|
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
First Training Ride
Well, finally pumped up my tires and got out on the road
for my first training ride of the year. Sunday 3/19 ended up being a really
gorgeous day. Especially after all the rain beforehand (and
since!). Worked my way down along the Embarcadero past
all the shoppers at the So,
stretching done and chit-chatting out of the way, I rode off at
approximately 11:30 with a goal to complete my ride in 2.5 hours.
My way over the bridge was uneventful. Not too many riders, just
a few tourists on bikes I had to maneuver around. Then came
the climb up to the Headlands. I was shocked that I had to switch
to my lowest gear and make my way slowly up that hill. Each stroke
of the pedal was quite taxing and I found my heart rate going so
strongly that I almost thought I should get off and walk up for
a while. But, I pressed on. One rider passed me (other riders know
how this feels) and that gave me motivation to plug along a little
faster. Ended up passing him 10 minutes later.
Ha! That felt good. Kept a very steady pace and finally made it
to the top (two other riders passed by me with no problem - never
even thought of trying to pass them!). It felt so good to be up
there and the view was more spectacular than I remembered. It
had been almost a year since I went on a ride and that was to the
Headlands as well. The view looking back at the city was so incredibly
beautiful. And to see the surrounding nature made it even more so.
The way SF is nestled into the bay is quite stunning. The year off
from riding really had an impact on me as well. I did not think
the ride would kick my butt like it did. But, I guess I shouldn't
be too hard on myself. As it is, I went down the backside and up
and over again via the rode you find midway around the back. That
almost sent me over the edge too! I was so completely exhausted
by the time I reached the front of the Headlands again that I thought
about walking up the last part. Of course I didn't. Never have walked
my bike in all the thousands of miles I've put on it. But, if I
had a $1 for every time I thought about it...! The
coast down the front of the hill was great and the ride home from there was a
breeze. I made it within my goal of 2.5 hours too! But, I really dislike having
to navigate through the city and traffic to get to my house. It beats having to
drive the car with my bike on it. However, I would much rather start/end my
ride from the SportsBasement at Crissy
Field, but don't like having to drive there. So, my
first ride is under my belt and I feel terrific! Now it's on to fundraising! Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Fundraising, Ugh!
Wow! I can't believe the response to my first venture into
fundraising. I just sent my email out to my friends and family 24 hours ago and
have already raised $730! That's fantastic! My goal is to raise $1,000 a month
over the next 3 months so I can not only make the $2,500 minimum required to
ride, but raise a little extra too. With the generous support I've already
received, I now believe I can do it. I
have a hard time with fundraising as it makes me uncomfortable to ask for
money. Even when it's for a worthwhile cause. I guess
that's why I am not in sales. But, it's necessary for me to break out of my
comfort zone and get support so I can do the ride. There's no other way I can
participate. At least email is an effective tool for fundraising as I can
easily get to everybody without spending days to do it. Although it would be
nice, it would be much harder to make a call or visit each person and ask for
support. Besides, the rejection from all the no's
would be unbearable! By the way, what did people do in the old days before
there was email? Must have been very difficult... I'm
also toying with the idea of a fundraiser to help raise some buck for the San
Francisco AIDS Foundation. I've been to some fun ones in the past and it seemed
like a great way to get a lot of support for doing the ride in one fell swoop.
I just need to come up with a something fun that will draw the crowds. Someone
suggested having all the hair on my head clipped off. Really! I would never do
that! Well... Maybe for $1,000. Hey, it's for a good
cause! Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Less than a month
before we leave!
Well, a lot has happened since I last posted here. My
fundraising has gone extremely well thanks to a lot of very generous friends
and family. I have not only surpassed the mimimum
goal of $2,500 needed to ride, but have now surpassed my personal goal of
$3,500. So, no more pressure on the fundraising front. Thanks to all of you who
have contributed and are supporting my efforts. It has made this part of the
process very easy! The
big push is now to get more serious with my training rides. The extended rainy
season has left a few precious weekends to train. I have yet to get a long ride
in due to other committments (softball, etc.). But,
now comes the time to really get some long rides under my belt. I'm not
stressing too much since this is my 4th ride and I'm feeling pretty strong.
Still... This weekend looks promising for a long ride and then the weekend of
the 20th will hopefully afford me a few back to back rides. Then it's time to
rest up, pack and get ready for the big adventure. Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Hit a bit of a snag
(4 days to go!)
Well, only 4 days to go before riding out of SF on our trek
to LA. Unfortunately for me, the road to LA starts with the road to recovery.
Ironically, I set out Friday on what was to be my last training ride before the
big ride and I had a nasty fall. If you are not familiar with the Marin
Headlands, the backside where you come down toward Black Sands beach is a very
steep and windy one-way road. That's where it all came down. I
was descending the hill at about 30 miles an hour when my front tire blew. I
fell off my bike and skidded for about 100 yards before coming to a full stop.
My bicycle garments were shredded and I noticed blood dripping from my hand,
elbow and right thigh. I realized I was not in very good shape. But, seeing
that it was early in the morning and there was no one around or about to come by,
I grabbed my bike and hobbled back up the road to the top of the hill. Lucky
for me, I hadn't made it too far down the hill. Luck
continued to be on my side as there was a maintenance worker at the top of the
hill who had a truck and a heart of gold. Seeing that I was pretty banged up,
he offered me a ride to anywhere I needed to go. I asked if he could drop me
off at Sports Basement in the Presidio since that was where my car was. I had
my cell phone on me but couldn't get a signal until we were down the hill. I
called my doctor's office for advice on where to go for treatment. Since
stitches could be required, they said to head to Once,
at Sports Basement, I decided to quickly drop off my bike at their repair shop
and then drove to Davies. If you ever have a choice in where you get treated,
pick So,
now I am laying low and resting as much as possible. I will hopefully be
recovered enough to continue on this journey. The only worrisome aspect at
present is a swollen leg that is pretty bruised and scraped. I feel pretty
confident that I will be good to go come Sunday. If nothing else, I will go as
far as I can each day and get swept by the bus and taken to camp if necessary.
If it comes to that, I hope that within a few days I can complete each days
ride. We'll see... I heal quickly and so will hope for the best! Tuesday, June 6, 2006
ALC3 Day 3 On the Ride
Sorry for not writing earlier. Computers aren't available
but my lovely sister is writing this for me via a phone call. Everything
is going well and despite my injuries, I am riding every mile. I keep thinking
of all you wonderful family & friends for supporting me. You helped me
raise a record total of $5,300+ which, as you know, is going to a great cause.
I have been having fun being a media spokesperson for the event. I was even
featured in an article in the Santa Cruz Sentinal, my
home town newspaper. I'll
try to write again but not sure when. Thanks again and see you all when I get
back. Love,
Kai Thursday, June 8, 2006
Day 5 on the ride
Still no computers but dialing this in via Robert. Made it to Tuesday, June 13, 2006
ALC5 Wrap Up
Well, I'm home now and wanted to send a wrap up from the
week. It was quite the experience and much different than the 3 rides before. I
had a road bike instead of my hybrid and therefore felt every bump on the road.
I also had my injured leg and compensating for it tweaked my left knee. I rode
until my butt was so sore I didn't want to sit on the seat when riding and my
lips were so chapped they were bleeding. You can say I was definitely a
physical wreck by the end of the week. I
also had 12 flats over the course of the week. It ended up being tire lining
that was bad that caused a slow erosion of the tubes. But, it took a while to
figure it out because the punctures in the tube were happening in different
spots and the lining looked good for the most part. Replacing tubes or
repairing them takes a lot of effort and time so having more than 2 a day on
some days was a royal pain. Other
than that, I had a great time with the friends I rode with and enjoyed riding
through incredibly beautiful areas of this great state. We got silly, serious, sad and had amazing realizations and were constantly in awe
of what our bodies could sustain even when tired and injured. I was proud to
ride (almost) every mile and ironically only had to get picked up once and
driven 10 miles to the next rest stop because of mechanical failure with my
bike and not because of any of my physical ailments. I
made a choice to spice up the ride a bit more this year as I always envy those
riders who dress up. So, on day one, I rode out in a neon purple jersey, pink
feather boa, tiara on my helmet, pink sash and purple pom-poms on my shoes. I
had so much fun because my fellow riders loved the look and made many
encouraging comments as they would pass me. The looks from town folks we passed
were priceless as well. Mixed reactions, that's for sure. The
other fun thing was that I was a media spokesperson for the event. The ALC
organization was looking for riders who have lived with HIV for 25 years to be
part of their media team. I was interviewed by the hometown newspaper, the
Santa Cruz Sentinel. This was a big thrill for me since I used to deliver the
Sentinel as a kid on a bike route (what a coincidence!). You can view the
article via my website in the “In the News” section. I
also was included in one of the podcasts (I think it
was Day 1 in the evening). I was a profiled rider in the daily newsletter, The
Daily Spin (see sidebar for link) Also
had a photo posted on the website:
http://aidslifecycle.typepad.com/photos/day_two/h8.html Lastly,
I was featured in a piece on the Los Angeles FOX affiliate in a piece they ran
on that Friday night. It was interesting to be part of all these forms of media
as it's a new and different experience for me. It made my days a bit longer as
I had to do interviews after riding and before I could shower and eat. But, I
found it rewarding to be a mouthpiece for this event that I have been committed
to over the last 4 years. It made me feel proud to be part of this experience
and to help personalize it for those that were just watching/reading
at home. We got a lot of media attention so I hope we raised some awareness and
support for the AIDS crisis. Lastly,
I want to share with you a little bit about the two most emotional experiences
of the event. The candlelight vigil held the last night in Riding
in to the final destination and the closing ceremonies were very emotional for
me because even though I was a physical wreck at the end, I had persevered and
overcome any physical obstacle to attain the goal I set out to do. The speeches
were very emotional and I was happy to be with my friends, two of whom were
first time riders. I was so proud of them as well. It's so hard to relay the
experience of this event through words but it was definitely a crazy, harsh and
exhilarating experience all in one. I highly recommend doing the ride if you
have ever, for a second, thought about riding. It will change you in profound
and amazing ways. I am so glad I have done this as no matter how difficult
things were, the benefits outweighed it by far. There
are previous entries I have on this blog from the
road and some before I left. Please read them if you have the time. Thanks
again to all those who've supported me. I had a total of 57 donors and a
fundraising total of $5,350. That is the most I have ever raised for a ride and
because I passed the $5,000 mark, I qualified for a free jersey for the first
time. Thanks again! We are still struggling with AIDS, the disease, side
affects from the medication, ignorance and intolerance. Know that you have made
a difference in the fight. |