Reporting for the Cal team, about Day 2 of the AIDS LifeCycle — Monday’s leg from Santa Cruz to King City — is Jonathan Goodrich, a staff member at Berkeley’s Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology. Some 1,925 riders left San Francisco Sunday on the seven-day benefit ride to L.A. Total raised for HIV/AIDS services and awareness: more than $10 million.
Follow the ride:
- The Cal team gets in gear
- Day 1: Riding ‘alone,’ with new friends; 80 miles down, 465 to go
- Day 2: OMG: Santa Cruz to King City, 107 miles!!!
- Day 3: A string of bad luck turned blissful euphoria
- Day 4: Sore legs, cinnamon buns, and inspiration
- Day 5: After a slow start, wonderful red dresses and strong headwinds
- Day 6: What a difference a day makes
- Day 7: Final thoughts from the Cal team
KING CITY — I’m an AIDS LifeCycle virgin; this is my first year. Day one was good — made it, not too bad. What?! Day two is 107 miles?! Fine. I made it this far, I can go further.
Apart from calling this an amazing experience, it’s an exercise in what the world should be like: everyone is friendly, helps you when you need it. There are extremely helpful crew people, roadies, motorcycle crews, cooks, etc., without whom nothing would get done.
The other awesome people are the other riders, especially fellow Cal team members. Everyone smiles. There are thank-you’s all around. We are all in this together, working towards the same goal. If more people on this planet realized this, we’d be living in a better world. And…….this is a lot of fun!!!! (I say this after 107 miles!)
Dancing “bearsDancing “bears”
Dancing "bears"
Today’s highlight: the awesome dancing bears — large, hairy gay men, full of spirit and encouragement, giving out otter pops! Today’s lesson: don’t forget your butt butter, a.k.a. butt butter. You put it on the lower areas of your body (you know where) to eliminate chafing. You won’t feel its benefits right away; but if you don’t use it, you will feel it later. I’m not taking any chances.
Traveling with my fellow Cal riders, now fast friends, makes it an even better experience. Help each other, look out for each other, have fun together. This is what it’s all about. Everyone should act like it’s a day on the AIDS/LifeCycle.