The cycling network grows.

Through sending out my fundraising letter to many current and long-lost contacts, I have gotten back in touch with a friend who is also involved in a cycling fund-raiser. My friend and former college classmate, Angie, is riding in the Trek Across Maine, 2008. A fund raiser for the American Lung Association. Her home page here. Best of luck, Angie!

Flexpod!! Night and Day.

Thanks to my Uncle Charlie, who has just contributed a Flexpod and Camelbak to the training adventure! Here is my first video, taken tonight on the ride home. It was taken on a stop-motion setting, one frame per second. The ride appears much more harrowing than usual at this speed. Enjoy!

**update 12/19/07: scroll down for the daytime ride**



A portion of my morning commute. Extra rights and lefts added for thrilling visual excitement!

Plateu One.

I breezed through my training ride this weekend. 30 miles on Sunday. Getting to this point mainly involved blowing the dust out of my system, and oiling my gears again. It's moving forward in mileage from here that I think will be more of a challenge. I had no problem with the cardiovascular aspect of riding 30 miles at this point, but it was around the 25th miles that mechanical issues started to surface. Specifically outer-knee pain. I will have to address this asap, either through readjusting my riding position, or through particular physical therapy exercises. I'm not exactly sure what the problem is. This may be a case for my "cycle buddy" with whom I'll be corresponding over the next 6 1/2 months of training. If anyone has experience with outer-knee pain, please comment on my blog. I'd like to hear your experiences, including what brings relief. Thanks!


I've included a photo from yesterdays' ride. I set up my camera on a tripod, and had it take a series of 10 photos. Here I am hamming it up in front of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Why I like my bike shop.

This is what my front brake lever looked like after my crash Tuesday night. Those two pieces of silver colored metal used to be connected.

In the 'adding insult to injury' category, I thought this was going to be expensive to fix, and require leaving my bicycle in the shop for a while, leaving me at the mercy of the sluggish public bus schedule to get to and from work. I've got a fair amount of experience tinkering with bicycles, but this was a repair I've never had to deal with yet. But to my pleasant surprise, I rolled my bike to the shop where I bought it, and showed them the broken lever . The mechanic on duty showed me a comparable replacement part and then asked, "Would you like to leave that here, or do it yourself?" *ding* ! The magic words. Of course, I did want to do it myself, but was feeling stumped as to how to remove the hand grips which seemed fairly well stuck to the handlebars. Since they were so worn out, he recommended I put on a new set. When I admitted that I had no idea how to coax a sticky rubber grip onto a handlebar, he simply suggested rubbing alcohol. Easy.

• Grand total for a set of replacement levers and new hand grips: $26.
• The satisfaction of it at home: priceless.
  

The old brake levers removed. The bottom one used to be attached like the top one. The crash literally severed it into two pieces.

The sleek replacement lever.

My bicycle, mid-repair. One lever and grip installed on the right side of the photo, the other side in-process. You can see the bare handlebar, sans brake lever. Installing it was simple with an allen wrench for the lever, and rubbing alcohol for the grip. Total time: about 15 minutes!

When you fall off a horse . . .

You've got to get right back on.

But sometimes you have to go to the hospital and the bike shop first.

Yep, crashed last night. Lost control while moving from the bike lane to the sidewalk. Brought the bike upright and would have been fine. Except for that pole to keep cars from driving onto the sidewalk. Hit that, hit the ground. Confirmed that the phrase "seeing stars" is true. Laid on my back and spoke with some passers-by, confirming that I could breath and move everything. Got up quickly, felt alright, except must have banged my head after my body hit the ground. This is an advertisement for bike helmets. If you don't wear one already, please start now. That's not the first time my bike helmet has probably saved my life, or my future mobility, and there wasn't even another vehicle involved in the accident. Good Samaritan biker walked with me for a while to confirm I was alright. I've fallen before, and I could tell I'd be a little sore the next day, but that's it. I just felt so confused, and since I had bumped my helmet on the ground and saw stars, I went to the E.R. just to be safe. They checked me out quickly and sent me home to take some tylenol. My employer encouraged me to stay home from work today. Slept 5 hours this morning/afternoon and feel like a new man. Now off to the bike shop to have my front brake repaired. It got mashed in the process. Just goes to show, you can never predict an accident, and I'm grateful for recovering so quickly. And the bike repair time gives me some time to just relax and get back to 100% before riding again.

**update - photos added 12/10/2007**
I passed by the site again yesterday on my training ride.

Here's the brigade of poles that took me out. Specifically the last one in the row:

And here's a close up of the lip and grit that knocked me out of control:

Update - add a milkshake.

My dietitian* called this morning.
She had run some numbers on my height/weight/age and fitness goals.
She said the 2600 calorie / day estimate was too low.
"Add a milkshake in there every day."

This is going to take some getting used to.



*(my loving sister)

How we travel.

I took a day off yesterday to recover from the weekend training rides. Am feeling so much stronger today than yesterday.

This morning, a relative wrote me to say:

Congratulations on your decision to do the AIDS ride. A worthy cause and challenging undertaking that will only make you stronger both in body and spirit.

I have been thinking about that a lot lately. I already feel a difference in my body/mind/spirit. It's an amazing thing, and it's largely in part of the positive and supportive response I've received from people when they've found out I'm undertaking this. We can truly fly on the winds of other people's support. And we can surely sink on their discouragement. I'm grateful to be feeling the positive effects of community support through this undertaking.

December training loop.

I've finalized a training loop that:

• maximizes long, uninterrupted stretches of riding
• traverses breathtakingly beautiful vistas
• is appropriate for the December goal of a maximum 20-25 miles per ride.
• allows for a gradual and sufficient warm-up before hitting the steep hills.
  

(click on map for interactive browsing via google maps)

That hurt.

I had a hard time sleeping last night. My legs were twitching and I had wild visuals when I closed my eyes. Endorphins?

I just completed my first weekend of training since signing up for the AIDS LifeCycle. This morning, I feel exhausted and dehydrated and sore. I can feel the fatigue in my heart and lungs. And I feel like I could easily sleep for another few hours. I have to admit I feel a little scared. By the end of the ride yesterday, I figured I had ridden about 30 miles. Upon mapping my route and computing the distance, it was a meager 22.5 miles. The average day spent riding from San Francisco to Los Angeles will be three to four times that long. And there will be seven of them. In a row.

I suppose what I've got to keep in mind is: I need to drink even more than I have been while riding. I need to remember that 7 months is a long time, and my fitness level will change accordingly. I'll probably take the rest of the day off from training to give myself a chance to recover. Off to work I go... ouch.

Put some meat on those bones - or the unlikely lessons of Junior High.

"Put some meat on those bones."

I supposed I was thankfully still young enough in 7th grade to not get too uncomfortable when we had scoliosis testing during physical education class, and some girls yelled out that unsolicited comment about my physique in front of the whole class.

I probably just thought they were weird.


Regardless of how much I eat, I've been skinny my whole life. Strength and endurance have always come easily to me, but not body fat for insulation from cold, and comfort when sitting down for too long.

I'm not sure how to calculate just how many calories I'll burn in training over the next 7 months, but I'm sure it's a lot more than I'm used to.

So as to not waste away, my mantra for the next 7 months is going to have to be, "Put some meat on those bones." Giving thanks for awkward Junior High moments!

My diet plan, sketched last night on a page from a checking register by my dietitian sister, consists of this:

Breakfast: 2 packs of oatmeal, 1 cup soymilk, 2 oz almonds.
Snack: bread and nut butter

Lunch: 4 oz of protein, a piece of fruit, 2 pieces of bread, 2 TB nut butter
Snack: protein bar, piece of fruit

Dinner: 2 cups of pasta or rice, 4 oz protein, 1-2 cups of veggies, 1 piece of bread
Snack: ice cream

This equals a 2600 calorie / day diet, which she said will be necessary for me to "Put some meat on my bones" and not lose any of the weight that I don't have to spare.

I'd write more, but I've got to go eat something.

Why I tremble, and what brings relief.

I'm humbled and amazed by the way support appears in after I set my mind to a task. Yesterday was the first time I had mentioned to anyone that I had signed up for the AIDS LifeCycle ride. It was a particularly social Saturday, and so I had a chance to mention it to a lot of people. Responses included:

*That's great. I know people who have done that and had an amazing experience.
*Good for you!
*How many miles is that? (545). In how long? (7 days) Jaws drop...

Yep, even though I've considered myself a cyclist since I was in high school, this event will match any mileage and endurance records I've ever set on a bicycle, and surpass them by a long shot.

My longest ride in one day ever, to this point in my life: 60 miles in December, 2002. It was during a bicycle tour around the Big Island of Hawaii. Here are some statistics for comparison:

Ride	Total Miles	Days to complete	Miles / Day
Hawaiian Ride	350	30	12
AIDS LifeCycle	575	7	82!

Why I am not worried: I did the ride around Hawaii alone, unsupported, and in frequent torrential downpours of rain, with all my belongings, including tent, clothing, and equipment, strapped to the back of my bicycle. The AIDS LifeCycle, in contrast, consisted of over 2,300 riders, raised over 11 million dollars, and was supported by a crew that carries luggage and sets up tent camps for each stop along the way.

Also, friends and family have already come forth saying they would contribute to my stress-inducing goal of raising at least $2,500 in donations. I've never enjoyed asking people for money, but by necessity, I'm ready to get over that. It's easier in some way, since the money isn't for me, but is donated to the LA and SF AIDS foundations to provide funds for HIV/AIDS support programs.

I've also been getting a lot of advice as to how to get my body in shape for this massive undertaking. I'll write a separate post about that.

So, in conclusion, I think that even though I've previously spent 30 days in the saddle, I haven't done anything like this...

Hello, World!

It's official. As of November 29th, I'm officially signed up for the 2008 AIDS LifeCycle ride! How do I feel? A blend of: excitement, exhilaration, and dread. It's amazing to join such a well organized team, with such experienced people. My biggest fear at the moment: how will I prepare my body to ride 545 miles between June 1-7, 2008? Stay tuned as I write about my experiences, trials, and tribulations, over the next 7 months in this blog. I look forward to sharing the ride with you all!

Sincerely,
Alex