Valerie sarmiento's
I'm Riding to End AIDSI can't believe that after months of anticipation, training and fundraising, its over... I haven't had a chance to post new blogs, however as soon as I can this week I will be uploading pics for all of you and a daily post of each day. THANK YOU FOR HELPING ON THIS JOURNEY AND I CAN'T WAIT TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN NEXT YEAR!!! WITH YOUR HELP I EXCEEDED THE MINIMUM AMOUNT REQUIRED AND SURPASSED MY GOAL $5190.00!!!!!
This is going to be my first time doing the ride, and a lot of people have been asking me why I'm doing it... basically its because it's an awesome feeling knowing that even I can make a difference in someone's life. There are so many times, when there is a tragedy and you say out loud, "I want to do something to help out" and never get around to it. I'm not just sitting around saying one day I'll donate or volunteer. People living with AIDS suffer 365 days a year 24/7 their tragedy never ends and I'm actually doing something for a change, this will help many people on so many different levels.
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. Help me support the HIV/AIDS-related services of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center by giving what you can. I'm definitely looking forward to the challenge and I'm proud to raise money for such a great cause. I Hope you'll feel the same and donate and sponsor me on this ride. I'm going to definitely try and exceed the goal of $2500.00 "THANK-YOU" for your support in helping me reach my goal! I couldn't do this without you! Valerie __o
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Valerie's latest blog entry:
Friday, Jul 18, 2008 
Halfway to L.A.!!!
Valerie's Goal: $5,000.00
Current Total: $5,190.00 |
Listen to Valerie'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. |
Valerie's LinksExperience AIDS/LifeCycle 2007
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
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Valerie's BlogFriday, July 18, 20086:04 PMa month andand 10 days later and I still can't believe that the moment that I looked forward to, sometimes dreaded and trained so hard for all year is really over. It was much more than just 7 days 545 miles. It was bigger than anything I could've ever imagined accomplishing, for 7 days I was cut off from the rest of the world...my little world and I was part of a much bigger community. I felt nervous, excited, uncertain, confident... all at the same time... I was told that this was going to be a life changing experience... it began the day I signed up, it became real the day I met Caleb and his parents, when I met some of the people, who are now some of my teammates and friends who benefit from the money I'm raising, that we all are raised... that are being kept alive and healthy from the services they receive at the L.A Gay & Lesbian Center and the SF Aids Foundation. I felt like I was the lucky one to be able to spend the next 7 days meeting so many of the people who were benefiting from these services, and hear their stories... I feel that no matter how bad anyone feels they have it, its never as bad as fighting for your life and there is nothing in this world more important than making a difference... I'm blessed to have been able to participate in this life changing experience. We helped each other through every emotion possible...happiness, anger, sadness, and sometimes what I personally felt was indescribable. I struggle now trying to come up with the words to describe what I went through. I'll start off by thanking every single one of my friends and my family who supported me financially and helped me raise more than what was required for me to participate in this event. If it wasn't for your support I would have never been able to experience this. Thank you for the messages of support I received before and during the ride, your words of encouragement helped me tremendously. I've been blessed to have genuine people in my life and I'm thankful for that.
Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Tuesday, June 3, 20089:46 PMrest of day one and mornin' of day2so yesterday was an awesome day, all the roadies at each rest stop were awesome, each stop had a theme, one was the playground... all the roadies dressed in school uniforms... in the kind that u wore if u went to catolic school, the skirts n shirts with collars, it was hilarious seeing the guys in skirts, another pit stop was themed as a hollywood awards night... can't remember the other ones, its a blur, I was tryin' to be in n out and back on the road... so at camp, had to get my gear and tent from gear truck L and I'm L 007, hehe... after setting up tent with the hundreds of others... I got my tote and headed to the very loooooooong line to wait to take a hot shower. They have trucks big enough for eight people to shower. It felt sooooooo good, and as much as I wanted to stay in the hot shower longer, there were a gazillion other women who still hadn't showered. Afterwards I headed back to my tent and dropped off my stuff and went to eat dinner. Guess what? Loooooooooooong lines! The food was deelish! after lunch had camp announcements and then everyone scattered to their tents to sleep... I didn't. I went back to bike parking to cover my bike seat with a shower cap (to prevent the seat from getting wet from the mornin' dew) and I sewed my license plate with my name on the back of my seat bag... hung back n talked with a teammate about tips in camp... like being able to get massages the entire 7 days as opposed as the 2 we're allowed to have... Vee my tentmate and I stayed up a while longer chit chatting n packing our bags all over again... I knocked out about 1030 I think.. day one... completed! mornin' of day 2. this morning was not so pleasant... my wakeup call was my teammate Dave shaking my tent whispering "wake up, its 630am and we're late!!!!" and picture me sound asleep in my sleeping bag like I'm in a caccoon... sprint up while half asleep freaking the hell out, and Vee doing the same thing, we open our tent and Dave is telling us everyone's gone, Vee and I look out and see its still dark and we tell Dave that and he says, "we're in the mexican valley, its always dark at this time, what kind of mexicansare you? " we kick him out and go back to sleep.... oh and he did this at about 430am!!!! when we do finally get up, we realize the insides of our tent is wet... and Dave comes back and says, oh u should've left your tent open a little so it wouldn't have gotten wet.... if we would've known, then we would've done it! We're making a what to do list for newbies next year... and I'm still gonna get back at Dave! the rest of day 2 was Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Sunday, June 1, 200811:48 AMDay 1...omg... HILLS, HILLS, HILLS... is all I have to say for now. Wow, this is intense... I already fell once n I hope its my last one. At lunch stop now, at mile 44... getting ready to leave and climb the mother of all hills (for now, cuz I'm sure the next one, I see, I'll say, the same thing). update later when I get into camp.
Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Tuesday, May 27, 200810:55 AMMy fundraiser...was a success!!!! This is late, however I've been busy!! I hosted my fundraiser on Sunday May 4th at Gaylords in Beverly Hills... I honestly didn't think I could pull it off in 2 1/2 weeks! I started calling random venues and sending them emails about what AIDS/LifeCycle is about and my participation in it, and just one venue replied. I emailed Nikki from Tanzore for a few days and she said I could have my event there and we would work out the details. My friend and co-worker Tina hooked me up with printing out the tickets and I started pre-selling them, so that if the person didn't show I'd still have their donation. Then I started calling local businesses and going to shops asking for items to be donated so I could raffle them off at the party. I scored 2 pairs of Dodgers tickets (thanks to Inglewood Park Cemetary), a black leather duffel bag, hat and shirt from the show The Wire (thanks to Daphne from HBO), gift certificate for dinner to Havana Mania (Thank you!), gift certificate to Gypsy in Silverlake (Thank you!), gift certificate to Iguana in Long Beach (Thank you!), gift certificate for dinner at Cafe Ambrosia in Long Beach (Thank you!), a Nintendo Wii, gift certificate to a book store in Silverlake (Thank you! I can't remember the name, however before the end of the day I'll update this!), and a gift certificate for two for a day of wine testing (Thank you! also can't remember the exact name! Sorry, I'll find out today!). Thanks to my friend DJ Richie, who donated his services to provide the music, which was awesome by the way and if you need a DJ, hit him up (909) 533-1540, thanks to Shay Shay (from the Ladies Touch events) for being my MC, thanks to Vince Pena from AIDS/LifeCycle for speaking at my party, thank you to Brian Hodes for speaking as well. Thank you to the staff at Tanzore/Gaylords for providing the venue, the GREAT food, and overall their generosity! Thank you to my friends for coming out and supporting me, thank you to my friends who bought a ticket as a donation and couldn't make it, as well as my friends on Team UTAC for being there and contributing as well! I appreciate all of you and I'm grateful to have people like you in my life. That night I met my minimum plus some! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Wednesday, May 21, 20083:47 PMTHANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! TO EVERYONE SO FAR WHO HAS DONATED AND HELPED ME REACH MY GOAL!THANK YOU TO ALL MY DONORS! *still need to add more people.... Dalila Zermeno (sister-in-law) Veronica Miramontes (my cousin) Deiedra Mattier (City of Bicycles) Darlene Lafitte Mayor Larry Guidi (of Hawthorne) Laurie Dozier Brian Nieman (Team UTAC) Erika Torres Leslie Herrera (co-worker/friend) Kim Flournoy Council man Gary Parsons Tamika Mckinney The "Parents" Evelyn & Maira ;) Council man Daniel Juarez Nancy Peters Evelyn Brito Ruben Najera City Of Bicycles Manny Menendez Brian Hodes Jen Moore Erin Curry Bridgid Dave & Jesse Kiki Tony Eva Alvarado Tina & Darryl Cater Tirza Arevalo Claudia Diaz Lizette Perez Ramona Roberts Raul Jimenez Alberto Castro Monica Jimenez Brandi Joan Walker Melissa Markarian Gabriel Carillo Cameron Michael (Dolphin Bar) Tommy (Dolphin Bar) Regina Joyner Erika Pino Raul & Cecy Lopez Kristin Thomas Carmen DeJesus Ron Collins Kenneth Perry Arnita Johnson Jessica Walker Maria Paez-Orozco Eric Byrd Kristal Morris Miesha Mann Omar Madrigal Ramona Roberts Sharon Howard Nelly Gonzalez Roberto Perez Elizabeth Lara Chris & Sandy Romero Lori Christensen Yolanda Russel Ruth Torres Lorena Garcia Ashley Madison Robert & Gina Lott Pamela Jacob Keirston Ross Sebastian Darancou Jose Oliden Maribel & Louie Paul Bushman Toni Morgan Denise Roberson Cheryl Lewis Mirta Arin Alvin Jones Daniel Villa Jeff White Ed Mason Kyle Walker Keia Payne Martha Corrales Miguel Esparza Gerardo & Sandra Arrieta Christine Rivera Cecilia Soriano Tanya & Kirsten Lyonsford Kara Coleman Luana Jimenez Kathleen Walsh Jilda Castaldo Eva Alvarado Robert Sylvan Elizabeth & Randy Long Kelly Langefeld Velia Gutierrez Kathleen McCormick Tatiane Espinoza Daphne Crook Tiffany Nasca Kerwin Kennedy Nikole Markarian Keri Krupp Janet Zamarripa Gerardo & Cynthia Pelayo Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Monday, May 5, 200811:01 PMSanta Barbara DOUBLE CENTURY!soooooooo on April 26 I rode my first century!!!!! And then another the following day!!! I RODE FREAKING 200 MILES IN TWO DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe it? CUZ I COULDN’T! WOW IT WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AWESOME! I missed the deadline to register however Karrin from Shifting Gears (I think) made it happen and I was officially registered! This was going to be the most miles I've done in a day, so I was pretty overwhelmed on Saturday morning when I showed up to Helen's Cycles in Santa Monica... the week prior I couldn't stop thinking about it! I mean who in their right mind rides 200 miles, right?!! However any feelings I had disappeared when I saw my teammates… Brian, Jenn, Erin, and Dave! It was awesome having their support on the ride. It was a beautiful day and for the first few miles I rode with my team, before my chain slipped off and I had to pull to the side and fix it… Gina another rider stopped to help me, and we rode for a little bit together and after that until the first pit stop I rode by myself, for the most part it was relatively easy… I was relieved when I did make it to our first pit stop and caught up to Brian and Erin, they had been there awhile and took off shortly after, so I waited for Jen, and she was my cycling buddy the entire ride through Malibu, Oxnard, Ventura and FINALLY Santa Barbara… she’s the best. I was sick and she watched out for me (so did Brian and Erin) and made sure I was ok along the route… I have def improved going uphill, those Calabasa rides have been awesome and helped! I can’t describe how awesome it was riding along the coast, absolutely beautiful and you really can’t take it all in while driving in a car. The scenery along the route was amazing and I def appreciate living in Cali, on every training ride I’ve been on, I can honestly say I’ve seen beautiful places, I wouldn’t have seen before… Jen and I rode with Mo and I can’t remember our other friends name from Team OC (or AKA Team Oh no!) for a while and they were great company… As the day wore on I was def feeling every bit of it and so I was HAPPY once we got to our lunch stop we took a break and relaxed before heading out again, this time Brian rode with Jen and I so that was cool. My adrenaline was definitely pumped as we got closer to our destination and it was AWESOME riding in and have everyone cheering us for completing 100 miles! Brendan was awesome and the best, he gave me a NICE COLD CORONA! Just what I needed ;) OMG it’s indescribable what I felt after completing my first century! My team mates where there and it was great having their support! Afterwards we all parted ways, to shower before heading to a restaurant for dinner, it was a blast, our riders took up most of the restaurant and it was awesome spending the evening with all of them, eating, drinking, laughing, sharing our thoughts on our day and just being around great people… The following day, was the hardest, having to get up EARLY and ride again!!!! My butt was already sore as hell, from the previous day, so I was not a happy camper... Drove to El Prado Inn where we were all meeting up to ride out, and I hooked up with my team, we started off riding together, however at one point I had to stop due to sunscreen in my eye! Jen (the BEST cycling buddy ever) stayed behind with me and we ended up riding together the entire ride back, at one point, we hooked up with Brian, and rode with him. This day wasn't easy, sore ass from the previous day, very very HOT, and the headwinds were bad... We were riding somewhere in Oxnard, I think and we saw an oasis!!! sprinklers! it was Brian's idea to get off our bikes and get soaked! It def helped cool us down. The rest of the ride home, was pretty much quiet we were just trying to keep cool and hydrated! After lunch, I was ready to call it quits, I was tired, cranky, sore, and HOT... I rode the rest of the way into Santa Monica with Jen and Eric K. As we got closer to our final destination, I started to feel the adrenaline as we rolled in, everyone was cheering for us. Its the best feeling knowing I was able to ride 100 miles two days in a row!! After that whatever doubts I had about the ride, disappeared, I felt like I could really do this. The Route
Eric, Jen and I riding in after 200 miles! Thanks for riding with me!
Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Saturday, April 19, 20087:30 PMDay on the Ride...ok so I'm behind on my blogs... my bad peeps! Soooo Day on the Ride was overall an awesome ride! It was a version of what a real day on the 7day ride would be like. We rode like 80+ miles and it was a great experiance. The hills in PV weren't as bad as I thought they were going to be, and I was actually doing a lot better than I thought I would!!! I rode with Jen (the best!) most of the ride and she never left me behind. The part that sucked was riding along the beach on the bike bath, wore me down... the next day ride in Calabasas with my team (Team Utac) and going up the hills was hard, due to the previous day... however I needed to do back to back rides! I knocked out when I got home!
Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Thursday, April 17, 20082:44 PMWOWonly 44 DAYS LEFT!!! I'm excited when the day finally gets here, and at times I was apprehensive about it... This is probably one of the biggest challenges I've done (or am going to do)! Yesterday I joined my friends (Team Utac) @ the Pico Playhouse to support our teammate Brian Nieman with hi screening of the documentary, "Diary of a Rider". It was a documentary film made by a Lifecycle rider and his experience with training/fundraising and the ride itself. I thought it was an awesome film. I was able to see what I had to look forward to in June. Starting with checking in the day before the ride until the final night, where they had the candlelight vigil in Ventura. I'm definitely excited to be a part of this and I don't feel so apprehensive about it as I did a few weeks ago. I've met some great people on my training rides and I can't wait to meet many more along the ride. Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Wednesday, April 16, 200810:54 AMI've raised my Fundraising goal...to $5000.00! Here are the details: 5K IncentiveAny Participant who raises $5,000 or more by May 31, 2008 will qualify for a special jersey. You will receive your jersey on Orientation Day.
Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Monday, April 14, 200810:53 AM102 degrees...yesterday! We started in Encino and rode about 46 miles to Calabasas and back. We cut the ride short because of the heat and my second time up Mureou (sp?) wasn't as hard as the first time!!! I'm getting better at going uphill... I'm excited about next weekend, April 19th is the, "Day On The Ride". I think its about 85 miles and its supposed to give us an idea of what a day on the actual ride in June will be like. Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Thursday, April 10, 200812:47 PMWho would of thought...that cats could get a form of AIDS.... I'm devasted. My ex and I took our cat Midnite to the vet on Tuesday because she was loosing a significant amount of weight, and we were worried about her. They gave her annual shots and they took some blood samples... Luana gets a call from the Vet today telling her that Midnite has FIV. "Feline immunodeficiency virus, its a widespread viral infection that attacks the immune system of cats. It is caused by the same family of viruses that triggers AIDS in humans and has much the same devastating impact on infected cats. It is often referred to as "feline AIDS." http://www.petplace.com/cats/what-you-should-know-about-feline-aids/page1.aspx We need to go see the Vet after work to go over our options.... Wow, I'm just in disbelief that this virus not only affects humans..
Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Tuesday, April 8, 20087:33 AMCalebI really don't know... where to begin. In the last week so much has happened, all good though. Not so much as in events, however more on an emotional level... Many of you probably won't "get me" nonetheless here goes... In my last blog, I wrote about Brian (one of the ride leaders) asking for someone to volunteer and escort Caleb and his parents to Disneyland and after doing the 53 mile ride that day we exchanged info and talked during the week about it. Turns out it was just going to be the Glover's and I hanging out at Disneyland. I was nervous and excited about meeting them... Talking and hearing about Caleb the week before I actually met him, we had no connection... he was someone I had only heard of. It took me months later to REALLY hear his story, because at the time it happened I was probably so caught up in trivial ish, to take the time to hear about what's going on around us... I read up on the story Brian forwarded to me and the story on GMA... It made me angry how ignorant people still are today... I mean its f*cking (sorry to those I don't usually cuss in front of) 2008 people! There should be no discrimination, or any racism.... there are a lot of things around the world that shouldn't be happening right now. I hadn't even met Caleb yet and already all these emotions were stirring up inside of me. I got to their hotel SUPER early... and someone had arranged to have us driven to Disney, so I sat in the lobby and then called Sylvia (Caleb's mom) down. When they finally came down and we started talking, it was as if we were old friends... Sylvia will do that to you. Made me feel like we went way back, very comfortable and great to talk to. She's a joker and had me cracking up the majority of the ride to Disney and Dick (Caleb's dad) is such a sweetheart, unbelievable man, such a warm spirit. And then there's Caleb, everyone's little man... We were both shy at first and within 15 minutes this little guy had me wrapped around his little finger... He's such a lil ham, just the sweetest boy ever. He wore his cowboy boots... (his California boots, is what Sylvia said, he wanted to bring them.) If I was angry before just reading the article, I became angrier once I met the Glover's... They are such AMAZING human beings... I mean they were trying to enjoy a family vacation, Dick had just gotten out of the hospital and all they wanted to do was what any "normal" family does and to be stigmatized because they have a child who is HIV + is so wrong.... Yeah yeah... I have A.D.D I tend to stray, let me get back to the story... Anyways, as we were walking towards the Disney entrance Sylvia and I were walking behind as we watched Dick and Caleb walk hand in hand in front of us, Sylvia told me how great it was that this was being done for them, this experience of being flown out to Los Angeles and being able to go to Disneyland... she said something that was very sad but true... that she was happier for Dick being here and experiencing this more than she was for Caleb because Dick, most likely wouldn't be able to take Caleb to Disney again. Caleb is a Daddy's boy... he is so attached to his daddy, it was great seeing them interact.
     We had a great day at Disney, although it didn't start off so well. Caleb got scared on the first ride and started crying so afterwards we had to coax him into getting on more rides. Sylvia and Dick allowed me to pretty much have Caleb to myself on the rides they couldn't get on because of the long lines, Dick was in a motorized car and couldn't be on his feet long and Sylvia would get tired of holding Caleb... and she wanted to stay with Dick. We were able to get on some rides together because we could use the handicapped access on the rides... so shorter lines. In the end, I was exhausted... I carried him around, sometimes he walked, I flew him 'round Disney like he was Superman, we played, we laughed, and we bonded. We both knocked out on the ride home... I mean meeting this lil' man was such an extraordinary, life changing experience for me... not only meeting him, however meeting his parents as well. There are far more things out in the world than some of the things we all complain about... I know I've complained about the stupidest ish, having to go to work, about a stupid customer getting on my damn nerves, about the person at the fast food joint not taking out my onions like I asked, the idiot in front of me going too slow.Things have to change people.There are to many wrongs and not enough rights in this world. Spending the day with him and his parents and seeing how they interact with one another and how they are "living" meaning really living their life to the fullest, just being happy to be together. Despite the cards they've been dealt, they truly are happy and not taking life for granted, they live every day like it's their last, because it may very well be, unfortunately it could be for either Dick who has cancer and given about 18 mos to live or even Caleb who could very easily get sick...
The following day I woke up early for an almost 30 mile ride in honor of Caleb... Caleb's ride. Given the fact that I hadn't been doing too many hills, it was tough on me and even tougher that I had some pedals where my shoes clipped into the pedal (can't remember the name) and I was locked in. It was my first day using them (only practiced once in my garage) and I thought I had the hang of clipping in and out of them... wrong! I wasn't even out of the driveway the first time I fell... afterwards I fell a total of at least 5 of times. I scraped and cut the back of my leg, my hand when I tried to break my fall and my ankle. at the top! 
I was a hot mess when we were done and headed back to the house where we started our ride. Chris Spencer, a cyclist who's participating in this year's ride opened up his home and allowed us in for a fundraiser/pool party for Caleb. It was a success and they raised $10,000 for Caleb. I had a great time at the party with my friends and new team mates, I joined Team UTAC (Until There's A Cure) formed by Brian. I had a great time with Caleb as well... flying him around the yard... jumping around, being silly together. In the end Brian presented the Glover's with a check, said an awesome heart felt speech, that had some of us in tears and it made me proud to be doing this ride. Jen, Erin, Brendan (friends and my teammates) and I jumped in the pool with Caleb and passed him around.. He was "swimming" in all of our arms, he was a shark trying to attack me, and he was a little boy having a great time in the pool, something he couldn't do on his vacation last year. Afterwards a friend and I went back to their hotel and hung out with them some more... Caleb sang to us, we flew some more and we all laughed and talked. I'm glad I experienced this... Thank you Brian for wanting to make a difference the day u saw the story on Caleb on Good Morning America and allowing me into Caleb's life the day u asked for a volunteer to escort him and his parents to Disneyland. It wouldn't have been the same for me if I had met him at the fundraiser and not spent the day with him prior to that. After that weekend, the work week flew by and I couldn't stop talking about Caleb... still can't! I'm definitely going to keep in touch with the Glover's. They'll be back in June for our closing ceremonies after we all ride in to L.A. on the 7th day. Sooo, this past weekend was tough, I went out Friday night, stayed out till almost 4am... not good because the next day I joined the guys at City of Bicycles for my usual Saturday ride. We rode from Inglewood to the Santa Anita Racetracks... total of 53 miles, it was relatively easy, only some tiny hills. It was my 2nd time with the new pedals, this time I fell twice, better than the last, however my cuts were a little deeper... The people at City of Bicycles have been great and they are awesome to ride with and definitely make me feel like a part of th group. I was exhausted afterwards when I finally got home and told myself I wouldn't go out the night before a ride... Didn't happen, went out Sat night too in San Diego. I did really well though for not getting a full nights rest. The following day Sunday 4/6/08 I signed up for an 80 mile ride in San Diego, keep in mind the most I've ridden prior to this was 53 miles! I drove down to Oceanside Sat. night after my ride and hung out with Lori, Luana, and Yolanda. I woke up super early again and headed to Caroline Long's house where we were going to be taking off from. This was an 80+ mile ride and I was scared... I mean it was going to be my 3rd time using the new pedals! Thankfully there were 2 familiar faces there, Mark and Brendan, from my team (Team UTAC). The ride to our destination was smooth sailing, on the way back after lunch, I struggled up 2 or 3 hills. Brendan and I (and a few others) missed the first rest stop on our way back, so we were cranky. It's not easy trying to ride up a hill, when you have to pee bad!!! We made our own rest stop until we made it to the next one. I still can't believe I rode that many miles in a day, so I guess I'm ready to ride on June 1st, some days will be shorter and the longest is like 105 miles on day 2. On the ride on Sunday, when Brendan and I took a break, when we missed the rest stop, we were talking about just life in general, and he asked me, "Why AIDS/LifeCycle?" I had to really think about it, and I told him that when I first signed up, to be honest, it was to keep myself occupied and keep my mind off a breakup... I heard about it from a friend and I always wanted to participate, however it took me getting heartbroken, and just too much time on my hands to sign up, I needed something to help me not dwell on the breakup, however over the course of it, things changed, I met many of the people benefiting from the money we're raising and as I've said before its an indescribable feeling that the money I'm raising is saving lives on a daily basis. I'm proud that I'm doing this ride and I'm happy that it means so much more to me now than it did when I first signed up.... Caleb singing in the hotel
Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Tuesday, March 25, 20089:27 AManyone who knows me...knows that I can never make a long story short...  I can't help if I like to talk so here goes:The last couple of weeks have been anything but amazing, there are so many individuals out there who have reached out, I'm thankful to have them in my life and thankful for the new people I've met. I've been riding on my HEAVY mountain bike the last few rides, and have done fairly well, however I needed a road bike. So my friend Tat let me use one of her road bikes, thank you Tat! I was clueless when it came to a road bike and when I saw the tiny seat on it, I thought, "oh hell no" that needs to be switched to a more comfortable gel cushion... I took it to City of Bicycles on La Brea in Inglewood and met Joe the sales manager and Mel the owner. They are the absolute best, Mel said I should leave the seat as is, it was meant for a road bike, he told me what I did need was bike shorts, jerseys, and bike shoes... I had none of that. He made a deal with me, that he would provide it all and I can pay him back in payments and that I should come riding with their bike group on Saturdays. The next day I showed up with my new gear and they placed me with the beginners... it was ok. I was doing laps back and forth, before I took off with my friends Kelly and Maureen and we went up Imperial to Manhattan Beach and then to West L.A College, to tackle the hills there. Afterwards I went back to the shop to get my car, Mel pulls me into his office and tells me instead of paying him for the cycling gear, to donate it to my page from him! I was like, "are you for real?" That made my week! This past Saturday I asked to be moved up from the beginners, since I didn’t feel I needed to be with the beginners… Mel moved me to touring and this past Saturday we rode up Mandeville Canyon… and that was awesome! I can’t believe I did it, I didn’t stop except drink water. I rode up the entire canyon!! It was an awesome feeling when I reached the top. One of the ride leaders Ron said I was a strong rider and I should be riding with group 3! On Sunday I signed up for one of the AIDS/LIFECYCLE training rides... my first Half Century and then some! It was in Calabasas and I rode a total of 53 miles! I really didn’t think I could do it, however there were some great riders out there with me, and stuck by me. I made some new friends and even found a tent buddy. One of the ride leaders, Brian Hodes, mentioned a story about a little boy named Caleb Glover, last year he was featured on Good Morning America regarding an incident at an RV park where he was vacationing with his family. Here are the links to the story: GMA Story and article in POZ http://www.poz.com/articles/HIV_discrimination_pool_2166_14222.shtml This weekend they’re flying Caleb and his family out to L.A. and on Sunday 3/30/2007 I’m participating in Caleb’s ride a 30 mile ride and afterwards going to a BBQ in his honor at the home of one of the cyclist. I personally am going to have the pleasure of volunteering and escorting Caleb and his foster parents to Disneyland on Saturday 3/29/08. It will just be the 4 of us and I look forward to meeting this little boy. A year ago, I never thought I’d be doing this ride, and this past weekend, I rode 93 miles combined, 40 on Saturday up Mandeville Canyon and 53 on Sunday in Calabasas. On both days, as I was going up the steep hills, I was frustrated, I was in pain, and questioned why the hell I was putting myself through this… I personally don’t know anyone affected by the virus… why would I do this? And the only thing I can come up with is it’s the right thing to do. I take so many things for granted and I could have it so much worse. It’s indescribable what I’m feeling when I think of why I’m doing this ride and it feels great that I’ll be helping someone live another day by raising the money that will provide their medications. Making it up a hill
fixing my first flat! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Thursday, March 13, 200810:45 AMRewindSo if you’ve been reading my blogs, it looks as if I’ve been doing fairly well with my riding… wrong! I wasn't prepared for the ride I went on last Saturday 3/8/08. Besides the last 2 rides I went on with Kelley and Maureen, which were my first on the road, I had previously ridden up to 40 miles on mostly flat ground at the beach, so when I signed up for a training ride with the Chain Gang I thought, “Hey I can do this” I was so wrong! We rode from Santa Monica/Highland all the way to Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks! It was a 41 mile ride and going uphill was excruciating!!! We started at 830am and finally got back around 2:15p. I had great ride leaders, Jim, Mel, and Jenifer who stuck by me and were very motivating! It felt good that I got through the entire ride, without collapsing, because it seriously felt as if my legs were going to give out and my lungs were going to collapse as I was riding up hill through the Sepulveda pass! I was so happy once we got through the tunnel, it was all downhill and easy riding from there. After last Saturday, I now know what to expect in June. LOTS OF HILLS! I signed up for spinning classes and every weekend from now until June I’m going to be spending riding my bike. With daylight savings I’ll also be going after work as much as I can, to get in as many miles as I can before dark. more to come.
Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Monday, February 25, 20088:37 AMRain, rain, go away...I love the rain, however its interfering with my training and I haven't gone on a ride in 2 weeks, I was in Chicago last weekend and I was not even thinking about working out while I was there. I was too busy trying to keep warm! Hitting the gym in the meantime and looking forward to a rain free weekend so I can continue training! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Wednesday, February 6, 20088:53 AMI went on my 2nd REAL ridewith Maureen and Kelley on Saturday 2/2/08. I've been training with them, and I'm loving it. They have been participating in AIDS LIFECYCLE for 14+ yrs and they've been awesome. The first time I met up with them, I was nervous, I had only been riding on a bike path, never on the road. It was intimidating at first, however the 2nd time around was less daunting. On my previous ride, I tackled my first big hill, at least to me it was big... I can honestly say it seemed as if I was going up the hill in slow motion. This time around, I tackled 3 hills and I can say I survived and went up the hill at 5-6mph instead of 1mph! I can't wait for this weekend to go again! Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Monday, January 28, 20089:56 AMIt never rains in southern California...well its been coming down pretty hard all week long. I'm going on a training ride this weekend, pretty much every weekend from now until June will be spent on my bike. I've raised $635 so far, that means I need $365 to reach the 1k incentive and $1865.00 to reach the required amount to participate. I'm going to have a fundraiser soon, I need to find a location and hopefully a few places will donate drinks.
Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Sunday, January 20, 20081:41 PMSoooo I finally went on a REAL bike ride!I met up with 3 new friends yesterday for a bike ride, and I wasn't ready for it! We did about 26 miles, I was playing it safe and riding back and forth on a bike path, so yesterday was my first ride on the streets, and let me tell you, it was tough! I went up some big hills, it felt as if my legs were going to fall off! WOW! The concentration was intense as I had to get out of my head and fight the negative thoughts that tried to bring me down. It was literally ONE PEDAL TURN AT A TIME! I think I was going 1 mph up the hill... I was exhilarated at the ride's finish, seeing my progress and getting a glimpse of some strength I didn't know I had! It was scary weaving in and out of traffic at times, so that's going to take a while to get used to. It was fun and I can't wait to ride with them again, now I know what I'm up against and I know I'll be ready in June!
Permalink | Share this posting : Care2 News | del.icio.us | digg | NewsVine | Reddit | YahooMyWeb Wednesday, January 16, 200812:50 PM1K Incentive |
