So what is a "Day on the Ride"? It is a training ride known as “Day on the Ride” so everyone involved will know what it’s like to be amongst a few thousand cyclists, traffic, SAG (Support And Gear) stops, etc.
The SAG stops have water, snacks, bike repair, and enthusiastic roadies to help with the cyclist needs.
And at the end of the day there is bike parking and a hot meal.
Each cyclist checked in to ensure all cyclist arrived safely
You park your bike and head off for a well deserved meal
The ride is a big help to the less experienced riders, giving them a taste of what is to come.
It is also an opportunity for a roadie to get a taste of whats to come. I volunteered in bike parking checking in the cyclist and when the event was over I helped break down the bike racks and canopies. I got a good idea of what the event will be like for me.
So it turns out it’s a lot of work volunteering as a bike parking roadie no slacking for us…
We are off to breakfast by 4:30 so we can be at bike parking 5:45. We set out water, make powerade (sports drink), help people find their bikes, hand out route sheets, & pump up tires. The course opens at 6:30 and the parking area is open until 8:30.
8:30 we break down bike parking, load it into two trucks and head to the next location. At the next camp, we setup the aluminum A-frames bike racks, sometimes put out snow fencing (the orange plastic stuff), tables, water, any decorations, etc.
We spend the rest of the day checking cyclists in and helping them park. We scan each bike (using a bar code on the bike frame numbers) to the row in which it is parked, which makes it much easier to find bikes we need to locate for lost cyclists, or holds, or other reasons.
There will be time for breaks so we can get away, get your bag, set up your tent, etc, but because we scan each bike and have other activities, the team will need us for much of the day.
7:00 The route closes
My day is actually short compared to some of the other roadie teams, Roadies really are amazing and I hope I do the job proud.
My AIDS Lifecycle webpage
I found myself with a bad lung infection early in January, the kind of infection that is not typical for someone as active as I am, so for the first time I had a doctor ask me if it was possible if I had AIDS. Well I guess anything is possible so I was tested and fortunately it came back negative. They never could explain the cause of the infection, but they bombarded the heck out of it with antibiotics and I’m back on track. This year has had a rocky start so my fundraising has suffered and the event is only two months and a smattering of days left, yikes!
I am now back on the road to health and need to get going on my preparation for the event. I did get bike parking, so I really can’t tell you what that means yet but I will keep you posted, I should be having training soon.
You can donate online or with the attached participant form.
My participant webpage
The main Lifecycle webpage
Who Benefits:
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
In 2007 I participated in the Aids Lifecycle and road my bicycle 545 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles raising over $9000 (thanks to your generosity) to help in the fight against AIDS. This year I am jumping to the other side of the fence, and volunteering as a Roadie.What is a Roadie you ask? Roadies take an empty field (a different layout each stop), and turn it into a thriving and efficient campsite for 3,000. There is a new camp in a new town each night, complete with all the amenities that are needed by the riders.
By the time most of the riders arrive in Camp, it is up and running. This includes, setting up the common area tents, food service, camp communication, bike parking, camp store, gear pickup, showers, porta-potties, massage, medical, sports med, and just about anything else you can think of!
Roadie’s tasks or teams are broken down into the following groups.
Now to what’s happening so far…This journey will be different because I don’t have the physical challenge of riding my bike to LA but the next six months will be a journey and I would like to take you all with me with Roadie Ramblings. The first order of business is to choose which team I would like to be on. Once you register you pick three teams you would like to be on, and my 3 choices are as follows…1. Bike Parking2. Camp Services3. Food ServiceFund-raising: I have set my goal at $1000( I hope to exceed this goal)My AIDS Lifecycle webpage Where the money goes…San Francisco Aids Foundation reaches Over 1.5 million individuals through Community outreach, advocacy efforts, Treatment publications, & prevention Campaigns.Luggage: This will be a lot easier than 2007, and will depend on the team I get. The rest stop teams have a challenge because they have themes throughout the week so they need to pack a lot. The teams I’ve chosen shouldn’t have a lot of extra stuff so this should be no problem.Tent Mate: My friend Will is going to participate as a roadie so it’s mostly a done deal for the tent mate.Camera: I don’t have to agonize over camera equipment this trip because I don’t have the same challenges, I can bring what I would bring for travel. I will be bring my new canon point and shoot (hated the one I got for the ride) as well as my Nikon SLR.
