Pacifica for dinner at Tam's Chinese restaurant. I used to live down the street and it was a favorite of ours. The hot and sour soup was still very good and the salt and pepper squid was just as we remembered it. A comforting end to a hectic day.

We then headed to Thom and Jeff's our annual host for the night before Day One. They live in Daly City, just minutes away from the Cow Palace. I had packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for breakfast, so we got to their house, and got to bed as early as possible. It was going to be an early morning and a long day of pedaling.

The Cow Palace was its usual chaotic Day One self. Lots of people milling around, riders and roadies delivering their bags to the gear truck. My friend Buffy, who used to work at the AIDS Foundation was volunteering. A bright smiling face was welcome.

Opening ceremonies began and a part of those ceremonies is the Positive Pedalers bringing in the riderless bike, a symbol of those we have lost. This year, the bike belonged to Paul Serchia, whom we recently lost, and seeing his bike without him was bittersweet. He is no longer suffering, but he had hoped to get better and ride this year. It was hard seeing it and I cried as I saw my friends wheel in his bike.

As usual, Day One brings with it fog and a bit of mist, though it was warmer than usual. Jerry and I rode very strong. The route for us at this point is very familiar. We know what to expect and when. But hills that in the past seemed insurmountable were climbed with relative ease.

While I won't bore my readers with a blow-by-blow day to day accounting of the ride, I will say that in some ways the ride seemed easier, in other ways-- mainly because my butt got really ripped up, much harder.

I've decided that the culprit to my woes is my shorts. The chamois seams acted like little saws, wearing away at my flesh, causing horrible pain, irritation, and a couple of the biggest blisters I've ever seen. The key will be to get shorts with a bigger chamois, avoiding the creases where my behind hits my leg. It may mean a bigger size, which could create a new set of problems, but I'm going to give it a try.

The food on the ride was, once again, plentiful. Breakfast for me was the usual oatmeal and yogurt. The vegetarian lunches continue to improve. Good tabouli and feta wraps; bean burritos and caprese sandwich only once. And of course, every day's lunch was accompanied by the real reason I ride: potato chips. This year's choice was salt and vinegar. I showed great restraint by having only one bag a day. I could have easily had another, but didn't want to actually gain weight on the ride, as I did the first year I rode.

The other amazing treat on the ride are the peanut butter and jelly on graham crackers, AKA crack bars. They are the most delicious rest stop food on earth. Better than the pop tarts, Chex Mix, and yes, even better than the Fig Newtons, though I admit having my share of those as well. God knows how many crack bars we go through during the course of the ride. Thousands, without a doubt. The sad thing is, they just don't taste good anywhere but AIDS Lifecycle.

As far as electrolyte drinks go, I steer clear of the Powerade that is mixed up in huge vats. There was a new flavor this year. Blue. I can't tell you what Blue tastes like. But I have my suspicions. I stuck to my Nuun tablets. I drop them in my water bottle, they fizz and make a relatively palatable drink.

The one night we strayed from camp food was our one evening of being Princesses. People who stay in hotels rather than camp take what is known as the Princess Tour. We did that one night, in Paso Robles. It had been a particularly rough day with the afternoon heat making me a little wacky, so the hotel and its air conditioning was particularly welcome. As we did last year, we ordered in pizza and sodas and ate on the bed. We did not take a hot tub this year. The combination of the heat outside and the open sores on my butt made it not quite alluring. The bed on the other hand, was incredibly alluring, and after long showers and pizza, lights went off and we had a great night's sleep.

My experience is still colored by my considerable pain, and also by several friends who got very sick during the ride. There was a GI bug going around and several people I know were laid low by it. Jerry and I escaped it, but their suffering definitely affected us.

Next year is Year 10 of the Ride, being billed as an Alumni Reunion. We haven't signed up, and are still in decision mode. We have to look at our lives, our schedule and our finances before we make a decision.

But what I have decided, ride or not, I will still be involved with these wonderful people, and do what I can to continue to raise money and awareness for HIV and AIDS.