It's not about the Gas Prices, it's about the Fuel.

Somewhere between ages 20 and 30, intense exercise started to hurt. It crept up slowly and gradually, seemingly overnight. But I can't deny it, my 60 training miles over the weekend took more out of me than I expected.

This weekend I stacked two consecutive training rides that totalled just under 60 miles. The shortest day of the actual AIDS LifeCycle ride will be around 60 miles, so that gives me some sort of gauge of what kind of toll the ride will take. I must admit that I still have some fears about not being up to speed when the actual ride comes around, but I simultaneously see that by June, I will have many more training miles under my saddle, and my body will adjust accordingly.

Since my last post, I started joining organized training rides. It has made an immense difference in my mental state towards the ride. For one thing, when riding in a group, the miles seem to roll by relatively effortlessly. I have taken it upon myself to chat with people about their bikes and equipment at every chance I get while riding.

The training rides also impart something thatsolo training never will, which is the etiquette and procedures for riding in the AIDS LifeCycle. That includes:

• Stopping at every stop sign (actually coming to a complete stop, touching a foot down).
• Stopping at every red light (regardless of cross-traffic).
• Riding single file (Regardless of road width).
• Using hand signals for every turn or stop, as well as pointing out road hazards.
• Yelling out "car back" every time a vehicle approaches from behind.
• And more . . .

If you don't think that's difficult, I'm guessing you may not have spent much time on a bike seat. But, I am very glad these guidelines are incorporated into the training, considering there will be 2000+ riders heading down towards LA on June 1st. With that kind of rolling mass, simple traffic transgressions magnified could become unwieldy, rendering the ride a dangerous ball of inertia.

According to a rider who has participated in the ALC (AIDS LifeCycle) before, there are safety monitors on the ride who hand out tickets to scofflaw bicyclists. Enough tickets equals ejection from the ride. I also heard this comes as a mandatory response to the CHP threatening to pull the permits for the ride after witnessing too many reckless, life endangering acts. Thus have I heard!