Twas the night before ALC 2010....

Nik, Michael and I just wrapped up a day of running errands, checking in, eating carbs, spending time with good friends, getting excited, and of course losing my wallet!

We started off the morning with a hearty breakfast and then headed over to Cow Palace to go check in and drop off our bikes (thank you, Adam for your car ;-)) Until I got there I didn't realize how real this is - yes, tomorrow I will be sitting on a bike for 7 days and riding to Los Angeles. I never thought I'd live in CA (9 years later...) no less ride my bike down the CA coast.

The energy at Cow Palace was contagious. All of my worries went out the window when I saw the community support you receive. So, we waited in some lines, made some new friends, dropped off our bikes and were on our way to finalize everything we need for the morning (5 a.m. arrival!)

The best part of the day was seeing first hand how this community really supports you. I recieved a text from my sister (who is in NY at her friend's graduation party) that said - "Did you lose your wallet?" My immediate thought is okay - she's had one two many glasses of champagne and responded "ummm...no." But my skeptical side kicks in and I go check my purse. Low and behold my wallet is gone. I call my sister and tell her I did lose it. To cut a long story short - another ALC rider found my wallet on the street by Sports Basement and when he opened it he saw my ALC card and drove all the way back to Cow Palace to track me down. ALC looked me up and got my sister's contact info off my emergency contact and I got my wallet back.

The we continued to load up on carbs (and of course some treats - cupcakes, ice cream sandwiches - I'll burn it off right?!?) with some good friends. Ryan and Rachel provided some great tips on what we should be on the look out for on the ride as well and great daily commentary. And Adam and Jessica volunteered to do the 4:30 a.m. drop off for us.

So, after a great pasta and laugh filled dinner with friends it's time to call it a night!

I'll do my best to post daily - pending my solar charger works :-)

Thanks again for the support!

HERE WE GO!

Guest Bloggers Bailey and Riley

So, while our mom is on this ride we are at Dog Camp in Los Angeles. We miss her so much we can't even console each other (NOT!!) Isn't our acting great in this picture. We're making her feel bad that she left us in L.A. and pretending to be sad - hehe!

We've been having a blast down here. Our room down here is HUGE. The closet is bigger than our Mom's apartment and Nik let us run a muck at the dog park. This place RULES!

And, now we're at Nik's parents swimming in their pool and running around their backyard! (Did you know our Mom makes us live in an apartment?!?) All in all life is great for us.

We do miss our Mom and hope she does great on this ride! We're going to try not to eat anything down here so we get to stay :-) Can't wait to give our Mom a big welcome wiggle when she crosses the finish line in Santa Monica next Saturday!

GOOD LUCK MOM!

The day by day on the ride...

I wanted to share some detail about where I'll be headed on the ride. Here's a little about the day to day life..

Day 1: Riding into the sunrise!

Cow Place, San Francisco to Harvey West Park, Santa Cruz

Taking off at 5 a.m. to conquer the first of 79.4 miles of CA Hwy 1! Wish me luck in my first night in sleeping at camp J

Day 2: On the road before rush hour!

Harvey West Park, Santa Cruz to San Lorenzo County Park, King City

Getting ready to do our first century of the ride – 107.6 miles. I’m going to sleep well tonight…even if it is on the ground in a sleeping bag in a tent.

Day 3: Uphill? Uphill all day?

San Lorenzo County Park, King City to Mid State Fairgrounds, Paso Robles

66.7 miles all the way to the top! We’ll be taken on rolling hills of the countryside and my quads will be crying by mid-afternoon!

Day 4: The Downside: Evil Twins and The Upside: HALF WAY TO L.A.

Mid State Fairgrounds, Paso Robles to Preisker Park, Santa Maria

Just under a century…99.7 miles through sprawling farmland to the seaside. It’ll be a day for views and a day to work my way up more hills - hence the “Evil Twins.”

Day 5: Red Dress Day!

Preisker Park, Santa Maria to River Park, Lompoc

Who cares about where we’re going today. Today the scenery is on the ride! All the riders ride in Red Dresses! Reminder 90 percent of the riders are men….I promise not to forget my camera. I’m sure this will keep me entertained for 67.7 miles!

Day 6: So close…but still so far!

River Park, Lompoc to San Buenaventura State Beach, Ventura

85 miles on the bike today and one more night sleeping in a tent! Today’s the day we’re sharing the road with A LOT of cars…so it’ll be a little nerve racking for me BUT there is the promise of dolphin sightings off the coast.

Day 7: The Home Stretch!

San Buenaventura State Beach, Ventura to VA Center in LOS ANGELES!!!

Here’s the final 61.5 miles! I’ll have my eye on the prize – crossing the finish line in Santa Monica. We’ll wind along the cost in Malibu then head through Santa Monica to cross the finish line. Hope to see you there!

3 Weeks to Go!

Michael and I went out to Point Reyes on Saturday to work on my hill riding. I have the opposite problem of most riders - I'm great going up the hills...down hill on the other hand. I go slower than most people walk. The brakes have become my best friends and I don't let go!

Nancy (one of my fellow Gappers) - gave me some pointers that I put into action and I have to say after Saturday I am doing much better!

And...I don't want to disappoint. I did manage to fall off my bike - AGAIN! This time gracefully knocking my dearest bestie - Michael - into a wood post. It was all with good intentions though - there was a loose dog running around and I was trying to rescue him and forgot my foot was clipped in!

Another pointer for the ride - I must un-clip before trying to get off my bike!