Saw the AIDS Lifecycle ride today

[urbanknight]

So I decided to take my wife to the Adamson House in Malibu and as we turned down PCH we saw hundreds of cyclists, many of them in really funny garb and decorations all over their helmets and bikes. At first I was thinking, "what group is this to have so many people with such GAY stuff on them?" Then I realized, it's the AIDS ride on its last leg. I want to do that event, but it's hard to justify time off as a teacher during the last quarter of the semester.

I also realized, this ride starts in San Francisco during their pride parade, and ends in Los Angeles just in time for theirs. I guess they won't be willing to bump the dates back 3 weeks for a teacher to enter next year.

[ronjon10]

So I decided to take my wife to the Adamson House in Malibu and as we turned down PCH we saw hundreds of cyclists, many of them in really funny garb and decorations all over their helmets and bikes. At first I was thinking, "what group is this to have so many people with such GAY stuff on them?" Then I realized, it's the AIDS ride on its last leg. I want to do that event, but it's hard to justify time off as a teacher during the last quarter of the semester.

I also realized, this ride starts in San Francisco during their pride parade, and ends in Los Angeles just in time for theirs. I guess they won't be willing to bump the dates back 3 weeks for a teacher to enter next year.

I was driving into Santa Monica on PCH from Topanga and there was a steady line of bikers the whole stretch. That was awesome to see.

[spingineer]

Yea, my friend Mary has been posting gabcasts on her homepage, and it was awesome to hear her accounts of the ride. Can't wait to see her, and hear her stories. She'll be doing GT with me, but I wonder if I'll be able to keep up with her, after 500+ miles she did.

[awiner]

What time did you see them ? I was on PCH today and didn't happen to come across the group.

[urbanknight]

ronjon10, yeah there were a few waves of them (I'm assuming because they have 3 designated "levels" of average speeds for the riders to choose from). When we were exiting the museum driveway, we had to wait a solid 5 minutes to get a window to get on the street. My wife just rolled her eyes as I watched with a grin on my face.

awiner, We got to the PCH around noon and saw what seemed like the tail end of one wave, then around 1:30 when we left, a whole new wave of hundreds of riders were going by. There were plenty of rider in between the waves as well, just in smaller groups.

Once my wife found out it was a ride with about half of the riders being gay (her best friends are gay) she liked it a bit more. She did like the funny things people were wearing. Flowers, streamers, fake birds, fuzzy ears and fake animal heads, etc.

[ronjon10]

I saw the 1:30 group that came through. Lots of non road bikes out there. One guy was on something that looked like a downhill mtn bike, full suspension, HUGE knobby tires etc. Looked like a painful way to move yourself 500 miles. Good for them though, I heard they raised 11 million dollars.

[BCIpam]

Thanks - yesterday I was on the 405 freeway just past WestWood about 5:30 - 6p when I started to notice all sorts of people getting on, bikes in back or on their cars with numbers on them. I knew there had to be an event in the area but didn't know which one. Now I know!

[umd]

I ran into them on my ride Friday morning. Did a loop up 154 to Solvang and back from Gaviota to Goleta on the 101. They were very militant about us saying "on your left". When I got home I looked at their website and found this:

"The following Call Out signals are mandatory for all AIDS/LifeCycle cyclists"

I mean they got really angry if we ever didn't say it! A few people tried to hook onto our paceline, but only 1 guy managed to make it stick near the end :p

[urbanknight]

lol yeah my wife and I were wondering why they were using signals so much. Pointing out ever car that was waiting at an intersection or driveway, any open door, etc. But better safe than sorry I guess.

[nesdog]

lol yeah my wife and I were wondering why they were using signals so much. Pointing out ever car that was waiting at an intersection or driveway, any open door, etc. But better safe than sorry I guess.

There is a small note in today's newspaper about a cyclist running a red light in SLO and being hit by a car. No other details, so we don't know if it was a roadie, casual rider, etc.

Sheldon

[Dubbayoo]

There's only one speed to choose from...your own. We had a two hour window to start our ride. We had to finish by 3:30 to make the closing ceremony. I think I was done about 2pm. Really brutal climb about 4 miles to the end. The whole thing is a blast. Everybody should do it at least once. I'll be back for sure.

[urbanknight]

I'd love to, and I even have a partner who would ride with me, but a teacher taking a week off during the last month of school is a hard trick.

[redal]

I'd love to, and I even have a partner who would ride with me, but a teacher taking a week off during the last month of school is a hard trick.

If your principal is even remotely understanding it shouldn't be a problem. I'm a teacher as well and I have a very strict principal. Last year I was invited to race the Tour of Cuba. I was going to need to miss 12 school days in February. I went to my principal and was very honest about it and told her what a great opportunity it was and how it would be impossible for me to ever legally visit Cuba without doing this race. Surprisingly she agreed, but unfortunately the US government denied our visas and we didn't get to go. The guy organizing the trip was really surprised since he had taken teams the previous three or four years.
I know it is a tough time of year, but I think many people realize that not all learning takes place in the classroom. You would be setting many good examples for your students, including raising money for a good cause and leading an active lifestyle. You would probably also have many interesting (G-rated only) stories to share with your students. I'm not sure what subjects you teach but you could possibly find a creative way to integrate your ride with your curriculum.

[thomson]

I'd love to, and I even have a partner who would ride with me, but a teacher taking a week off during the last month of school is a hard trick.

Is it the AIDS ride you want or a ride from San Francisco to L.A. If the latter, there are other options, the best of which is just you and your friend do it on your schedule.

[urbanknight]

Yeah, I might try to make my schedule work better next year. I teach music, so it might be workable if I make the Spring concert before the ride and line up a musically gifted sub to start their work on Pomp and Circumstance while I'm gone. My principal is very reasonable, but it's me who has such a sense of committment to my work. Sucks that you didn't get to do the race in Cuba.

I like the ride both because it's a ride down the coast and because it raises funds and awareness for AIDS. If I can't have both, I'll plan a trip with a couple friends some time, but it would be nice to do the huge event. First thing's first, though, which is taking care of my knee. Seeing the doc for a referral today.