Wildlife on the Greenbelt... Part 1

There's a lot of wildlife along certain stretches of the Greenbelt. Whenever I get a chance, I'll try to share some of what we see. Often, there are quail, rabbits, heron, roadrunners, and ducks.

Last weekend, I caught a photo of this roadrunner - one in a pair.

Take a close look and you can see it was carrying a small lizard in it's mouth.

And no... He didn't go "MEEP MEEP" or "BEEP BEEP" and was neither preceded nor followed by a Wiley Coyote.

Arizona Jerseys for AIDS/LifeCycle 9

Tyler and I spent a lot of time each morning explaining to people that we were from Arizona... This almost always occurred while we were in line for or eating breakfast and shivering because it was so 'cold' outside. The native Californians would stare at us like we were crazy - and maybe we are.  But when we told them where we are from and explained that it's usually 80'F by that time in the morning, we would receive a sympathetic response.

So, this year, in order to help keep track of our team and to represent The Grand Canyon State, we are ordering jerseys to tell the whole ALC community where we are from. These are in addition to our Arizona bike license plates with our names on them.

Check 'em out. What do you think?

Training Ride: Tempe to Fountain Hills and Back via the Beeline

Today we completed our longest group training ride of the season - 61 miles. Tyler, Scott, and I left midday and headed to Tempe to ride up the Greenbelt and Shea Boulevard to Fountain Hills. Our ride took us through Tempe, Scottsdale, North Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, and the Salt River/Pima-Maracopa Reservation.

We hit really strong headwinds in spots along the Greenbelt, but the winds seemed to keep the trails relatively clear, which was nice. After a quick break to refuel, we took off up Shea Boulevard - the eight mile climb over Saddleback Mountain into Fountain Hills.

On the climb into Fountain Hills, I heard a loud pop come from my front wheel while we were passing through an intersection, but was pretty sure my tubes were intact. Upon further examination, it became clear that I had popped a spoke - a pretty serious problem when you're 30 miles from your car and your wheel is staring to warp slightly. Thank God for smart phones. I was able to locate the nearest bike shop pretty quickly and gave them a call to expect me. We rode the remaining few miles uphill into Fountain Hills and eventually found our way to the Slippery Pig bike shop. The staff was VERY helpful and managed to replace the spoke and true my wheel relatively quickly. And the bill ended up totaling a little more than $16.00. Once we got everything settled, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Subway and got back out on the road.

 
The ride back toward Tempe down the Beeline Highway was sublime! The views of the desert rock formations, mountains, and plants (especially the wild flowers) were such a beautiful sight to see at the end of a long ride. Off on the horizon, you could see Camelback, South, and Estrella Mountains. It was remarkable.

We reconnected with the Greenbelt in Scottsdale and headed South toward Tempe. On the way, we passed through a short spot that's been flooded for a few weeks (just a few inches of water) and nearly came head-on with a couple other cyclists. Tyler hit a hole in the puddle and fell in, banging his knees and ankle up pretty bad. After we got him wedged out of his bike, he decided he was good enough to continue, so we pressed on.

We completed the stretch along the North bank of Tempe Town Lake to Priest and made the final turn toward the car, rode the full length of the South bank and made it back in three complete pieces in time to grab frozen yogurt at Yogurtini for a job well done.

61 miles down and a total 3,400 calories burned for the day. Beautiful. I think we feel that much more prepared for the Paul Hulse Memorial Century in two weeks!

Dan Popped a Spoke!

On today's training ride Dan popped a spoke on the climb into Fountain Hills... Thank goodness for Slippery Pig bike shop. On to the Beeline!

Two Weeks Until the Paul Hulse Memorial Century Ride

Tyler, Scotty, and I have signed up to participate in the Paul Hulse Memorial Century Ride in California April 10. While I've had a couple 80-mile days, this will be my first century of 2010 and only my third ever.

Q: What is a "century"? 

A: A "century" is cyclist speak for a 100-mile ride. While a century in the United States commonly refers to 100-miles, sometimes you will see an event billed as a "metric century", which means it covers 100 kilometers or 62 miles. We eat metric centuries for breakfast.

This is going to be a totally new route for the three of us, but we hear the ride is a great way to see the scenic mountains, valleys and ocean just north of Los Angeles - and is another way to honor the HIV positive men and women for whom we ride.

The ride starts in Valencia (near Magic Mountain) and heads west through the fragrant orange groves of the Santa Clarita Valley, past the lovely town of Santa Paula, and on to a picnic lunch on the beach in Ventura!

After that we head back east to Valencia. We will be blogging at stops along the route! Stay tuned!!!

The Positive Pedalers offer the following memorial of Paul Hulse:

The AIDS Ride community lost one of its finest members in September 2003. Paul Hulse was the Southern California Training Ride Director for Positive Pedalers. His first AIDS Ride was California AIDS Ride (CAR) 2 in 1995.

Before this ride, the longest Paul had ever ridden was 15 miles. He went on to ride CAR 3, 4 5, 6 & 7; crewed CAR8 & was one of the stage team staff members for AIDS LifeCycle 1 & 2. Paul was also a training ride leader and, over the past several years, organized the first century ride of the AIDS Ride calendar – the Positive Pedaler Century Ride, which is now named in his honor.

The Positive Pedalers are a group of people living with HIV/AIDS eliminating stigma through positive public example. For more information, please visit http://www.pospeds.org/.

The lay of the land - A day by day summary of the ALC route

DAY ONE: SAN FRANCISCO TO SANTA CRUZ
Our AIDS/LifeCycle adventure begins as we ride out immediately following Opening Ceremonies. The route on Day 1 offers some of the best scenery and cycling roads that San Mateo County has to offer. The stunning coastal views from hilltops to the ocean are truly Northern California at its best! Tailwinds prevail as we pedal along scenic CA Hwy 1 on our way to Harvey West Park in the City of Santa Cruz. Highlight of the day: The lunch stop on Day 1 offers a spectacular and breathtaking view of the ocean.

DAY TWO: SANTA CRUZ TO KING CITY
We rise and shine early on Day 2 to beat the Santa Cruz morning rush hour commute and get an early start on our second day in the saddle! This is a long mileage day with relatively flat terrain that will take us through the Salinas Valley, also known as Steinbeck Country. The lushness of vineyards, strawberry and artichoke fields stretch as far as the eye can see in all directions. There are usually excellent tailwinds along the roller coaster road that takes you into King City at the end of the day. Highlight of the day: Mission Soledad, the Water Stop location on Day 2 is one of the most historic and special destinations on the ride. Take a moment to enjoy the peaceful serenity of the Mission Chapel.

DAY THREE: KING CITY TO PASO ROBLES
Quadbuster. Don't let the name scare you. We are sure to make it to the top with our fellow cyclists (and perhaps a special guest) cheering us on and up! But Quadbuster is only a small part of the route on Day 3. We will pedal on remote roads passing only a few small quaint stores, mostly later in the day. Rest Stop 4 is at Mission San Miguel, one of California's 21 historic Missions. The day ends as we ride into Paso Robles where we camp at The Mid State Fairgrounds. We dine inside the fairgrounds dining hall - what a treat! Highlight of the day: Lunch on Day 3 is in the small town of Bradley where the local school hosts a BBQ to raise money for their field trip program.

DAY FOUR: PASO ROBLES TO SANTA MARIA
The route on Day 4 has a little bit of everything - a feast for the eyes with stunning vistas and ocean views that give way to sprawling fields of farmland and even some quaint seaside towns. The route will wind along some remote and seldom-traveled roads as well as some congested town streets. Before lunch we will conquer the infamous Evil Twins. The views from the top of that second sister hill are nothing short of spectacular and we may even find ourselves forgetting that we are pedaling uphill (yeah, right!). From there we will ride back out to the coast and through the city of Pismo Beach (Do I smell Cinnamon Rolls?) and on into Preisker Park in the beautiful Central California city of Santa Maria. Highlight of the day: Half Way to LA!! At the top of the second sister hill we will come upon a vista point turnout where we will have the opportunity to have our picture taken with the Half Way to LA sign!

DAY FIVE: SANTA MARIA TO LOMPOC
Day 5 begins with a beautiful and scenic ride through the farmlands of Santa Maria. At the edge of town, we will enter one of Santa Barbara County's prettiest wine country roads. The scenery will be classic Central California with sprawling vineyards and ancient oak trees making the few challenging climbs along the way well worth the effort. Lunch is located in the quaint tourist town of Solvang - a town founded by Danish immigrants. The authentic Danish architecture, thatched roofs, traditional windmills give the town an old world feel, making it a very popular cycling destination. Departing Solvang, we will pedal through Buellton, home of the world famous Pea Soup Andersen's and head into Lompoc on more beautiful and scenic wine country roads. Highlight of the day: Oh my, but don't you look just fabulous in that Red Dress!

DAY SIX: LOMPOC TO VENTURA
Day 6 begins on one of the prettiest roads on the entire route. We will pedal through vast expansive ranchlands with wildflower covered hills on both sides! As we ride toward the coast through the gorgeous Gaviota Pass we will be on US101. This is a well travelled freeway and caution should be practiced at all times along this portion of the route. After lunch we will pass through the heart of Santa Barbara, Montecito and Carpinteria and on into Ventura where we camp at San Buenaventura State Beach. Highlight of the day: Day 6 is the best bet for dolphin sightings!! Cast an eye to the sea and glimpse those playful creatures jumping in and out of the water as they frolic just off the coast.

DAY SEVEN: VENTURA TO LOS ANGELES
Almost there! Today our trip south will take us through Ventura, Oxnard and Port Hueneme (pronounced Why-Knee-Me) and Malibu. We will see the military planes on display as we ride past the Naval Air Station on our way to Highway 1 also known as the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). Once on PCH it's a straight shot down the coastline for about 20 miles. We will enjoy the southern California sights of surfers and beach goers as we pedal through Malibu on our way toward LA. We will complete your journey with a turn away from the coast and nice pedal through Santa Monica on our way to the Closing Ceremonies site. Highlight of the day: The streets are peppered along the route on Day 7 with friends, family and well-wishers.


For more information about the route, go to http://www.aidslifecycle.org/life-on-the-event/route/

Welcome to our AIDS/LifeCycle 9 blog!

Last year, Tyler and I kept a blog throughout our training and during the week of the ride and it was a big hit with our sponsors, friends, and family. This year, we were determined to maintain the blog again to allow all of you to follow our progress as we train and begin our journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles in June.

The blog will feature programmed content, including videos about the ride and full descriptions of each day on the route. It will also include text message updates from the road, audio 'gabcasts', photos, and perhaps the occasional video.

We hope that you will enjoy this blog and that it will help you to experience a little bit of the amazing experience and community of which we are so proud to be a part.

Thank you for your unending support.
Dan, Tyler, and Scott