John Coundouris'
I'm Riding to End AIDSDear Friends, From June 1-7, 2008, I'm bicycling in AIDS/LifeCycle. It's a 7-day, 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to make a world of difference in the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS. So 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 thank you from the bottom of my heart! John.
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John's latest blog entry:
Tuesday, May 13, 2008 
John's Goal: $3,000.00
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John's LinksSan Francisco AIDS Foundation
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
Experience AIDS/LifeCycle 2007
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John's BlogTuesday, May 13, 20089:53 PMMount Diablo....it lives up to its name!!Sat May 10; DSSF Monthly Jersey ride - Tiburon loop. 48 miles. Another great day in the Bay Area. We met at Pete's Coffee as usual; fewer in numbers than previous Jersey rides, but some new faces. It was a good ride. I even saw Bambi on Paradise Drive; it was the cutest thing! Got back to Pete's Coffee just before 2:00 pm and enjoyed a coffee with Cam. Off home for some stretching so that it wouldn't be too painful for the next day.
Sun May 11: 89 Miles, starting off from Orinda Bart Station; meet time 6:15 am!! Well, a number of firsts were installed for me today. The longest ride to date: 89 miles! The coldest start to a training ride (to date); we met at 6:15 am at the Bart Station at Orinda. It was foggy and windy and very cold!! We were all shivering like mad. I was looking forward to getting started so that I could warm up; until I found out that among the three main hills we were climbing Mount Diablo was one of them! I remembered driving up it, and that was bad enough. It was a hard ride up; suffice to say that part of the climb we were shrouded in clouds. And the last 200 yards were unbelievable; I thought I was going to die! The view from there top made it worth it, though (just!). The clouds had cleared by this point, so it was a pleasant descent. Valley Castro was to follow; much warmer (hot, actually) I am glad to say. Still a challenging ride, with headwinds going up a second hill; a ride in the Bay Area wouldn't be a ride if there were no headwinds!!! The final climb/descent of the ride was beautiful! Again, it made it all worth while. My thanks to George for encouraging me up Mount Diablo! And the perfect end to the ride and the day......a burger at Barney's in Piedmont!!! I never enjoyed a burger (and curly fries!) as much as I did on this occasion! Next week.....a 125 mile ride on the offing; hmmm, should I? Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Thursday, May 8, 20088:40 PMA sign of things to come!Sat/Sun May 3-4th. The Jonathan Pon Memorial Ride, Sausalito to Russian River, 150 miles round trip!! Yes, 150 miles round trip! With camping over night (and I cannot remember the last time I went camping; definitely well over 10 years ago!), it was a taste of things to come during The Ride. And I must admit, I did better than I anticipated. Around one hundred riders met up bright and early (6:00 am!) on Sat morning just outside Sausalito. It was quite a site! After all the 'hellos', the waiver signing, the safety speech and the stretching, we set off for the camp site at the Russian River at 8:00 am. All was going well, until we got to Petaluma, where we had a nice lunch and the weather was hot! Well, we should have stayed there, because as soon as we left, the head-winds reared their ugly head; boy was it tough going!!! Well, I managed it, and to be honest, the decent from Occidental towards Russian River made it all worth while....I got such a high, it was unbelievable!!! Got into camp, set up the tent, nursed (well, ok, stretched) the aching muscles and we had dinner, followed by some entertainment, consisting of an accordion player and a banjo player, all rolled into one, by the name of Mark; he was great and just what was needed. After an early night (in sleeping bag by 9:30 pm!!!), we had an early start (got up at 6:00 am) to get ready for the ride back. Again, we set off around 8:30 am; it was cold and foggy. I must admit it was not easy to start off again (didn't sleep too well), but about 10 miles into the ride, things got better (but not much warmer!). We followed Highway 1 for the start of the ride, which was absolutely gorgeous!!! I was so tempted to stop make frequent stops to take photos, but I would never have gotten home. Stopped at yet another great bakery in Tamales (yes, as I have mentioned in an earlier blog entry, we do like our food on these rides!), we had lunch in Point Reyes and then headed back to Sausalito. We did at least three hills each way, including the infamous Whites Hill; long and steep (ok, relatively speaking) on the way there and dangerously fast on the way back; four people were injured the weekend before going too fast down Whites Hill. I am glad to say we had no injuries this time! It really was an amazing weekend (despite the painful leg muscles in Monday!). Met some new people, got to know existing friends even better....and everyone was helping everyone else! It really was a glimpse of what The Ride is going to be like....in which case I am really looking forward to it! Next weekend.......hmm, let's see: about 48 miles for Sat and around 89 on the Sunday; should be fun!?!?!? Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Saturday, April 19, 20089:22 PMMy Training Rides - Trials and Tribulations...oh, and the fun!!Saturday, 19 April 08: Bride of Cat 2 Ride 8 - China Basin Ok, we knew we were going to be in for 'some fun' today; high winds forecast up to 40 miles/hour. Well, the start wasn't too bad (apart from having to negotiate Divisadero from my place to Crissy Field (Sports Basement), the start of the ride. Once over GG Bridge, it was actually pretty descent! Got to China Basin where we had a pick-nick (a short stop; I wish we could have stayed longer; it is a beautiful spot) before starting the return trip and of course the wind started too! It was getting stronger the closer we got to SF. I must admit, I decided to give the Tiburon Loop a miss so I came back over Camino Alto straight into the city. GG Bridge was the worst I've ever known it!!! It was so windy, it took all my strength to keep riding in a straight line! And I decided: there are too many darn hills in this city!!! Getting back home from Crissy Field was not fun! Oh, I should stop moaning; I made it, didn't I? Sunday, 13 April 08: Canada Road (route 92) to Palo Alto and back. Ok, my first back-to-back rides; another hot day, but not as bad as yesterday. Went through Woodside; what a place! Some amazing houses, to say the least. The smell of the flowers was overwhelming, at times, but so enjoyable. Another good ride; found a really nice cafe in Palo Alto for lunch. This time, I bumped into Mary! She was able to join us for lunch. The wind picked up on the return, so I was glad to get back to our car.
Saturday, 12 April 08: Point Reyes - Happy Cows; 49 miles; HOT, HOT, HOT!!!. Yes, back on the saddle this Sat; and of course it had to be one of the hottest days ever! Temps in the 80s, no less! It was a good ride, though. There were hundreds of riders out and about; Point Reyes, where we stopped for lunch was absolutely teaming with them!! I even bumped into my old physical therapist!!
Saturday, 5 April 08: England Ok, I didn't ride this Saturday; it was my eldest niece's 18th birthday party, so I was in Merry Olde England for the celebrations! I had a great week's vacation! And I got four seasons' weather to boot!
Saturday, 29 March 08: Bodega Bay It turned out to be a great ride. I was apprehensive about it, as I did the exact same route back in December when I first started training and I had to get off my bicycle at the end of the ride to make the steep hill. I am glad to say that this time I made the steep hill on my bike!!! It was a cool day; some sunshine but some drizzle as well. We had a great lunch at Occidental; our main stop of the ride. When one is riding all these miles, one can eat what one wants (that's my excuse for having french fries instead of salad, and I am sticking to it!)
Saturday, 8 March 08: the Jersey Ride with DSSF Route: Peet's Coffee, Market Street, SF to Tiburon and back Distance: 48.9 miles. Weather: absolutely brilliant! One of those days you are glad to be alive: glorious sunshine, very little wind and visibility you could see for ever! One of my best rides yet! Made it to Sark's Deli in Tiburon by 11:35 am. I felt in control during most of the ride; until the hill back from Sausalito to the Golden Gate Bridge! That's still challenging, but I recovered pretty well once we were SF-side; well enough to go out for a great evening at a friend's place for dinner! Saturday, 1 March 08: Chris Thomas' Ride Series. Route: Mountain View to Coyote Valley (never heard of this place until today!) Distance: 71 miles. Weather: windy, windy, windy. Oh, and did I mention: WINDY?!?!?! I thought I was going to die! The day started ominously enough, when I discovered that my back tyre was completely flat, just before my lift arrived. We pumped it up, but a few miles in the ride, it started deflating again. I had to have the inner tube replace; again people were so kind to help me with this! That's one of the things I so much enjoy doing these rides: most of the people are remarkable; the camaraderie is something else! Anyway, that delayed me, to say the list and then the wind!!!! It was soooooo hard!!! Especially along Santa Teresa's Street/Way, or what ever it was called! I was so glad to finish, I cannot put it into words. Also, I am glad to say, I was able to go for a great dinner with a friend at Kokkari, followed by some drinks at Martuni's with an ex-colleague; it was a great evening, but boy was I tired on Sunday!!!
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