I completed my first substantial ride out of Sausalito on Saturday - 23 miles! I know it's nowhere near the 100 mile days I'll be doing in June, but it's a start! The Cycle Buddies ride leaders were awesome and helped me up the Camino Alto hill which is only 5 miles into the ride (it's about 2 miles long and fairly steep). I never stopped though and finally got through it!
I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and can't wait to go on the next one. The views from Paradise Drive are spectacular and the weather was gorgeous! Thanks to everyone for the encouragement and donations - it really does help!
We stopped at Sharks Deli in Tiburon to refuel along the way. (Picture by Ralf Brown: http://www.pbase.com/ralf/image/6198060)
Took this after visiting the Sports Basement:
Not bad for a camera phone!
I got a bike! After going to 6 SF bike shops and looking at and riding many bikes all day Saturday and Sunday, I finally picked one that I liked. I highly recommend Big Swingin' Cycles to anyone in the market for a bike (http://www.bigswingincycles.com). These guys are the most friendly, knowledgeable folks I dealt with on my search and ultimately who I purchased from! I would also really like to thank Chris and Jamison for all their help and dealing with me while deciding what I wanted.
So here's a (factory) pic of my new ride - haven't named her yet:
Okay, so I guess I'm actually gonna do this. I always said I would never blog because it is a waste of time and I'm not all that interesting anyway, but now I actually have a reason!
I have decided to participate in the AIDS/Lifecycle Ride 7. For those of you who do not know what this is, it's a 7 day, 445 mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles during the first week of June. All of the proceeds go to HIV/AIDS charities in SF and LA. You can read more about it at http://aidslifecycle.org. Call me crazy, but I think it will be a great experience and I'm looking forward to the exercise and challenge!
I am really looking forward to this and appreciate everyone's support 'cause I'm gonna need it! I'm going bike shopping this weekend and will update y'all on my progress.
