Aids/Lifecycle4 2005 - Review

Day 0:
Randy and I got to the Cow Palace around 11:30am. From the car I could see a mile-long line for registration check in. Hummm… in the previous years it was nothing like that, but I had been warned by Ismail (Chunckette) that the event would be having almost two times the amount of people compared to the last 2 years. I learned later on that 2005’s ride would be having nearly 2000 participants, some 1600 cyclists and 400 roadies and volunteers who raised a total of $6.8 million.
The Cow Palace was an old pavilion south of San Francisco, which is usually used for rodeos and such. Personally I preferred the old location, the University of San Francisco.
After meeting JJ, my new tentmate (this year Chunckette would be tenting with his partner HBB).
I had met JJ through the “ALC Tentmater” and according to his profile description he would be a great company for me – Fun guy, laidback, looking forward to having a good time. Mistakenly, I was expecting him to replace Ismail, maintaining the same standards. No comments! Chunckette had been my tentmate for the past two years and he definitely set the bar waaayyy too high. I got spoiled.
Earlier on, during email exchanges and conversations on the phone, JJ promised so many things, some of those things like setting up and putting down the tent I didn’t really expect him to do. And other things like rubbing my back and sharing the same sheets I definitely DID NOT want him to do, but still, I thought it was sweet of him to offer. Ohhh well! Moreover, JJ told me I should not worry about bringing my floor matt cause he was gonna bring a queen size air mattress. Okay, so far so good…
The rest of the day went by fast and both me and Chunckette were apprehensive because we had no idea how we would perform since neither of us have had enough training time. In fact, he was in a worse situation than I. It was literally his first time in the bike after two years… eeeeewwww.

Day 1 – Cow Palace to Aptos:
Back to the Palace. The opening ceremonies took place inside of this big unattractive and acoustically unfriendly room. It kind of looked like the “shower rooms” for Jews during the WW2. Since the acoustics was real bad, people in the back of the room lost interest for what was going on in the small stage and chattered away. It was hardly emotional and I felt pity on the organization. I was just glad I had been through that ceremony twice and so I knew how pretty and emotional it could have been. This time, though, it didn’t have the same feeling. It was emotionless for me.
It was time to pedal. I hugged and kissed Randy. Chunckette and I left the pavilion walking our bikes and I mocked at him, asking if he was still able to clip on and off the pedals without falling.
A sea of cyclists with different colors of jerseys, windbreakers, and the most interesting helmet decoration were ahead of us. The black and brown bears on top of our helmets created by Randy were very popular, often people asked to take a snapshot of the “bears”, well, more like “cubs”…
Right in the beginning an inclination warmed us all up. Ismail started pedaling strong and soon was out of my sight. I kept my pace - sllloooow. It would be a long day, some 84 miles.
On Rest Stop 1, I noticed I was in the back of the pack. And when I say back, it means last 10 cyclists… I did not worry about it. Like they say: “It is a ride, not a race”. Plus, I came to find out, the most fun and friendly people are always the last ones. They are there for the fun. They sit down, talk, laugh, whereas the only thing you will hear from fast cyclists is “on your left”. It was on Rest Stop 1 that I met Chrissy – the crazy. Chrissy was one of those people who would entertain the whole ride. Later on, Ismail and I told her she should have one night just for her as a stand up comedian. She was hilarious. She happened to have the same pace as I did and for many times we pedaled together. Chrissy has made my ride easier, that is for sure…
When we got to the Coast, fortunately the wind started blowing south, which means we would be having a “tailwind” the rest of the day and so I rode faster. The day was beautiful and revealed a spectacular scenery along the coast, and then I stopped many times for pictures. On Rest Stop 3, I saw Eric and Tim Irving (my former team captain). Both of them cheered me on and encouraged me to finish the next 30 miles or so… Besides, I still needed to pass by Rest Stop 4, the most expected Rest Stop of all. They say that group has been doing Rest Stop 4 for many years and the reason they are the last RS is to motivate the cyclists to pedal all the way to the end so they can see the crazy themes and funny costumes RS4 has prepared for each day. They always make me laugh! I have to say it works for me. In the firt day they were all dressed as country girls `a la Dolly Parton, with boots and big boobs. The RS4 was Dollywood.
Two things that make me keep on pedaling: Rest Stop 4 and the cyclists and roadies cheering in the entrance of each camp. In the end of the day, when coming into camp and receiving that kind of appreciation from fellow riders make me feel sooooo good!

Day 1 – At Camp

As I arrived close to 7pm, I missed most of the announcements. I got my luggage at the Gear Truck G and went to locate my tent. The numbering seemed crooked and fortunately I met JJ, who had just setup the tent in the wrong spot, all the way in the back of the football field. He said he was too tired to look for the number. The fact that the tent was set in the wrong place was actually a good thing and you will know why later.
We then head to dinner. I got my plate and sat by JJ and his friends. After dinner I went back to my tent, gathered my stuff and went to the shower trucks. I have to say there are good points and bad points on being a slow cyclist. Bad: No way to get into the massage list. Good: No line for showers.
When I got back to the tent, JJ came up with the news he would be sleeping with M., a training ride leader, super fast cyclist, who would be setting up our tent most of the days. I cheered for him and told him to have fun. In other words I would have the tent and the so wanted queen air mattress just for me...
In the middle of the night, I was practically sleeping in the floor, feeling cold and very uncomfortable. The super special air mattress was deflating... The drama was just starting.
The next morning, I heard that the D section of tents had to be evacuated at 3am in the morning because the sprinklers started and flooded all the tents in that area. I was just happy JJ had setup the tent in the far side of the field.

Day 2 – Aptos to King City
Day 2 was the first century ride (100 miles). And even though it is a long day, the second day is one of my favorite days. It is mostly flat and the scenery is fantastic. That is when we pass by the countryside of California, the strawberries and artichoke fields, the wineries. It just blows me away. Again, it was a sunny and gorgeous day! A perfect day to pedal and take pictures. Before the RS1 I stopped to have some shots of the farm workers and suddenly someone screams “Gustavoooo”. It was Chrissy. She was sitting down in the dirty facing the other side eating some snacks she had stuffed into her pockets and shorts. She was too funny. She gave me some GU for energy and tablets of Vitamin C. We sat there for a while and many, many cyclists passed by us. We talked and laughed and then started pedaling towards the next Rest Stop cause we both needed to use the Porta-Patty... That day we pedaled most of the day together.

Day 3 – King City to Paso Robles
I absolutely hate day 3. I decided I would skip that day for my own good, and for the sake of the rest of my ride days. Day 3 is the day of the “Quad Buster”, the most popular of all the hills of ALC. I really don’t understand why. It is a (somewhat) short hill, HOWEVER, it is pretty steep. That is when many of the advanced riders go up and down, literally pushing the weaker cyclists.
But rather than Quad Buster, the reason I chose not to ride on that day was simple: Headwind, bumpy roads, heat and boring sights. That is all. On my first ride, I remember that Day 3 wore me out A LOT. The roads are just unbearable.
I decided to join my friend and teammate Eric Menendez in the Medical Tent
At RS3. Tim (the captain of RS3) was pretty happy when I told him I would be helping them out. He put me at traffic right away since I did that a lot with Ismail in the previous year. It was fun to greet the cyclists as they rode in and I had a pretty relaxing day. A good break! On the way to the camp, Eric, Susan and I stopped by Rest Stop 4 to check what was their thing on that day: “ The Sound of Music”. It was just fantastic! They were all dressed just like the kids with curtain pieces and stupid hats… Even the baroness was there. Every 20 minutes they put a show starting with Do-re-mi that looked just like the film and then a Marionette show that was hilarious! They cracked me up!
Back to the road and then to camp in Paso Robles. It was the first time I was setting up the tent. Troy helped me putting it up and then I inflated the freaking mattress.
After dinner, there was a Team Bear social at Ice Cream. I didn’t really feel like going but Chunckette insisted that I should not be anti-social and so I joined all bears.

Day 4 – Paso Robles to Santa Maria
I personally enjoy Day 4. It is another century ride. It is a complicated day because it also has several hills, including the so called “Evil Twins”. The twins are two hills, one after the other with a pretty big elevation. If I am not mistaken it reads 1752 feet in the top of the second hill. I am not sure if I am exact. In the top we also find the sign “Half way to LA” where people line up for hours to take a picture with it and a beautiful background. I chose to take some pics of the other riders and one of myself with the background but I rejected waiting for the sign. The downhill is nice and windy. It can get real cold.
At lunch, since I was ahead, I took a little nap before getting back to the bike. Every time, after lunch I always felt sooo lazy and bloated until I was warmed up again.
In the last 30 miles, there is a killer hill that nobody cared about naming, but it should definitely be part of the “Evil” family, maybe the baby brother. It is a hill with no shoulder and a lot of traffic. On the top of the hill some riders were cheering and dancing. That was cute!
The final ten miles after RS4 were pretty cool. Boring as could be when it comes to sightseeing, a huge straight line, 6 miles long, with the same boring scenery. I relaxed my neck, looked down and pedaled strong. The tailwind helped again!
On that leg of the ride, I noticed someone struggling while pedaling, holding his left leg and going very slowly, slower than ME! When I got closer, I noticed it was JJ. I asked him if he was alright and he said “yes”, but in my opinion he seemed like he was about to collapse. I stopped my bike a few yards ahead of him and waited for him. I did what anyone would do. He then stopped and I asked him: “Are you sure you are okay? I will ride with you?” And then he said: “ No. I just want to ride by myself. A lot of people came asking me and I hate that.” Or something like that. Immediately I started riding ahead of him and hoped that he would not fall down and die lonely, otherwise I would feel real bad. But I did my part.
I started figuring JJ little by little during the ride. He was proud, he didn’t want to give up. A forty year old acting like a 12 year old. He wanted to keep up with the pace of his friends who had been training for longer than him, who were riding in road bikes. JJ had a mountain bike. At that point his body was giving up. He was able to keep up with them for the first three days, but finally his body was asking for help.
I told him so many times before the actual ride he should not worry about doing the whole thing. It was okay to be swept or to sag, specially if you are not feeling good, but I guess he didn’t want to feel less than others. For him, it was like a embarrassment not to ride every mile.
On the entrance of the camp, many cyclists and roadies were cheering for the rest of the cyclists. Chunckette was there too. I had a triumphal entry and “high fived” hands while going in with my bike.
Chunckette, helped me set up the tent and when I was inflating the mattress I see at far JJ being carried by another rider. He looked horrible. His legs were shaking and people started looking. I told him we should go to the Medical tent and he rejected the suggestion. He laid down inside the tent but it was too late. He had attracted attention of too many people. Other riders came around him and nearly begged him to go the Medical. I, then decided to go get Medical help even if he was gonna be mad at me.
Chunckette got the doctor and we left for dinner.

Day 4 –Dinner with Chrissy
We all set in the grass and I introduced Chunckette and Michael to Chrissy. We had the best time. Chrissy told us all her most funny ride stories (when she got dehydrated on the ride or when they asked her to do the sign language in front of everybody) and we all laughed till almost pee in our pants. She is one of those people who are very graphic when describing things.

Day 5 (Red Dress Day) – Santa Maria to Lompoc
It was the first time I was doing Day 5. On my first ride, I had skipped it with Chunckette, but then I decided to ride it since I didn’t know what was it about. Besides it was only 60 miles and it should be an easy short day, and I even had my all-red outfit.
I have to say I regret riding on that day. Day 5 was no walk in the park. Pretty much like Day 3, it also has hills, but instead of twins, it has Triplets. Someone said later that they are gonna name it “The Terrible Triplets!”. Big Hills with headwind - my worst nightare!!!
Well, not all was ugly on Day 5 though, the outfits, dresses, wigs, hats, make ups were awesome. It was fun to take pictures of all the original costumes people came up with.
I actually arrived into camp at 2pm that day, pretty early, but at the same time it was the most exhaustive day for me. I was happy to be in camp that early so I could relax and do some social.
Earlier that day, JJ came to me announcing he would be coming back to our tent, meaning he would sleep in our tent again. The reason: The boyfriend of the guy who he was having an affair with had found out about their romance through a picture of them kissing during the ride… OHHHHHHHHHHH PLLLLEAAAAASE!!!! Is this Mexican novella????? It is worse!!!! I don’t care about those things!!!! I was there to have a good time. Drama free completely!!!! So, suddenly my tentmate who is supposed to be almost 40 years old and started acting like a 12 year-old, came up with all these BS!!! What is one to do???? Seriously!
I chose to disregard, to block it off, and so I went to check my messages at the Information Tent. I got messages from many good friends and supporters! Awesome and powerful words that made me very emotional. Throughout this ride, it seems like we all get more emotional, more vulnerable to our feelings.
At night, after dinner, it was time for people to show their talents. There were great performances as always. Great dancing, appealing poems, funny acts and nice music. It was a fun Talent Show night.

Day 6 – Lompoc to Ventura
Day 6 started with a huge and never-ending fifteen-mile inclination. I started that day awfully lazy. I made it to the 30 miles on Rest Stop 2 but as soon as I left that location I started feeling powerless, almost like I could just lay down and sleep right there in the hot asphalt. Since there was still 20 something miles until I reach Lunch Location I decided to get swept, a little shortcut, what Chrissy and I called a little cheating. Hehehe
At lunch I visited the Medical Tent. The doctor in charge told me I was supposed to be drinking more Gatorade mixed with water. He told me to grab my lunch, drink my whole bottle and then go back there before leaving, and so I did. Before I keep on going, there is something I forgot to mention. IN the end of Day 4, I lost the tip of my Camelback and it didn’t work anymore, so if before I was using my water bottle for Gatorade and my camelback for water, having a perfect mix of after and Gatorade, I, then, started drinking only water. The doctors decided not to choose on my behalf whether I should continue my ride or not. They told me it was my call. According to the map, the next Rest Stop (3) was only 9 miles. Shit! I could do 9 miles with one leg only… NOT! I struggled those nine miles. I was feeling so lazy still, and bloated by lunch, and again I felt like sleeping. Getting to Rest Stop 3, I left my bike on “Bikes to Sag” and went to see Eric right away. At first he didn’t believe me. He told me I was inventing it so I could be patronized. After insisting, he decided he would take my blood pressure. While laying down in the cot, my pressure level was fine, so he decided to take my pressure while standing. It seems like when someone is dehydrated, if on standing position the blood flows down and the pressure gets unstable, or something like that… and that is what happened. Eric found out I was dehydrated and asked me if I wanted to drink lots of Gatorade or go through 2 IV’s. He told me that if I chose the IV’s I would be feeling great the next day FOR SURE! I didn’t think twice. I wanted to cross the finish line the next day and so IV would be!!! So I met Doctor James Cooke, who was working with Eric that day and would be applying the IV on me. Later on he confessed it had been 3 years since he applied his last IV. Either James and Eric were wonderful and very caring with me. I drove back to camp with Eric and he took me to the Central Medical to finish with my IV and finally discharged me.The ride was almost over and that feeling of end of the party began taking control.

Day 7 : Ventura to Los Angeles
On the last day of the ride I woke up feeling absolutely GREAT! Thanks to the 2 bags of IV the day before I was ready to "kick-ass". I was actually ready to start a new 7-day bike ride if it wasn't for my sore 'derriere'. People often asked me "What did they put on that IV?"
The ride was pretty and fun. After RS1 we finally re-ecountered the sea and and pedaled the rest 30 something miles on the coast, passing by Malibu, Zuma, Cher's mansion (She wasn't there) and finally Palisades and Santa Monica. There I was! Feeling home after 7 challenging days! 5 more miles to go!
The closing ceremonies was being held at the VA Hospital in West LA, a pretty area full of green spaces. On my arrival, I could see a bunch of people among riders, roadies and families cheering for every cyclist that came in. No matter how many times one does this ride, the finish line is always emotional, makes your heart stop for a few seconds and the feeling of accomplishment is REAL!