Aids LifeCycle

San Francisco to Los Angeles, a life saving ride

As the Aids LifeCycle ride nears for 2023, I have taken some time to reflect on my life changing experience last year and am sharing this post to encourage others to sign up in future years and share some of my experiences about the ride.

To begin, let me tell you about our wonderful silly team. I joined on a whim when a friend at a party said I should join his team, and I said I would. The following morning I kept true to my word and signed up for the team. This was spring of 2020, and nothing would get in the way of us doing this amazing ride. Well if you hadn’t heard yet, something did happen in the spring of 2020 that make the ride impossible.

Flash forward two years, and our team has reassembled, with two years of anticipation and excitement for this ride. Our team had also grown, and members had moved, but we assembled from across the country to ride together in June of 2022. Although our team was large and consisted of bikers of all experience levels, none of us had experience on this ride.

There are really only a few items I wish I knew or prepared for before the ride. ALC Organizers do an amazing job coordinating this crazy effort, and while there may be times where you have to wait in line, or follow what may seem to be silly safety rules, they are created to make this ride move along smoothly.

To prepare for the ride, beyond normal training I highly recommend doing one or two rides in a row and aiming for mileage similar to that you’ll experience on the race. This may be annoying, and most likely be difficult, but trust me it’s so necessary, and you’ll be glad you pushed through. And of course, make sure to pack items like spare tubes, tube repair kits, and push yourself to go on days that may feel too cold or hot.

Honestly the only other item I would say to prep for the ride is to gain support! Let everyone around you know that you are taking on this amazing challenge. Let them know why, ask for donations, and encourage them to follow you along (some used instagram, strava, or random text updates). The support you will receive (mostly on the course, but off as well) will be instrumental to your success this week.

I will focus most on what to expect on the ride, as I myself was so curious and had difficulty finding any information on this. Your typical day on a ride will be:

wakeup-eating-biking-snacking-biking-snacking-biking-eating-biking-snacking-biking-snacking-biking-eating-go to sleep.

No joke, that will be your day. Of course you will get bonuses of beautiful community moments, social time, and so much more along the way.

Each team, and each rider is different. But we usually woke up around five or six AM, took down camp and would head to a quick breakfast. We attempted to avoid the rush of everyone leaving camp at once, with the biggest traffic jam I had ever seen. But comically we were almost always stuck in it each morning. Riding during the day is surreal. It’s a magical experience to go from one city to another, through coastlines, mountains, fields, and beautiful towns. Savor every moment of riding. The snack breaks and restrooms are placed perfectly, where you can enjoy more than enough food and liquids, talking with fun roadies, having photoshoots, and enjoying the infamous rest stop four.

A few lessons learned on each day I would say include: eat whenever or ideally before you are hungry. Don’t wait till you are really starving, you are burning so many calories and you need the food, trust me. Same goes for hydrating, hydrate ALWAYS. You should be filling up at least one water bottle at EVERY rest stop. I honestly think 80% of day difficulties will go away if you take your time, go at your pace, eat and drink properly.

Camp time is funny. It is like a big bike (and gay) adult summer camp. But everyone is so tired, and hungry, or full, needing to shower, relaxed after showering, and always ready for sleep. There’s a general excitement and beauty of being all together in camp, but comically the focus will mostly be on food. The hot dinners and breakfasts will not be what I’m catering at my wedding, but honestly they always hit the spot, and I’m so thankful for the awesome group of roadies who always served me (and oftentimes twice) with a smile.

During riding days you should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Make sure you have a spare tube, dress warm enough in the morning, and be ready to strip and store layers for the hot afternoons. I failed at being warm on the first few mornings, and when I finally packed a jacket for the mornings my days became insanely better. I don’t need to mention much about safety, as ALC will cover this in great detail, but one item I did realize is that cars are NOT the same throughout the golden state. I am very spoiled with Bay Area drivers and how they treat cyclists. Be prepared to have interactions with annoying or aggressive drivers. I especially noticed this around LA.

The ride is also an amazing time to socialize. We were lucky to have a large team, but I also met so many amazing people along the way. Be sure to say hi to the cyclist you are sitting next to at lunch, or at dinner. Make friends with roadies who hand you morning snacks, and say hi each of the following days. Even if there are just quick hellos each day, these connections will be vital to becoming part of this amazing community.

Lastly I didn’t expect to walk away with the gravity and understanding of how important this ride is. Everyone says you will cry at one point during the week. I expected this to happen having a flat tire on the freeway or maybe a particular taxing day. But I ended up crying during the vigil on the last night of the ride on the beach in Ventura. I am privileged enough to be a gay man born after the AIDS epidemic. My friend group didn’t disappear one by one, while being ignored by society. There are riders on this ride who have lost so many around them. Also this is not just an issue of the past, many presently suffer from AIDS while being ignored and stigmatized. Pride month will from now on take a new meaning of importance to me as I have now seen into and become part of something more than just myself.

If you made it this far, I can only assume you are doing the ride this year. So ride safe, thank you so much for your fundraising efforts, and I look forward to cheering you on or cycling with you! Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about the ride!