Rachelle Diamond's
Woooooooooooooo hoooooooooooooooo!I DID IT! I have been home from the ride for two weeks now and I am still having a bit of a hard time believing I did it. AIDS/Lifecycle 7 was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Every single thing about it far exceeded any of my expectations. You can see my pictures here and you can see my videos here! I didn't write as much (read: at all!) as I had initially wanted to while I was on the ride, but I think I was too busy experiencing the whole thing to write about it. Since then, it's been hard to fully capture the experience in words, so I just wanted to take a few moments to mention the things that are standing out in my mind as I reflect on completing one of the biggest accomplishments of my life:
SO MUCH LOVE AND GRATITUDE TO ALL OF MY DONORS & SUPPORTERS!!! MWAH!!!! ________________________________________________________________________ From June 1-7, 2008, I will be biking 545-miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles to make a HUGE difference in the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS. Please help me support the San Francisco AIDS Foundation by giving what you can! We'll keep riding until AIDS and HIV are a thing of the past! I've decided to try to raise $1000 for every day I will be riding...so that's $7000 - please help me reach my goal! (by the way, my goal started at $2500 & I quickly raised it to $5000. When I met that goal, I raised it to $5450 ($10 for every mile) and now I think I can make it to $7000l! Please help! :) ) Okay - wow - I'm now over $7000....don't let that deter you from donating....let's see how far I can blow my goal out of the water! :) I am SO excited about this journey and I hope you will help support me along the way! Thanks so much! MWAH!!!!!
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Rachelle's latest blog entry:
Saturday, May 24, 2008 
I heart San Francisco riding!
Rachelle's Goal: $7,000.00
Current Total: $8,418.00 |
Listen to Rachelle's Gabcast |
HIV/AIDS Fact of the DayProvided by AIDS/LifeCycle The number of women in the US living with HIV has tripled in the last two decades. |
Rachelle's LinksSan Francisco AIDS Foundation
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
Experience AIDS/LifeCycle 2007
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Rachelle's BlogSaturday, May 24, 20087:00 PMGetting ready for the ride!Friday night was really special. Everyone from the Temple Emanu-El team (well, almost everyone) went to services on Friday night and Sydney (remember the rabbi I talked about in one of my previous blogs?!?) took some time in the service to talk about the adventure we are about to embark upon, why we are doing it, and she called us all up to the bima (sp?) to be blessed. It was very cool. The temple also gave us a gift for our journey- a MEZZUZAH for our bikes! How cute is that? Then, we all shared a pasta dinner & chatted about what kind of gear we still need to buy, discussed what questions we still had and Abby (Sydney's mom) had bought a bunch of red dresses for us (so nice) - which we all tried on & figured out which one we are going to wear on RED DRESS day on the ride. :) (On red dress day apparently everyone wears red dresses in honor of the AIDS red ribbon. Apparently it started as DRESS RED day...and it got swapped to DRESS RED day! Gotta love it!) It was great to get together with the team - I think it's gong to be such a wonderful experience getting to know everyone better as we spend the week together biking down the coast! And THEN the Lakers kicked the San Antonio Spurs butts!! By 30 points!! Woo hoooooo!! Oh yeah, back to biking.... So today I was originally going to do about 40-50 miles - but - when I woke up it was overcast and rainy. I decided that instead of having a cold, wet ride, that I would take my biking to the gym and do a spin class. It was actually a very good class & I'm so glad I did that instead of biking in the gross weather (I am such a fair weather biker these days!) And then, I had the BEST day doing a million errands to get ready for the ride - I went to REI, Costco, Sports Basement, Safeway and...my favorite...SF Party Store. I had to get my red chatchkies to go with my red dress! :) I'm excited for our "celebration" ride tomorrow. We are going to bike a whopping SEVENTEEN miles to Guaymas in Tiburon & then have ourselves some marguaritas!!! Suzanne and Peter are planning to come too - so that will be fun! FUN. And then, we'll take the ferry back to the city so there will be NO climbing. Should be a fun way to end our training rides & then get ready for the ride next weekend. OMG. Next weekend!!!! :) Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Saturday, May 17, 20087:00 PMNINETY MILES!!!!!!!I CAN NOT BELIEVE that I did 90 miles today. Holy moly. It was definitely the most challenging ride I have EVER done in my life. WOOOO HOOOO! I really can't beleive what I did. Okay, so it started at 5am this morning when I got up to get myself together. We met at Sports Basement and were ready to ride at 6:45am. And we were off...the desitination was Petaluma. BIKING to Petaluma. The first 20 miles were awesome - they always are. Over the bridge, Camino Alto, through Larkspur, Ross, etc....to Fairfax. Fuel up at the roastery & then up & over White's Hill. That's getting pretty standard. Then we trudged our way over Nicasso Valley Road & then up the Cheese Factory hill. Same route that we did for the Day on the Ride. So far, it wasn't actually that bad...and it was another ridiculously perfect day in the Bay Area. I biked this part mainly by myself and enjoyed every second of it. It was nice to get to have that quiet, peaceful, meditative time. :) I ended up biking with Phyllis, Mo and Aaron from mile 30ish up to Petaluma. It was nice to run into a group that was going the same pace. They were all super friendly & I just love that every ride I get to know some new nice people. So, the hill we were warned about was Wilson hill. It was the only thing between us & lunch in Petaluma. The four of us were definitely nervous about it because they had warned us that it is pretty much straight up....and I mean STRAIGHT up....for over a mile or so. It was definitely a challenge, but I just zig zaged my way up the whole thing & when we got to the top, there were major high fives all around. It felt really good to have that hill out of the way. And the view! Wow!!! It was spectacular overlooking the whole valley. On to lunch at the Apple Box in Petaluma where I was SO EXCITED to find out they had BLTs on the menu. My favorite!!!!! I was SOOOO happy and SOOOO hungry. After we hung out for a bit, we decided it was time to bring it on home - we had about 45 miles left to do. So, we decided we would take the next 8 miles back to the Cheese Factory nice & mellow while we digested etc. Well, that's when we got smacked in the face with the HARDEST hill of the ride. Oh my gosh. Red's Hill. They did not prepare us for this one. It just kept going up & up & up. AND it was a newly paved road which was wonderful and all, but honestly, it felt like the heat was just pouring off of the newly laid asphault and into our faces. By the time we got to the Cheese Factory (only 8 miles away) I was EXHAUSTED and SO hot. It really took me awhile to cool down....it was nuts. After that, I decided to take off on my own b/c I had to get back to the city for a black-tie fundraiser later that eveninng. That event was definitely not sounding that exciting at that moment! The good news was that the rest of the route back was the same old, same old. Nicasso Valley Road, Sir Francis Drake - through Fairfax - back through Sausalito and home. Did my now typical coffee fuel-up in Fairfax and I was ready to bring it on home! So, I thought I was home free until I started the climb out of Sausalito. The weather was so incredible at that point. From Sausalito, looking back toward the city - all you could see was a huge wall of FOG. It was nuts - you could not see one iota of the city. As I was starting to come out of Sausalito - it was really spectacular. The fog was literally pouring over the mountains above me and it honestly looked like a waterfall. It was really beautiful. But....that's where the beauty of it ended. The wind was SO insane. SOOOO insane. I have never biked in crazier wind than I did today. I literally had to hop off of my bike as I was biking up the Sausalito hill because I thought I was going to fall over. Biking over the bridge with all the fog & wind was not the most pleasant part of my ride I must say. And experiencing all of that in the 85 mile range....to be honest, it was a bit traumatizing. I was SOOOO happy to see my car at Sports Basement!!! I did it. I can't believe I did it. They said today was harder than any day that we will do on the ride with the number of crazy hills we did - so that makes me REALLY happy. And now, I just need to shower & throw on a dress & heels and go to a black-tie fundraiser. Totally normal. I wonder how long I will last! :)Also, I'm supposed to bike again tomorrow....we'll see....I may need to do some serious recovery and figure out if I can get a massage somewhere. I can't believe the event is in TWO weeks. AH! I guess I'm as ready as I will ever be!!!!!! Wooo hoooo!!!!!
Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Thursday, May 15, 20089:45 AMBike to Work Day! :)Suzanne and I did another AMAZING morning ride before work. It was so funny though - as we crossed the bridge, we saw a man swinging a bag around and it looked like it might knock us off our bikes if we rode right by. Turns out he was alerting us to the fact that there was a "Bike to Work Day" energizer station right there - they had bananas, bagels, coffee, and all sorts of free stuff for people biking to work that day. I had totally forgotten about it! We felt a bit guilty stopping and partaking of the yummy snacks...but hey, we were biking!!! And we would be going to work...right? Actually since I was reminded that it was "Bike to Work Day" - I actually decided to bike to work. It was half fun half frightening. I am just not as skilled as those bike messengers that can cruise all over downtown in between buses and cars. I was defintiely a bit freaked out - but it was fun - and such a GORGEOUS day that it was fun to be outside & bike to and from work. And what a great way to start the day - watching the sun rise while biking across the Golden Gate Bridge. Have I mentioned how lucky I feel to live here? Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Tuesday, May 13, 20088:39 PMMorning sunrise ride before work!This is a little embarrassig to say, but today was my first during the week ride. Yes, I've done some spinning classes before work - but I have actually not gotten on my bike during the week once for this training yet. Kind of frightening, right?!? Anyway, I had such an amazing ride this morning. I went with my new ALC friend, Suzanne, who lives in the same 'hood! We did a quick 20 miler over the bridge, down through Sausalito and out on the bike path for a bit and back. While I'm getting a bit used to this ride (read: a tad sick of it), I don't think I will EVER get sick of that turn - the first one you make when you ride into Sausalito. I am telling you - I want to just bite the water. It just looks so deliciously good and it's such a spectacular view. I feel very lucky that I live in such an amazingly gorgeous place (gee - I don't think I've ever said that before in any of my blogs - yeah, right)!!!! And to see it at 6am in the morning when there is no one else around is super special. I think we are going to try to ride again on Thursday morning since it's going to be about 90 degrees that day - we figure the morning might be quite nice! We are going to meet at 5:30am so we can go up & over Camino Alto. Did I really just write that??? Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Sunday, May 11, 20082:30 PMMother's Day Bike Ride!I was lucky enough to get to bike AGAIN while I was in Denver this weekend. This time, it was with the whole Marks/Berkley clan....Sharon, Stan, Ashley, Lyndee and Scott. We had just eaten an delicious mother's day breakfast of eggs wrapped in a tortilla (what Lyndee likes to call HOT....happiness on a tortilla) and fruit (there is always a fruit salad at every Marks meal) and it was a GORGEOUS day, so we headed out to do the resevoir loop (same loop that Lyndee, Josh & I did the other day). I think we ended up going about 25 miles or so. It felt so great to be outside and it was really fun to bike with the whole group. :) And then, it was so funny - when we got back to the Marks' house, it was like we hadn't eaten in years. We proceeded to STUFF our faces with triskets, cheese, cereal, pretty much anything we could get our hands on. You would have thought we had biked 60 miles by how hungry we were. Everyone was very nice and indulged me as we watched the Lakers play game #4 of the NBA quarter finals (quarter finals? semi-finals? not sure what they are called actually) Anyway, very sad that the Lakers lost in OT - but hopefully they will pull through when they go home for the final two games. Oh wait....this isn't a blog about basketball...it's about my biking....sorry I digress!!! Anyway, I can't believe I have two more training weekends ahead & then it's on to the big ride! I can't tell you how happy I am that I decided to do this event. It has been so rewarding physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally....I am just loving the whole thing and I can actually say now that I LOVE biking. I wonder if I will feel the same way after a week solid of it - but right now - I definitely have a new obsession!!!! And a huge thank you to the Marks & the Berkleys (right Lyndee? :) ) for such an amazing weekend in Denver. MWAH! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Friday, May 9, 20084:45 PMBiking in the Mile High City!I decided to take my training to a new level and do some biking in elevation. :) So, I got into Denver and Lyndee, Josh and I decided to go on a ride because it was so gorgeous out. So, we went out and did a 30ish mile ride to the resevoir. I'm not really sure which resevoir - but it was off the Cherry Creek path, or something like that. It was so much fun to do a ride that I didn't know (don't get me wrong, not that I don't love the rides over the Golden Gate bridge, but I've been doing the same ride for a couple months now) AND it was SO MUCH FUN to ride with Lyndee and have her be a part of my training and SO MUCH FUN to ride with my new favorite Denver friend, Josh. :) It was definitely a bit challenging biking in the altitude....I mean, I get winded walking up stairs here....so I was definitely very winded at times. My favorite moment on the ride was our stop at the big tree - one of the things that is consistent about my rides is how much I love the rest stops!! We are planning to ride again on Sunday with the whole Marks clan. So pscyhed I could come out here for the weekend and still get some bike training in. :) And actually, this is where I actually decided to sign up for the AIDS Lifecycle event in the first place. I was at the Marks' house several months ago - I can't remember what trip it was on - but we were having breakfast and Lyndee & Stan (her dad) were talking about the experience that Lyndee had doing the event several years ago. It was so inspiring that I decided I wanted that to be an experience I would have in my life as well. So, that's actually where I first thought of signing up for this incredible event....so, it's very appropriate that I got to come here and do some of my riding here. Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Sunday, May 4, 20088:30 PMIt really just keeps getting better!Today I went down to Woodside and met up with Sydney (for those of you who don't know - she is the Rabbi at Temple Emanu-el - she has organized a team of 18 people from our temple that are doing this together as well!) and her sister, Sarah, for a 40 mile ride. I was so excited that they asked me to join them! We met at 8am at Robert's Market and I'm not totally sure the route we did - but it was Portola Valley, Juniperro Serra, Alpine Road, Sand Hill Road, etc....those are some of the names I remember, just not totally sure how they link together. Anyway, I absolutely loved the ride! It was so wonderful to get to spend time with Sydney and Sarah. It's one of the things I find so special about this whole training experience....you get to meet and to really know people in such a different way than you typically get to know people in "real life". You get to spend quality time, in the beautiful outdoors & since we are biking so many miles....you actually get to spend a decent amount of time together! And how many times have you been on a bike ride with your Rabbi? :) So, Sarah was unbelievably fast...and for most of the ride I was just trying to keep up with her & with Sydney. I actually checked my average mile per hour at the end of the ride and I was shocked....I did an average of 15.5 miles/hour! I am usually around 13....it was crazy! After the ride was a treat as well. I got to meet their parents, Arthur & Abby, & Sydney's kids, Eli and Gabe. We sat around, ate some turkey, stretched, ate some chicken, chatted, ate some cookies, hung out some more, and ate even more. I really could have hung out there all day long. What a welcoming and wonderful family (not that I was surprised!) Oh - and their dogs!! I am obsessed with their two adorable dogs...Bluie and ....oh shoot...I'm forgetting the other's name....I'm sure I will remember tomorrow when I have actually had some sleep. I drove back to the city and did the best thing ever. I called the Kabuki spa and booked an 80 minute massage!!! It was AWESOME!!!! I got the spa an hour early so I could hang out in the hot tub, steam room & sauna. It was exactly what I needed after a weekend of biking 114 miles!!! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Saturday, May 3, 20087:27 PMStill biking! :) 74 miles today. Yippeeeee!!!!Just another "normal" weekend of getting up at 6am to meet up with the AIDS Lifecycle group to bike 74 miles! Nothing weird about that, right? :) It literally still amazes me every time I do one of fhese long rides. There are several things that have been constants over the past several training weekends....1) I am feeling stronger & stronger, 2) I always feel a rush of gratitude for the fact that I can actually do what I'm doing, 3) I always meet new wonderful people (Suzanne, EJ, Jeffrey, Mark), 4) I love that I am riding with my new friend Peter, 5) I am in awe of the beautiful scenery, 6) I go through bouts of spacy-ness and 7) The tourists riding Blazing Saddles bicycles on the way back over the bridge scare me! Today we went from Sports Basement in SF up to the Pt. Reyes Station and back. I'm getting really used to the out to Sausalito - past Mike's Bike's - over Camino Alto - up to Faifax - Whites Hill - Sir Francis Drake route. I love that it feels so familiar now! We stopped at Pt. Reyes Station to have lunch. I didn't make the best choice today. They didn't have BLTs, which I now crave on these rides. So I got a turkey in a spinach wrap. Peter got a turkey on wheat bread sandwich and was kind enough to trade me the second half so I didn't have to eat the tortilla that I didn't like. (There you go Peter - I told you I would put that in my blog! :) ) And how good are potato chips?!? I think I had the best potato chips of my life today. It was great b/c I also ran into a bunch of other riders up in Pt. Reyes who aren't doing the ride.....Daniel, Carter, and Scotty! So fun to see them! :) Now I'm home, just took an Epsom Salt bath, I ate a huge bowl of popcorn w/Jane's Crazy Mixed Up Salt on it and I'm thinking about how I'll be getting up tomorrow to ride again! I'm heading down to Woodside, a ride I haven't done, so I'm really excited! Thanks so much Peter, Suzanne, and EJ for an awesome ride today!!! It would not have been as much fun without you! :) MWAH! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Sunday, April 27, 20085:02 PMRiding with Team Emanu-el! (and clocking 110 miles for the weekend!)I have to admit, I wasn't exactly looking forward to getting on my bike today. When I first got on, my legs were defintiely feeling it from yesterday! BUT - I actually ended up having a great ride!!! Jodi, Jeff and I rode from Emanu-el over to Rebecca's house in Tiburon. She was SO wonderful to host the team for a last day of Passover celebration. It was also just so nice to connect with everyone on the team. I am so happy I decided to do this with the temple group! It's so nice to get to know everyone!! We hung out, ate, & chatted about how to pack for the ride, etc for an hour or so and then got back on our bikes to head home. When we rode back from Rebecca's, I don't know what got into me - but I had a huge second wind and I totally booked it up the Sausalito hill! Sydney was right there with me!! We "only" ended up doing 30 today - but it was great to feel what it would feel like to get back on the bike after a crazy day of biking the day before. It's starting to feel more & more like I will actually be able to do this thing! :) Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Saturday, April 26, 20085:00 PM80 miles, baby!!!!I did it! EIGHTY MILES. Holy moly! I really can't believe I did it. The day started off at the CRACK...actually, I think even before the crack of dawn. I got up before 5am to get ready to go and head over to Golden Gate park to get checked in for the ride. It was crazy to see 600 bikers at 6:30am getting ready to do this ride. It was so fun because I ran into people that I had met on previous bike rides....I love that I'm making new friends through this. I also ran into the group from Temple Emanu-el and it was really fun to connect with the team! Of course I also saw, my favorite biking buddy, Peter! I was very happy he was going to be out there today too. After all the announcements, stretching, etc - we were off!! I think it was about 7:45ish by the time we got on the road. I biked the first 20 miles with Talia, a member of the temple team, so that was great! It's always nice to have a familiar face and someone to chat with along the way. Our first rest stop was in Fairfax and I was so impressed. The "positive pedalers" - bikers who are HIV+ - were running the rest stop and it was amazing. They had the music blaring, tons of yummy snacks and everyone was so supportive. I just love that energy. I have to say I felt GREAT at mile 20 - almost like I hadn't really done yet. I am definitely getting stronger and that's fun to notice! After the rest stop it was on to lunch at the Cheese Factory. This was the most challenging part of the ride...up & over White's Hill (although it wasn't as bad as the last time I did it, so that's good!), and then we tuned onto Nicasso Road? (I think that's right?) and we had some serious climbs to get the to the Cheese Factory. But we did it! And I was so excited to arrive at the lunch stop. That's where Peter and I finally connected and decided that we needed to do the last half of the ride together! So glad I ran into him there - I just love biking with him!! We have a great pace together, he cracks me up & it's fun whether we are chatting or just cruising along being quiet for a bit. We are now "bike husband and wife" - it's official. :) So, we made it to Laguanitas Market - back up & over White's Hill and had a great time doing it! One highlight of this part of our ride, was that Peter told me more about where all the money goes that we are raising for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. My friends & family have been so supportive in donating money, but to be honest, I didn't know that much about specific programs that the foundation supported. We talked for awhile about tweaker.org - an organization that helps gay men who are addicted to crystal meth get information and support and resources. It was so interesting to me because nothing could be further outside of my reality than knowing anything about crystal meth, people who are addicted to it, or what that does to increase the chances of spreading AIDS. Anyway, it was a very enlightening conversation and I now understand the importance of an organization like that more. My first reaction was - why don't you just get them to stop using crystal meth?!? But I understand that if someone is addicted, they are at least trying to help prevent the spread of AIDS due to that - and of course, the drug problem is a problem - but if they are going to continue to use, then at least we need to be doing something to educate them and help reduce their risks of spreading HIV. Does any of this make sense? If not, please ask me about it. I'm post-80 miles here and I'm definitely a bit spacey! So from mile 40 - 50ish or so, I was definitely a bit of a space cadet (like I am right now! this is a theme in my riding for sure!). I definitely needed a little boost, so when we got back to the rest stop in Fairfax at mile 50 - I got a coffee and I'm telling you, it's my new favorite thing to have on a ride!!! It's really the best. After the final rest stop it was homeward bound! We were up & over Camino Alto before we knew up, down the bike path to Mike's Bikes, through Sausalito, over the bridge and back to the park. Holy moly! I definitely have these out of body experiences while I'm riding, not really believing that I'm doing this. I couldn't believe that I started out at 7:45 that morning and now, here it was around 4pm and I was STILL on my bike and thinking back over the whole day, the morning seemed like days ago. When we pulled into the park, there were tons of volunteers there cheering everyone on! So fun! :) We went inside and they had a pasta dinner ready for everyone. So, I ended up sitting down with Peter, Talia, Brian, Paul, and several other new friends to have some well-deserved pasta, salad and bread. YUM. I feel much more confident about the ride after having done that 80 miler today! I'm supposed to get on my bike again tomorrow and do 40 so we will see how it goes. I really can't thank everyone enough for their support. It means so much to me that people have been so generous to support me and to support this wonderful cause. MWAH! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Friday, April 25, 20087:43 PMGetting Ready for a BIG Weekend!So, this weekend is going to be big! I've got a total of 120 miles to bike!! Wooo hooo! :) On Saturday, the ALC Lifecycle group is organizing a "Day on the Ride" and we are doing an 80 mile ride!!! I'm so excited (and yes definitely nervous too) - but it's going to be a gorgeous day and it will be great to enjoy the whole day on my bike. :) I'll be breaking Passover with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the course! :) I figure, I made it all week...and peanut butter and jelly on matzah does not sound that appealing for an 80 mile bike ride. It's all good, right?!? So, anyway - wish me luck! Then, on Sunday, "Team Emanu-el" - the group that is doing the ride from my temple - is going to do the Paradise Loop and we are going to have a little team bonding lunch at Rebecca's house (she lives right on the loop). It will be great to get to hang out with everyone from Emanu-el, check out the cool jerseys that we are getting made, and just get a chance to really feel like a team. Okay, I need to go figure out what I'm going to wear tomorrow, what food I'm going to bring, get my bike ready to go, etc. etc. etc. I will write again at the end of the weekend to report back on how it all went! MWAH!!!! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Saturday, April 19, 200810:37 AMPre-Passover Ride!What a great way to start Passover. Kevin and I did an awesome 30 mile ride this morning. I can't believe I feel like I *only* did 30 miles!!! Who knew that would ever start to feel somewhat easy for me. I needed to keep it somewhat short since I've got lots of Passover preparatino today! So, it was FREEZING this morning - but warmed up quickly as we got over the bridge and into Sausalito. By the way, speaking of Sausalito - that is one of my favorite turns....when riding down Alexander into Sausalito, you turn and all of a sudden the huge sparking bay is in front of you with a spectacular view of the city! It's the BEST! So, we went up & over Camino Alto - and then turned around and came back. Camino Alto is my new favorite part of the ride - it's one of those hills that keeps getting easier and I am just loving the downhill!!! It was funny because I was wearing my ALC vest and we saw a ton of AIDS Lifecyclers out there. They were on their way out for their 80 mile ride, while I was on my way back! It was fun to see them all out there. :) So, I learned something new today that I think I will find very helpful on the ride. You see - when you ride a lot - and especially on cold days...your nose can get really...well....runny. Kevin taught me a nice trick to help me out. I literally almost threw up when I saw him demonstrate - but I do think it was a good lesson nonetheless. Thanks Kevvers!!! :) Okay, I need to go start getting ready for Passover! Brisket, matzah kugel, and charoset.....here I come! Chag Sameach! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Sunday, April 6, 20082:00 PMThe fartheset I have ever riden in my life!!!Today I rode almost 75 miles - the fartheset I have ever ridden in my life! We biked from San Francisco to Point Reyes and back!!! It was kind of a crazy day. We had to be on our bikes at Sports Basement by 6:20 to get out of the city before the Golden Gate bridge was closed for a running race. So, I got up at 5am to get my act together and get over there. Oy! I have to say, it was actually amazing being on the road with NO ONE else. I still can't believe I was in Sausalito at 6:45am this morning! So, yet again another awesome ride. I'm starting to sound repetitive, but the scenery was UNBELIEVABLE. I really live in the best place on this planet. It was fun to get out to Pt. Reyes, because again I was having flashbacks to my Team in Training days. I totally remembered the purple bridge! So fun that I was back there again. And I made some new friends again....this time it was Charles & Aaron near the beginning of the ride to lunch....and Brian & I rode the last 20ish miles together. :) One major thing I learned on this ride that was amazing....COFFEE at mile 55. I was on my way back, at the Coffee Roastery in Fairfax, and I was starting to feel a bit spacey. Brian suggested caffeine and I swear, that cup of coffee is what got me back to San Francisco. It was brilliant. I had a funny moment at mile 67....I realized that one of my socks was on inside out. I had been riding all day long & didn't realize. One sock was all cute & blue with white and yellow flowers & the other was just SO on inside out. It just made me laugh. That's what happens when you get dressed at 5am! Until next time!!! :) Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Wednesday, March 26, 20089:00 AMBack-to-back rides this weekend!This weekend I decided to do back-to-back training rides. Also, instead of the organized AIDS Lifecycle rides - I had two fun biking experiences with some of my friends. :) On Saturday, Ashley and I did the Marin Headleads loop and on Sunday, Don, Sarah & I did the Alcatraz course loop. So, while I didn't do that much miileage this weekend (total of about 40 miles) - it was really fun to switch it up, have some fun bike riding experiences with friends and also have a bit more time in the day on the weekend! I feel like the next 2 months are going to be pretty crazy with training - so I took it a bit easy. Also, my legs were KILILING me from bootcamp this week. Kristi had us do this crazy sprinting workout on Friday (which was actually really awesome!) - but I think it made for some challeging bike riding. Anyway, I'm still continuing to just love this experience. And the fundraising?!? Wow - I have been so amazed by everyone's generosity! I am only $300 away from my $5000 goal!!! Woooo hooooo!!! Real good stuff. Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Sunday, March 16, 20088:00 AMLucas Valley Ride - 72 miles! Woo hoo!Another amazing day in the Bay Area! I don't think it could have been more beautiful. I arrived at Sports Basement around 7am in the morning ready for my next AIDS Lifecylce adventure. It's been very interesting doing this somewhat on my own....every training ride I arrive, take a look around, and wonder who I am going to meet and bike with that day! Well, as we set off on the ride, I was actually convinced this might be a ride that I was really going to do on my own. I wasn't really riding next to anyone - they were either in front of me, or behind me - so I settled into what I thought was going to be a very solo, somewhat meditative ride. We stopped at Loch Lomand market on the way out to China Camp - I saw some famiiliar faces and met Peter, who has just purchased a nice new bike. Anyway, and then we were off & I was back to my somewhat solo riding. I was enjoying the views and the stillness of China Camp - it was really such a beautiful day and I was loving every single second of it....and then, from behind me I hear, "Hey, it's the nice lady from the market"...I turned around and said "lady??? who is calling me a lady?!?" :) It was Peter the guy with the new bike. Well, I am SO glad that Peter ended up riding near me because we ended up riding the rest of the ride together. WHAT A GREAT GUY!!!! We had so much fun chatting and getting to know each other for the remaining 40 miles or so! He works for the AIDS Foundation and does all of their PR and marketing. And he's really funny (loved his references to how Cliff Shot Blocks have a somewhat Passover candy quality to them...just sprinkle some sugar on them & shape them like an orange). I was laughing so hard for most of that ride. As for the rest of the ride - Lucas Valley Road/Nicassio Road part of this ride was SPECTACULAR. I had vague recollections of it from my Team in Training days, but I hadn't been out there in YEARS. I was just reminded over and over again how lucky I am to be living in this part of the country and I also just felt so thankful that I am actually able to do all the riding I've been doing. So thank you Peter for making this such a fun ride!!!! I'm really looking forward to more bike rides with you! :) You were the highlight of this training ride for sure! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Sunday, March 9, 20085:00 PMI literally almost cried......when I finished my 62 mile bike ride today. I really couldn't believe what I had done. We started at 9:30am at Sports Basement and then biked up to San Anselmo and out to China Camp. We ate some lunch overlooking SPECTACULAR views of the water (by the way, I had the best BLT of my life. Yes, a BLT. It was salty & actually tasted perfect!) Then, we came back and did the Paradise Loop around Tiburon on the way back. It was quite an eventful ride for me actually....I ended up getting a flat & when we were fixing the flat, we broke the nozzle thingy (technical term) in the new tube! (Also, notice I use the word "we"....I had 2 Training Ride Leaders, Bruce & Paulo, and my new friend Lori helping me! Then, on my way back - almost up the Sausalito hill, my back tire got jammed and I had to fix it before I headed up the hill. ANYWAY, seriously, by the time I made it back to Sports Basement around 4:30pm after the ride, our lunch & my flat tire fiasco, I was so physically and emotionally exhausted that I almost cried tears of happiness! I was so proud of myself. :) It was such a GREAT ride. One other highlight of my ride was that I realized that my Training Ride Leader, Bruce - went to HOPKINS with me! When we figured it out we were freaking out. He said, "What's your name again?" and when I said, "Rachelle"...he said..."that's funny, I went to school with a girl named Rachelle, and she kind of looks like you..."! It was SO funny! Not only did we go to school together, but he was actually in my Orientation group. He was a freshman when I was a junior - and I had 5 people in my group and he was one of them. I hadn't seen him since 1993. It was the craziest thing!!! I am just loving everything about training for this event! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Sunday, March 2, 20086:00 PMMy 55 mile ride. Wow.I had the BEST experience today. I did a GORGEOUS 55 mile bike ride out to Lagunitas and back to the city. I just really can't believe what I've been able to do. Yes, I was definitely exhausted and a bit spacy by the end....but I really felt great the whole way. Here were my three highlights of my ride: 1) Stopping for lunch in Lagunitas and chatting with a lot of the riders who have done the AIDS Lifecycle event many times! It is so inspiring to hear their stories and I just loved meeting a whole new group of people that I would otherwise never have met. 2) Coming down Camino Alto on the way back to the city. I typically don't like the downhill - but this was the coolest descent! It just kept going & going & going and it just felt awesome. I really tried to be as present as I could & absorb that moment! and 3) I have to thank our training ride leader, Mark, for staying with me on the whole ride. He is such a nice guy and I had a lot of fun getting to know him on that ride! I'm looking forward to many more training rides and I defintiely want to remember that it's not *only* about the event.....it's about fundraising for a great cause & it's about the JOURNEY of getting to the race...I want to appreciate and enjoy every single mile pedaled along the way! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Sunday, January 13, 20084:00 PMMy First REAL Training Ride & the AIDS Lifecycle Kickoff Event!Today was a very eventful day. First of all, I actually got out on my bike and RODE. :) It was a gorgeous day in San Francisco, so my friend, Don, and I did the Marin Headlands ride! It was gorgeous and it was a great way to kick of my official training season. This city makes it very easy to have unbelievably gorgeous, scenic, awe-inspiring rides. :) Then, after the ride I went to the official AIDS Lifecycle Kickoff Event. It was amazing to see a room full of hundreds of people who were connected to the cause and were getting ready to ride or volunteer for this event. It was a very inspirational event. I learned that there is a group called "Positive Pedalers" - they are bikers who have HIV+ and they do they entire race! It's definitely more challenging for them as they are most likely taking all sorts of medication, etc - but they do it to reduce the stigma of those with the disease. All in all, it was an awesome day and I'm SOOO excited that I decided to sign up for this event. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Saturday, January 5, 20081:00 PMMy First Training Ride!Well, today was supposed to be my first training ride, but the San Francisco crazy rain storm got in the way! Oh well! It was a good potential effort. Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb |
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