Day on the Ride

Distance 64.0mi
Moving Time 5:03:34
Elevation 4,626ft
Avg Speed 12.7mi/h
Max Speed 38.9mi/h

Thanks Julie Brown, AIDS/LifeCycle staff, including Cyclist Rep Meredith Slater, Cyclist Rep TJ Chaparro, Sarah Bullock Cyclist Rep and all the volunteers for Day on the Ride ("DOTR"). What a great, fun way to introduce us newbies to what life will be like during our 7-day, 545-mile journey in June.

The day started with light rain until about half way to our first rest stop. The beginning of DOTR was filled with excitement in the cold, drizzling morning. I looked over and saw a guy in bike shorts and a a vest. You've got to be kidding? When Julie wanted us all to get closer to the staged area so we could hear her announcement, she mentioned that it would be good for us to all huddle up to get warmer. So I asked the guy, Kyle Nishkian, "How do you keep warm?" He smiled, shook his head and said, "Poor planning." When I later bumped into him at our third rest stop, he had arm warmers that a friend lent him. The morning was quite cold, so I'm sure he didn't enjoy the early ride and he confirmed it when he told us everything that could go wrong, but the day warmed up.

During lunch, I got to meet Sasha and David Madfes, the daughter/father team cycling with Team Mary and spend a bit more time with Mr. Madfes on our third rest stop. Read about Heroes in the Fight: Meet Sasha and David.

But, the day was fantastic. One mishap with a wipeout, but she just got a few cuts, but nothing major. Hope you enjoy the photos.

First rest stop

Gorgeous rolling hills of Marin

Third rest stop - missed taking pictures at lunch

Yup! Kyle with his borrowed arm warmers.

Art with David Madfes (Heroes in the Fight)

Pasta dinner

TJ hamming it up with Sarah

First time to the top of Mt. Diablo

Distance 74.1mi plus 2 that wasn't included at the start of the ride and 2 to/from BART
Moving Time 6:24:30
Elevation 6,158ft
Avg Speed 11.6mi/h
Max Speed 30.6mi/h

Quite an amazing ride led by Mary Vencill with co-leaders Greg Nichols, Don Brown, Dawn Tso, Suse Whitehead, Arjan Bok and Kathy O'Brien AND M doing SAG and rest stops.

Because of AIDS/LifeCycle I have now visited Mt. Diablo twice, but today was the first time to the top of Mt. Diablo and cycling up the last 200 feet literally kicks butt. I don't think I could feel my derrière the last 30 feet of climbing, but nothing was going to stop me from cycling to the top. WHEW! Cycling down the mountain was not fun for me. I'm afraid of heights and one could go very fast down Mt. Diablo, but as you can see from the stats above, I maxed at 30.6 mi/h. It was cold and I was braking as much as I could to stop from going any faster and off the cliff. Had that happened, I wouldn't have been able to do the June 1 to 7 ride.

All-in-all a fabulous ride even though the climb was challenging. I was ready to end the ride by our 4th rest stop, which was our lunch stop. We cycled on ...

We're doing it ...

in 12 weeks, with 231 donors, we're now over $27,000. For now, we're one of the top 10 fundraisers. I'm still going to work hard so that we can exceed the goal by thousands and help make a world of difference in the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS!

And what do I think of the other side of Palomares

Distance 86.4mi
Moving Time 6:55:19
Elevation 6,936ft
Avg Speed 12.5mi/h
Max Speed 36.7mi/h

I thought yesterday was a lot of climbing. Today's ride was led by Mark with Co-Leaders: Kathryn Chess, Judy Gerber, George Harrison, Bob Golden, Rachel Carl, and Hugo Sosa - Mary Beth and Nicole were Rest Stop/Sweep support.

Boy, oh boy, oh boy. We climbed upper Pinehurst to Skyline Drive for a break at Sibley Park. After our break at Sibley, we rode south along Skyline Drive, past the Oakland Zoo, and around Lake Chabot to Castro Valley for our lunch break. From there, we cycled east over the Dublin Grade, then headed south to Sunol for another break. After that, we cycled along Hwy 84 before turning right to climb Palomares (the reverse direction from yesterday) on our way back to Castro Valley, then up, up, up Redwood Road, up and over lower Pinehurst, then up and over Moraga and finally to Orinda BART.

The climb to Palomares yesterday seemed challenging, until we went up the other side today, which had no respite from a continuous incline. At least yesterday, there were a few flat spots. So after 86.4 miles of riding today, I thought I was going to ride for another hour for over 100 miles. The need for a new a - - after the 86.4 miles made me head on home to celebrate the holiday with John, which was a much better idea.

So what was today's ride about

Distance 81.0mi
Moving Time 6:48:52
Elevation 5,052ft
Avg Speed 11.9mi/h
Max Speed 38.5mi/h

Lots of climbing today with Facilitator: Mary Vencill and Co-Leaders: Aaron Lewis, Dawn  Tso, Steve Wedgwood, Don Brown, and Arjan Bok, with Em and M as SAG. Today we rode out to Moraga, over Lower Pinehurst and Redwood Road to Castro Valley (rest stop 1), then south on Palomares Road and Hwy 84 to  Sunol (rest stop 2). Then we rode some easier miles to Pleasanton and Alamo and, then back to Orinda without too much more climbing, except for one last climb as we went up Mt. Diablo Blvd, to Acalanes and up the Frontage Road.

At the crest of Palomares I could see M with provisions, I started calling out her name as I got closer to the crest. Boy did I need that banana, orange, mixed nut bar, mini Twix and Three Musketeers, and water. The gorgeous view from this crest is below.

I had no back pain throughout the ride, so the bike fit two Fridays ago helped. Let's see how I fare tomorrow which will be a longer ride and look similar to today's ride, but longer.

A recovery we will go ... to Rosie the Riveter Museum

Distance 36.7mi
Moving Time 2:44:30
Elevation 804ft
Avg Speed 13.4mi/h
Max Speed 24.2mi/h
Heartrate 177bpm avg / 246bpm max

Yesterday was another cross training day with Chris Davis. Trying my best to open up my hip flexors. The stretches and strengthening exercises have me grimacing, but not as much as when Ben took that foam roller to my quads.

Today's ride with Bill Harwood was a nice slow, flat route to Point Richmond - such a cute, quaint town. We ended up at the historical Rosie the Riveter Museum. What a treat! We took a few fun photos.

Wow, another huge donation

Kim Roper, you are wonderful for donating $450 to help in the fight against AIDS! Thank you.

Thank you, Frank H. Woo

Frank donates $500, another big one for AIDS/LifeCycle!

Another century

Distance 104.5mi
Moving Time 8:04:12
Elevation 5,692ft
Avg Speed 13.0mi/h
Max Speed 36.2mi/h
Heartrate 164bpm avg / 244bpm max

I was so excited about today's ride. This was the last Del Norte BART training ride, so I was happy to join Team Ride Leader ("TRL") Facilitator, Hugo Sosa and co-TRLs Rachel Sandoval Carl, and Jeff Adamus. Angelina Sosa who usually is a TRL helped M with the SAG vehicle and cheered us on. And, because I biked to and from the starting route, I was able to achieve the 104.5 miles.

15 minutes into the ride, I felt the bike slowing down and realized I had a flat in the rear. Rachel, was with me and stayed with me. Thank goodness. She reminded me of what I needed to do, especially since I had only done 1 tire changing workshop and watched 2 other times prior to today. I did quite well and I'm so glad Hugo stopped (he's a bike mechanic extraordinaire), so he helped with putting the wheel back on. I was back on the rode and cycling away.

With the Friday's bike fit, I didn't feel as much back pain as before, so maybe the bike fit was money well spent. I'll know better later when another adjustment is made this coming week.

An exhausting day, but John and I managed to get dinner on the table as soon as I got home. Wish I could write more, but my brain is mush right now.

Yesterday's short ride before my bike fit

Distance 10.4mi
Moving Time 49:46
Elevation 96ft
Avg Speed 12.5mi/h
Max Speed 21.5mi/h
Heartrate 103bpm avg / 121bpm max

My short ride before the bike fit - not much to say. Oh, Palo Alto has beautifully paved roads, but not around Alma and on 82.

Learning about yourself

This is not an epiphanous moment, but more, "Is my body that much in need of repair?"

Yesterday, I had a professional bike fit done by Dan McDonough, Revolutions in Fitness, one of the AIDS/LifeCycle's Platinum Level Partners. Three weeks ago, I already learned from Chris Davis, 24-Hour Fitness Master Trainer, that my hip flexors, especially my right, are very tight. What does this mean? Yesterday's bike fit was very detailed. I never knew the lack of flexibility in my hip flexors affected my cycling. I thought the years of training for dance 33 years ago would make me flexy man, but I guess I needed to continue those important stretches. Hmmmm? Life lesson #7052 (no importance to the random number I just selected) - "continue to do the things that help your body stay flexible." Not being flexible makes your body do knick knack patty wack things like - why the _____ is my ____________ hurting or doing what it's now supposed to be doing?

During the bike fit, Dan noticed (and so did I, finally, when facing a mirror) while I was cycling, that my hips see-sawed from side-to-side - not back to front, as in twerking (not supposed to do that either). So, Dan did a test. He had me cycle with just my left foot (not to be confused with Daniel Day Lewis' "My Left Foot") and lo and behold, I was cycling smooth as a baby's bum. Then, he had me switch to my right foot (not to be confused with Daniel Day Lewis' opposite of "My Left Foot") and lo and behold, I was cycling as if I had never been on a bicycle - I was all over the place, off balance, and full of hope that I could change that. Now I know that I need to get that right hip flexor opened sooner, rather than later.

Lot's of good, hard work ahead to get my body into shape so that I don't ever look like this ...

Yes, I know I've used this picture before ...
Can you imagine what my reaction would've
been had Ben worked my right leg/hip flexor?

Maybe this?

What has the busy bee been doing?

After Tuesday's recovery ride, I made sure my mom was set for dinner, then John and I headed out to the 2014 Teach for America ("TFA") Bay Area Annual Dinner. This dinner was our first and we were inspired by the organization. Teach For America corps members and alumni are helping lead an educational revolution in low-income communities across the country.

We learned that evening that one of the schools that benefit from TFA is Oakland International High School, which is right across the street from us. So what does this have to do with my AIDS/LifeCycle journey?

For the past few years, Richard and Charlotte, of Tip Top Bike Shop, have asked me to participate in Ride 4 A Reason ("R4R"). R4R is an annual bike ride to Sacramento to advocate for public education, and raise essential funds for school enrichment programs in Oakland. The schools that benefit from R4R are Claremont Middle School, Emerson Elementary School, Oakland International High School and Oakland Technical High School (John's parents' alma mater).

So with my recent purchase of a bicycle and training the past three months, I thought, why not help the public schools right in our neighborhood? I registered Wednesday morning and we are now 75% closer to our $1000 contribution to help towards R4R's $120,000 goal.

I will ride 109 miles from Oakland to Sacramento on Saturday, May 17th. If you would like to contribute, please visit http://rideforareason.dojiggy.com/artdesuyo

Thank you for your AIDS/LifeCycle and R4R support!

Short recovery ride

Distance 32.3mi
Moving Time 2:17:41
Elevation 702ft
Avg Speed 14.1mi/h
Max Speed 25.9mi/h
Heartrate 162bpm avg / 244bpm max

Since today was a recovery ride, I eliminated any unnecessary climbs, hence the 702ft of elevation, but look at what I got ...

View from the bike route on the way to the East Bay span of the Bay Bridge

A distant view of the foggy Golden Gate

Another angle of San Francisco

More poppies

And a whole lot more

I thought I'd be doing 82 miles today

Distance 31.8mi
Moving Time 2:46:09
Elevation 2,888ft
Avg Speed 12.5mi/h
Max Speed ??mi/h

I think I was a bit ambitious to take another training ride with another level 4 terrain. I was already exhausted from yesterday's ride with no rest until after 9:30 p.m. when we got back home. My legs felt the struggle as soon as we hit Moraga Road from Orinda BART - that was mile 0.2. It's a slight grade, but my body was asking me, "Already?! Take a break, why don't you?" I charged ahead and let my mind drift and reminded myself why I was riding - for those who can't.

But thankfully, Facilitator: Mark Smith (with Co-Leaders: Dan, George, Kas, Bob, Kathryn, Hugo (Mary Beth, car sweep) scheduled a short ride option at mile 30.6, lunch stop next to Orinda BART. I took that option. I felt such a sense of relief and of course made sure folks knew I had just finished, yesterday, Mary Vencill's level 4 terrain, 63.9mi, 5,243ft elevation ride - NO, I didn't give ALL that information. I just didn't want to sound like a whimp. BUT, I certainly was Whimpy, from those who know the 1960s Popeye the Sailor Man televised cartoon. Take a look, I treated myself to this ... "I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." Yummy, yummy, yummy - at least, for me.

Not a veggie burger, with fries and a vanilla shake from Nation's in Orinda

Saturday Steep

Distance 63.9mi
Moving Time 4:58:55
Elevation 5,243ft
Avg Speed 12.8mi/h
Max Speed 35.6mi/h

Will write more about this ride that also kicked my a - -.  As you can see, I'm posting a day late. Why? More later ...

Thank you Ride Leader, Mary Vencill and Co-leaders: Greg Nichols, Steve Wedgwood, Don Brown, CJ Julian, and Em Howard in the sag mobile. I don't think I had any idea how much climbing we would be doing. I was pretty much beat at the end of the ride. I had to hurry home to get my mother to the gym (and me to stretch), have dinner ready for her and then John and I were off to a San Francisco LGBT Center fundraiser. We were home by 9:30 p.m., so not too bad, then get ready for next day's training.

I finally got a couple of pictures of the beautiful scenery on Alhambra Valley Road in Martinez (Pig Farm Hill).

The barn I always thought my grandparents had on their farm

Three friends resting

Third day of much needed recovery

During these recovery days, I've stretched, cross-trained (upper body with weights), learned how to further strengthen my core, and spent time with a personal trainer who is helping me condition my body, especially my legs. I did not know my muscles were so tight even though I've been using the foam roller.

Since embarking on road training Monday, February 3, with at least 2 training rides per week, I've logged by the 30th day, 396 miles and by the 60th day 1,030 miles. And, 100 of those miles were achieved two Sundays ago.

AND, most importantly, look at what supporters have done? So far after only 9 weeks, their contributions now total $23,787. This is significant to me because in the beginning, I wasn’t sure that I would be able to, with their help, raise even the required $3,000 minimum. Their support continues to mean so much -- we are currently one of the top 10 fundraisers. Many thanks to all!

First ride to Mt. Diablo on Sunday, March 30

Distance 73.6mi
Moving Time 5:28:59
Elevation 5,079ft
Avg Speed 13.4mi/h
Max Speed 38.0mi/h
Heartrate 173bpm avg / 249bpm max

First of all, thank you Mark Smith, Bob, Hugo, Kas, Jonathan, Kathryn, Leslie, and especially Mary Beth for the scrumptious snacks apple butter/jam sandwiches, potatoes with a dash of kosher salt, fruit, and so much more.

Wow! Simply beautiful and such a long a-- steep (more expletives) way to get there. Honestly, this ride not quite to the top, was just gorgeous and challenging. At one point, riding alone, I thought I was lost in the woods since the road had become, literally, dirt. I promise (yeah, like I did last time) that I'll take pictures, but I just wanna get to the next rest stop. So, I thought I was lost until a fellow AIDS/LifeCycle cyclist passed me while climbing the steep grade, and then another, and then ... I would have none of this, I started cycling just a bit harder and faster. And, now, two days later, my legs still feel the effort. And, then, racing, I mean riding, downhill on a one-lane road was exhilarating and frightening, so that two days later, my hands, especially my thumbs feel the effort from the death grip (on the brakes -- not so, I could hear my cousin, Arthur in the back of my head reminding me each time how to brake correctly, without yelling, even).

Art reaching Morgan Terri? on Mt. Diablo
not with his bike, too lazy to even set it up in front of the sign

That's Bill Harwood reaching Mogan Territory on Mt. Diablo