It's only "Junk Miles" if you ride it like junk.
I rode my bicycle from San Francisco to Los Angeles as part of AIDS Lifecycle (ALC) in 2007 and 2009. Each time I raised thousands of dollars for worthy charities, met cool people, and enjoyed a week of excellent riding. Racers and endurance cyclists I have spoken with whom have never ridden ALC, sometimes express the view that ALC is not a "serious" ride. It is true that each year, riders with a wide range of abilities and fitness complete the ALC. As a stronger rider though, you can still make the ride challenging and fun.
Why bother?- You probably train a lot already, so why not make it count for a good cause? This is the main fundraiser for the SFAF and LAGLC - both very efficient, and effective charities. The ride not only raises millions of dollars each year, but creates awareness with the television, radio and news coverage of the event.
- It is a solid week of riding, averaging over eighty miles each day through the beautiful California scenery. No work, no wifi - just ride, eat and hang out with other riders.
- While the elevation profiles may not impress Death Riders, or Kaiser Climbers the routes are generally very scenic. There are about three sustained climbs over a thousand feet, and a few sections of long gradual climbing. Each day there are lovely long stretches without stopping, perfect for time trialling.
What about all those "stupid" rules?The rules of ALC are designed to keep the riders safe - the vast majority of whom probably do not have the same bike handling experience you do. The rules are also designed to ensure ALC is able to acquire permits for three thousand riders to come through the following year.
Garmin Powertap Files ALC8- Enforcement: Specially marked ALC "Safety Enforcement" vehicles patrol
the course looking for "unsafe" riding. Sometimes you will know right
away, or you may find a "pull notice" where your bicycle should be in
the bike racks one morning. Thousands of cyclists get spread out
pretty far though, and at the front the group can be extremely sparse.
We barely saw the enforcement vehicles except at the start of each
morning's ride.
- Stop Signs: Treat stop signs with respect. Really, yes. Even if you never, ever do at home do it on the ALC. You know there is some cranky lady sitting, waiting for someone to "blow" a stopsign to report to CHP and endanger the entire fundraising event. ALC has lost permits in previous years for this. It is possible to unclip, make a big show of slowing and looking around without losing too much momentum. It is not as onerous as it sounds though. Remember you will have sections where you ride for hours and hours without a stop sign, or having to unclip.
- Passing: be super catious and curteous. Newer riders are not used to other cyclists being as close as you might expect. Call out "on your left" and a "good morning" and you will hear "thank you" in response. Be prepared to get stuck sometimes: e.g. steep climbs, bike paths bridges. Slow down, repeat your yoga mantra and deal with it until you can safely pass. If you get out early, ride hard and stay out front, you can ride the entire day without having to pass anyone!
- Drafting: is forbidden anywhere on the ALC. At the front of the group, you may find faster riders breaking this rule. I am not aware of any town "pass through" permits being revoked for drafting, unlike rolling through stop signs.
- Fund Raising: doesn't have to be as hard as it sounds. I ask for donations rather than birthday or holiday gifts, and have also found that many people are almost waiting for someone to ask for a donation. I put a short blurb in my email signature, and signs in my office and miraculously people step up. Learning to not be embarassed to ask is character building :) If you wish to cover your own "rider cost", the estimates vary from year to year but are typically in the eight hundred dollar range.
How can I make the most of it?- Riding with people your own speed is simply more fun. Passing slower riders sucks for them and for you. To avoid spending most of the morning calling out "on your left", be ready to roll at the start line as soon as the course opens, and stay out front. Day 2 which starts through Santa Cruz is especially congested. This is a good day to make an extra effort to get up early.
- Pack up as much as possible the night before. Have all your stuff ready for the next morning.
- Set your alarm for 4:45; get dressed in bike gear, pack up your bag and mattress and head to breakfast with your toiletries
- Eat, brush your teeth, put on sunscreen and chamois butter and then go back and pack up your toiletries and tent. If your tent mate is much slower than you, offer to set it up each day if they pack it up each morning.
- Skip the first rest stop if you can. Often the morning coffee makes this not an option for me :) Don't screw up the permits for next year's ALC and piss on the roadside. You can afford a quick pit stop.
- Of course, it's possible to skip all rest stops and lunch but you will probably end up at camp before it's setup - possibly hours before hand. I brought a few gus with me, and a recovery drink powder with me each day. These helped tide me over while luggage, food and showers to arrive.
- If you get into camp early, use that time to stretch, stretch, stretch! Riding an eighty mile ride may not be new to you, but doing it seven days in a row still takes a toll on your body. Be aware of you body, and keep an eye out of knee, ankle and groin problems.
- On Day 6, they will probably hold you at rest stop two until 9am to allow rush hour to die down before closing a lane on 101 over a narrow bridge. Take the chance to sleep in a bit, or be prepared to wait for a long time at that rest stop.
- Ride with a group, team, or some ride buddies at a similar pace if you can. Don't be afraid to sign up solo though - you will find people on the ride your pace. Also be prepared to do some solo riding. Despite generally being a "social rider", one of my favorite (and fastest) days on ALC was spent almost entirely alone. At one point I had not seen another cyclist, or ALC vehicle for close to two hours!
- If you comfortable and trained with a time trial bike, or use clip on aero-bars this course is perfect for that equipment. It's generally flat and there are no technical descents.
- Have fun! The community on the ride is very open, and friendly. It's probably sixty percent gay men, and lesbians and straight men and women make up the rest. The rest stops are themed with things like tranny shows, and dancing bears. It's all campy fun :) You can take the ride as serious as you want - go out there and push as fast and hard as you can - but don't forget to stop at some rest stop, put on something fun for red dress day, go to some of the evening sessions and check out the impressive candlelight vigil. Talk to people about why they ride. The slower, newer riders are almost always the ones with more interesting stories about why they are there.
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ALC8-Victory.jpg - on Jun 8, 2009 10:32 PM by Ryan Gibson (version 1)
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