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.

Riding on Hold; Eating, not so much

It's just a few days until AIDS Lifecycle, so riding, as is the tradition, has been pretty much on hold until rideout on Sunday. Normally, we would have ridden this past weekend, but Jerry headed down to Southern California to visit his dad, and since I'm still not riding my half bike, the only riding I did was maybe a total of an hour on the wind trainer.

But I did do some eating, and even did some cooking.

I worked all day Monday, even though it was Memorial Day, but got home in time to make a nice dinner for Jerry's return. I cooked my standard: roast chicken. I roast a whole organic chicken on a vertical roaster. I really do find that organic chicken tastes better and it's worth the few cents more a pound. I rubbed some olive oil on the skin and then ground some African spices on it. Don't ask me what's in the African spice blend. All I know is, it tastes good and has a bit of a kick to it.

On the tray below the chicken were a combo of cut up red potatoes and halved brussel sprouts. I love roasting brussel sprouts. It's my new favorite way to cook them. I love them in almost any form, but this has got to be my favorite.

I roasted the chicken in my convection oven, starting out at 350, goosing it up to 375 for a little while, and then down to 325. I didn't really time it, but it was more than an hour, and it was done beautifully.

While all that was cooking I made a rhubarb crisp. Mark Bittman has a recipe in the week's (or was it last week) New York Times that looked simple and delicious, as his recipes usually are. I cut up a couple of pounds of rhubarb, added a small amount of sugar, orange juice and zest, then, on top of that the crisp was brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon (more than he called for) and walnuts. His recipe called for pecans, but the walnuts were the first bag of nuts easily reachable in my freezer; plus, I like them better.

The crisp was still warm when we ate some, topped with vanilla ice cream. I had a cup of espresso with it. Perfect!

I can't believe the ride is in just a few days. I haven't even thought about packing, and for the first time, I have not raised my minimum. I have sent out a last-minute plea to friends. Let's hope they come through.

The Friday before the ride is a spaghetti dinner the Pos Peds are sponsoring. Looking forward to seeing everyone and grateful Beau's work colleagues, rather than me, are preparing the dinner.

Car Doors and Rides of Silence

While riding this weekend I saw good riding, lots of it. And I saw bad. Four riders tooling along side by side, oblivious to traffic or anything else. A group of riders drafting us, and then slowing down when passing us. They were the most dangerous riders we saw, and they really rode like idiots.

And then the article in this morning's paper about a cyclist who had to dodge a car door, opened by an oblivious woman. He had to swerve and was killed when he was hit by a bus. I'm sickened and saddened.

Just last night was the ride of silence. Cyclists all over the country riding for cyclists who were killed or injured. The number of ghost bikes is climbing, and through no fault of safe responsible riders. It seems those are the ones who are killed or seriously injured. Not the hot dogs riding on public streets like they are part of the Tour de France pelaton.

Jerry and I have both crashed bad enough to end up in the hospital. His was due to an underinflated tire. I'm not sure why I crashed because I have no memory of the crash. I woke up in the hospital seeing double. It could have been a car door. I don't know.

I ride with a very responsible law-abiding group of cyclists. AIDS Lifecycle demands that we obey traffic laws and ride responsibly, and I for one am thankful for those rules. But like the young man who was killed yesterday, following those rules is not always a guarantee of safety. I mourn for him and my only hope is that it makes drivers who read about him double check that rear view mirror and watch out for those of us on bikes. There are more of us than ever.

Pos Peds and Chicken Tagine

Last week was a busy week, though it didn't include any riding.
Friday, April 30 was Positive Pedaler Day in San Francisco. While I was disappointed no "mainstream" press attended, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised. After all, what audience would want to see a group of healthy, fit men and women who are HIV positive talk about raising funds and awareness for HIV prevention and education?
Yes, I'm being a bit sarcastic, but it does point to the complacency surrounding HIV and AIDS, and people still continue to get infected and people still die from this disease. And the number of women being infected is climbing. At the event, a woman, Kaya Dzambic, spoke about coming to terms with being HIV positive. She really wants to reach other women who are ashamed and feel like victims. There are a lot of women out there who are in hiding with their status, and that shame and secrecy can't be good for them. Or for their families. She is truly a role model.
The event was wonderful, but my real work began when it ended. After the event, I picked up Jerry and we headed to Restaurant Depot to finish shopping for the Jonathan Pon Memorial Ride weekend, held every year. It's a two day bike ride and for the last several years, I've done the dinner and breakfast for around 150 riders and roadies.

Jerry and I had ridden Jon Pon a few years ago and the food, well, let's just say I thought I could do better, and I felt that the riders deserved it. So with the help of Jerry and a couple of others, I have planned and prepared these meals for the past three years.

I'm happy to say that each year it seems to get a bit easier. This year two of the three ovens in the kitchen worked, and they added another griddle, making the job far more manageable. I also simplified the menu a bit. It seemed a bit risky not marinating the 60 pounds of chicken ahead of time-- I worried a bit about its tenderness and moistness, but it came out great.

I made a chicken tagine, with apricots, chick peas and a melange of spices that included ground coriander, cumin, cinnamon and fresh ginger. Jerry and Hunter cooked the chicken on the griddles, and then the sauce, which also included chicken stock, onions and garlic, was ladled over the boneless breasts. I served it with couscous, roasted zucchini and a Greek pasta salad. For dessert we had brownies and oatmeal bars. I took a standard oatmeal cookie recipe, added a bit more butter and pressed it into pans.

In addition, since riders would be arriving hours before dinner, I set out some munchies. We had hummus and pita, raw vegetables and I made a dip from goat cheese, olives and sun dried tomatoes. In addition, I had frozen pesto palimiers left over from my fundraiser, and they got eaten as well.

For breakfast, we served scrambled eggs with chicken sausage and cheese. For the vegetarians, I sauteed shallots and mushrooms for their eggs. We also had roasted potatoes, buttermilk biscuits and cantaloupe and grapes.

Exhausted but happy, we cleaned the kitchen in record time and were out of Cassini ranch a bit after nine.

The success was do in no small part to all the help. Drew, Hunter, Tracy and Kathy, along with Jerry and me made for a lively, hard-working crew. I think we all enjoyed ourselves, and from the comments we received, our hard work paid off in great food.

Welcome to Heaven, Here's Your Harp

Welcome to Hell. Here's your route sheet.

Perhaps I doth protest too much, but for me, yesterday's Day on the Ride, other than the rest stop on a windswept mesa, did not have a great resemblance to any day on AIDS Lifecycle.

I thank my lucky stars that no day on the ride will have that much climbing, nor will I get that much sand blown in my eyes, ears and enough to get sand burns on my legs.

The day took its first downturn with a flat barely out of Golden Gate Park. This was our very first flat on an upright tandem. We had several on the recumbent trike, but considering we spent most of the time riding as far to the right as possible to give people room to pass, that was to be expected.

And thank goodness we were back on the Co-Motion. If we were still riding the Greenspeed we'd still be on the course. Well, perhaps I exaggerate a little-- but there's no way we could have finished before the course closed, and likely there would be no sweep vehicle to haul that behemoth.

The ride left me cranky, and I let all that cranky out at the post-ride spaghetti dinner at Sports Basement. And while yes, perhaps moi was over the top just a tad, I do think that a Day on the Ride should not be used to scare the Hell out of new riders. I spoke to more than one newbie who was in a state of shock at the number of climbs we took. And they were indeed reassured that no day on the ride was this hard.

So perhaps, in some way, the ridiculousness of this DOTR served a purpose. More than one rider, after hearing this was harder than the actual ride said, well, if I made it through this, I guess I can make it through the ride.

A real sign to me of the toughness of the day was how it affected Jerry. When he is on his single he is out front with the best of them, but yesterday's ride really took its toll on him. True, we are more than twice the age of a lot of riders, but generally, we are strong riders. But this ride really blew us away and took more than just the wind out of our sails. It really made us think, is this really what we want to do? We had a long talk last night about our future with ALC. Is it time for a break? Is it time to do something else?

Perhaps these thoughts will pass when we are on the actual ride and we are swept up in the euphoria and Utopia of that week.

Bur for now, we are taking this Sunday to loll, laze and go out to lunch.

Mont Fromage and Kurt

Yesterday was lots of big hills day.
Once again, we picked up the Cat2 Pos Ped ride in San Anselmo and met up with some of the riders in Fairfax. Since we hadn't ridden very far, our stop was short and then it was off to tackle White's Hill.

Though our stop was short, we did run into Kurt Schade. He runs his own series of rides on Saturdays, but on this ride, he was one of the pack. Not that Kurt could ever really be described as one of the pack. Along the route, Kurt sings, he tells jokes-- he is a one-man entertainment center.

So, as we left Fairfax, Kurt was right behind us. We hadn't spent much time with him lately, so it was a real treat to get to pedal and visit. Kurt had lots of great stories about some of his riders, and as a former DC area resident (he went to Georgetown) we traded east coast stories, and of course, got to talking about John Waters. Kurt did his best Bawlmer Miss Edith voice. We talked about Glee. We sang, we laughed. And before we knew it, we were up White's Hill.

Next came Lagunitas Hill and more of the same. It had never seemed so easy. Last, but hardly least before a break at the Cheese Factory, came, of course, Cheese Factory Hill, which goes by a variety of names, Alp de Fromage, or as I call it, Mont Fromage. It is a toughie, and it is long. But once again, with Kurt riding with us, it was as easy as its ever been.

Another factor making the day's ride so pleasurable was the weather. While there's frequently nothing to complain about regarding Northern California weather, this day was perfect. The hills were lush and green from our frequent deluges of the past few weeks; the air was warm, but not too warm, and the winds were never really awful. Picture perfect postcard day.

After speeding down the Cheese Factory Hill (At one point I clocked us at 48.7 mph) we rode around the reservoir and then on to Pt. Reyes Station. Jerry and I split a sandwich and a bag of chips and we headed out, this time without Kurt as company.

I felt all those miles and Kurt's absence. The hills were harder and I was definitely starting to sag. But once we were up the short and easy side of White's Hill, we sailed back to San Anselmo, drove home, stuffed some more food in our faces and took naps.

That evening we engaged in our usual Sunday night activity-- going to a movie. We saw the Last Station at the Lark. What a wonderful movie! So engaging, so beautifully acted. The only downer was the popcorn. The Lark boasts organic popcorn, and to that I say, Big Whup. I'd prefer the regular stuff popped with whatever carcinogenic oil and "movie additive" that makes it tastes so good. The popcorn at the Lark was full of unpopped pieces and next to no flavor. Sorry, but I'll stick to the crap at the chain theaters. If we go back there, I'll bring truffle salt.

Cook to Ride

As part of our fundraiser, Taste of Spring, I auctioned off a gourmet dinner, and last night, the winners of that auction item cashed in, so to speak.

The dinner was the highest bid on auction item, so I wanted to do a really great job. The hostess decided upon salmon, which is something I have cooked a lot of, so I felt pretty confident I could pull off a good meal.

I started my prep earlier in the week, starting with making a fresh pea soup. It was a recipe I had not tried before, so I wanted to make sure it was good. The recipe was simple, though time consuming. It was a simple soup of sauteed shallots, water, a potato and peas. I decided to change the water to chicken stock, for starters, and I added a bit more potato. I simmered it, and then it was time to get out the immersion blender to puree it. I probably would have been better off letting it cool and running it through the food mill, and if I make it again that will be my plan of action. But even after a food mill, I'd run it through a sieve, as I did this time, to make sure I get all the "solids" out. I also added just a touch of lemon zest to boost the flavor. It was light, but it was good.

On to hors d'oeuvre prep. I inadvertently bought black olives with pits, so before I could tackle the tapenade, I pitted olives. Glad to have a pitter-- made the job pretty simple.

I make a very simple but flavorful tapenade with black olives, sun dried tomatoes, garlic and a little olive oil. I whipped that up in the Cuisinart in a flash. Delicious. I served that with a goat cheese spread, and it was a hit.

One hors d'oeuvre had to be made at the event, but I think it was worth it. I made little phyllo cups and then filled them with chopped pears, Camemzola cheese, topped with a pecan. They were lovely and I thought delicious. (Yes, I tried one-- quality control.)
I also served some really good aged Gouda, and that constituted the hors d'oeuvres.

As I wrote earlier, first course was the soup. That was followed by a simple salad with Balsamic vinaigrette. I did put a little truffle salt in the dressing, and it added just a hint of a little more depth of flavor. Probably not identifiable to the diners, but I think it added a nice taste.

Dinner was salmon, roasted potatoes and roasted asparagus. I oven poached the salmon. I cut 6-8 ounce servings and wrapped them in foil, topped with some dill, lemon slices and a scallion, and sprinkled them with white wine. I also made a lovely sour cream dill sauce. I ladled a bit of that on the fish after it was plated.

I found the smallest potatoes I could find and initially roasted them in a moderate oven, then turned up the heat. They were crisp on the outside, tender on the inside. Perfect.

Since the oven was small, I roasted the asparagus first, sprinkled with olive oil, a little butter and lemon, and served them cold. Not my first choice, but since this was a home oven, not commercial, it was what had to be done.

My friend Rene contributed the dessert. She made lovely individual lemon pots de creme and lavender creme brulees.

Jerry was my sous chef and waiter, and we worked beautifully together. Since the dinner was for eight, it was relatively low stress and our timing was impeccable. As the guests finished dessert and sipped port, we cleaned up the kitchen, said our good nights, and headed home.

We will see this couple again, as they were also the high bidders on Jerry's aerial tour of the Bay.