AIDS/LifeCycle 2019: Day on the ride

Day on the ride route

Day on the Ride is a practice run for AIDS/LifeCycle (ALC). This is my first year riding ALC, so I figure I should participate to see what I got myself into.

Day on the ride pre-ride photo — *A photo before roll out.*

Daly City fog — *The ride started in Daly City, so of course, there was fog. The first part of the ride was enjoyable, with a little bit of a climb on Skyline, not very steep or difficult at all.*

First rest stop — *The first rest stop was in Hillsborough. Since this was only about 16 miles into the ride, the group hasn't spread out yet. There were a lot of people and a really long line for the porta potties.*

Bikes at lunch stop

The ride started at Lake Merced. We spent the first half of the ride on Skyline Blvd and good old Cañada Road, which I rode many times before. The return trip of the ride wasn’t as scenic as the first part, it was through residential streets, and that means stop signs and stop signs after cries more stop signs. Oh, and one traffic light that took a really long time to turn green.

*Another rest stop. I snacked, hydrated, and got a quick brake cable adjustment for the bike.*

Peninsula sun — *Oh yeah, the fog cleared up, because we escaped Daly City a while back.*

The hills in Belmont was the toughest part of the ride since it was through steep residential streets. We hit a strong headwind near the end of the ride back to Lake Merced through San Bruno, South SF, and Colma. Everyone was so spread out at this point of the ride I was riding alone most of the time.

Food truck

Me eating sandwich — *70 miles later and back at Lake Merced. I got a chicken banh mi, and chatted with other rides who gave me some advice on riding ALC and waited for the rest of my team to finish.*

Group photo