Day Eight - Los Angeles - Westwood

Posted on June 10th, 2008 by Alvin and Jen.
Categories: General Updates.

Wow - was today needed!!!!

Alvin and I woke up around 7am in our fabulous suite at the W in Westwood - and what a fabulous suite it was.  Even better - we were just a few blocks from a Peets Coffee - which we had been without every morning since the weekend before - so you know that we were jonesing for a cup of coffee!  So we thew on some clothes and head out to the valet parking dudes to get walking directions to Peets.  It was actually quite funny - and very clear that people in LA do not walk anywhere!  When Alvin and I asked how to walk to Peets the valet dudes looked at us as if we were crazy.  They literally answered - “that is like a 10 minute walk”  lol as if that is like SOOOO long!  lol  So we found out where the Peets was and made our way down the block.

Dudes - It was like a 5 minute walk!!!  And a really nice FLAT walk too.  And worth every step - even on our  tired legs.  I swear - walking into Peets that morning was like fantastic - it was like I could hear music playing as they made my Americano!  lol….and man did it taste good!!  It actually was almost a perfect way to start the morning.   We had such a nice walk to Peets and a fanastic walk back.  Then we hung out in our room until we were meeting the rest of the gang, Tym, Becca, Kyle and Dan in the lobby for breakfast. 

We finally made out way out around 10:15 and WALKED (to the shagrin of everyone around) to a local breakfast place in Westwood - Jerry’s Deli.  It was really good and just what we needed.  We should have known what the day was going to be like when all of the adults enjoyed adult drinks with their breakfast orders…..most of us partook in a Bloody Mary and Tym decided on a Mimosa.  This is how the day started - so any of you who know us well can only imagine how the day continued…..

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Day 8 - Our fun in Los Angeles

Posted on June 9th, 2008 by Alvin and Jen.
Categories: Biking, General Updates.

Will update when we return to SF - and believe me - you will want to stay tuned in!!!!

:)

1 comment.

Day Zero…..

Posted on June 1st, 2008 by Alvin and Jen.
Categories: General Updates.

Hey Everyone -

 I know I have been remis in updating this blog since the beginning of May but as I am sure you all can understand life for the past several weeks have been incredibly busy, not only with prepping for this bike ride, but work for both Alvin and I have been beyond busy.   It really feels like a few weeks ago we were in March and all of a sudden - the ride starts tomorrow!  Where in the heck does the time go.

We spent most of today at orientation - checking in our bikes and standing in many lines to make sure we have everything we need for our journey down the state.  It is now 11pm and we have to be up in a few hours - so I will update after our day tomorrow!

 Jen

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Tour de Cure…

Posted on May 29th, 2008 by Alvin and Jen.
Categories: Biking, General Updates.

Hello everyone….

Alvin, Dan and I had signed up for Tour de Cure - which is a fundraising bike ride for Diabetes.  As the ride was on a Sunday, was 100 miles and had a 6:45 am ride out time - we decided to get a hotel room and stay up in Napa the night before the ride…So after we decided this - we then decided that we would do a bike ride up in that area on Saturday and just make a weekend of it!

So, the three amigos made our way up to the Sebastapol area where we were going to start our ride on Saturday.  We decided to start our ride at one of our favorite wineries in the area, Lynmar, where we also know one of the staff members very well - so we knew that we could give her a head’s up that we were going to leave the car there while we enjoyed our bike ride. 

The weather was perfect - we left the winery with no jackets, arm or leg warmers and started off on our short 30 mile ride throughout the Santa Rosa, Windsor and Sebastapol area.  The ride was fantastic - not too many hills and we were making very good time - until about 5 miles from the very end - Dan gets a flat tire.  At least it wasn’t me!!!!  So we stop and Alvin walks Dan through changing his own tire - so it was a good learning lesson. 

We finally make it to the winery, enjoy our recovery snack and then head in to the winery where Lisa hooks us up with some wine and snacks while we sit out on the beautiful patio enjoying the day.  Now - doing a little wine tasting on a warm Saturday afternoon is relaxing enough - but man - after a bike ride we were all ready for a nap!!  After we enjoyed our little treat we headed up the road whereby we would head out of the Sonoma area - and over the mountain to the “other” valley - Napa.  We actually decided to take a slightly longer route as we wanted to show Dan a good portion of the ride we would be doing the next day.

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ALC Day on the Ride….

Posted on May 10th, 2008 by Alvin and Jen.
Categories: Biking, General Updates.

So -

 April 28th was the official ALC Day on the Ride….this is a day where the AIDS Lifecycle puts on a ride where they mimic an actual day on the ride - so there are rest stops, a lunch stop, mechanical help and a SAG vehicle along the route.  We also are assigned numbers to wear on our bikes and our helmets….so we were all very excited.

The threesome (Alvin, Dan and I) arrived in Golden Gate Park all ready for the day….We got there in plenty of time to check in and do a little mingling with some of the other riders…..before we knew it the safety speeches were over and we were riding out to begin our day.  For those of you who have read these blogs or have listened to us tell stories - you know that Alvin tends to ride a bit faster than any of us…..he just is very competitive and wants to be at the front of the pack at all times.  He also tends to try to finish the ride as quickly as he can.  As we were riding with a large group we had agreed before the ride even started that he was welcome to go ahead if he wanted and we would just meet up at the end of the day in Golden Gate Park.

So - the ride started off great.  It was a beautiful day and the wind seemed to be very light.  We made our way through the Presidio and across the bridge and down the infamous Sausalito Hill.   By the time we got into Sausalito Alvin was already way ahead of us…but Dan and I stuck together which worked out beautifully.    After making our way across the Sausalito bike path we came across our first real climb of the day - which is Camino Alto.  This is a hill which really isn’t that bad - it is gradual and just takes patience.  As we were going up Camino Alto I could feel that the clip on my right shoe was a bit loose. 

 Now - for those of you who do not bike - when you are on  the bike you clip in - meaning you are literally attached to the bike.  As I was pedalling I could feel my foot slipping a little and I knew that the cleat on my shoe needed to be tightened.  If I were smart - I would have stopped and fixed my cleat when I felt the problem - but NO - I thought - the rest stop is about 6 miles ahead, I can make it there and fix it then.  Well - something else to know - that when you are biking on an official ALC ride - you MUST stop, unclip and put one foot down at EVERY stop sign.   Now I know, you are thinking, well shouldn’t you do that every time you bike?  The answer is yes - HOWEVER - many times you can balance and ensure no cars are coming and then go on your merry way.

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