vaara

For those who aren't familiar with it, AIDS/LifeCycle is a fully-supported, 7-day, 545-mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. As the name implies, it's a charity ride to support HIV/AIDS services. This year there were 2205 cyclists and 550 "roadies" (crew) who collectively raised about $12.6 million.

This was my first one, so I didn't really know what to expect, besides a LOT of riding and some tent camping, which I find distasteful at the best of times. I felt rather undertrained; I rode a total of about 1,050 miles over 8 months to prepare, about 400 of which were in April and May. Nonetheless I managed to ride the entire route (except for a bit of day 2, see below), only stopping once on one hill, and not walking at all.

Highlights per day:

Day 1, SF to Santa Cruz, 84 miles - Early foggy start out of the Cow Palace. A couple of biggish climbs through Daly City, then a massive one up to the top of Highway 92. After the first rest stop, we enjoyed clear and beautiful weather throughout. Highway 1 all the way from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz.

Day 2, Santa Cruz to Marina, 40 miles - Another foggy start, but this one quickly turned to drizzle, then showers, then heavy cold rain with lots of wind. Most riders weren't prepared, including me... so just before lunch a whole bunch of us -- about 1600 riders -- were SAGged to the next camp in King City. This was supposed to be my first century ride... oh well, I've done plenty of metric ones.

Day 3, King City to Paso Robles, 67 miles - This is "Quadbuster" day, Quadbuster being a big hill on Jolon Road about 15 miles south of King City. It didn't quite live up to the hype, and most riders made it up without too much trouble. Then, gradual descents through desolate and spectacular dry hills and on into Paso Robles, where it was pleasantly warm (as opposed to the usual furnace heat) but very windy.

Day 4, Paso Robles to Santa Maria, 97 miles - The "Evil Twins" on highway 46 -- so-called because there are four of them -- were dispatched quickly, and followed by a thrilling 15-mile descent to the coast, which for me was only slightly marred by a flat tire. We then zigzagged away from the coast and back, transiting through SLO and the Five Cities before finishing with a quick flat sprint from Guadalupe to Santa Maria with screaming tailwinds -- the best kind. Not quite a century, but very close!

Day 5, Santa Maria to Lompoc, 42 miles - A short ride with plenty of hills that most people weren't expecting. Still very windy.

Day 6, Lompoc to Ventura, 86 miles - An occasionally grueling but spectacular day, featuring many miles of tiresome riding along the shoulder of the 101 freeway -- no passing allowed, for safety reasons. We did spot dolphins, pelicans and other wildlife. Later on we were routed along beach paths through Santa Barbara, which was very pleasant indeed.

Day 7, Ventura to L.A., 61 miles - After a bit of inland and mostly flat riding, we returned to the coast and followed it all the way to Malibu. Highway 1 was busy but manageable, with a few rolling hills. The low clouds cleared right around our lunch stop below Pepperdine, and we had sun all the way to the finish line in Westwood.

Overall it was a tremendous experience -- and I can't wait to do it again!

Photos and more verbiage here: https://peteralc11.blogspot.com

Scooper

Great recap. Thanks for posting.

I rode in ALC8, then roadied in ALC9, skipped last year because of schedule conflicts, and roadied this year in bike parking. Day 2 was a very long day for me because of the 1500 SAG'd bikes.

I signed up to ride next year.

vaara

Cool! I'm signed up as a roadie for next year (moto safety, I hope). You guys did an AWESOME job on day 2 -- I can't imagine what a hassle that was for you!

fishymamba

Saw you guys on PCH near Malibu! It felt so good to be passing so many people.....even though I knew you guys had been riding for over 500miles!

Congrats on finishing!