ALC....DAY SIX 6/10/11

Day Six was an 86 mile ride from Lompoc along the coast to Ventura.  Again it was a foggy and cool day temperature wise.  There were some challenging hills early on in the ride but riding along with my "camp buddy" Judy, we kept up a fairly aggressive pace.    At mile 18 we entered onto Highway 101 and rode through the narrow and beautiful canyon near Gaviota and then more or less road along the Pacific Coast Highway all the way to Ventura.

One of the annual events on an ALC ride is the wonderful ice cream and cookie fest that is offered by people from Santa Barbara as a way of honoring those in their community who have died from AIDS.  Returning riders look forward to this little stop with just as much as any 6 year old anticipates a trip to Baskin and Robbins.

To the right is the Chief Executive of the SF AIDS Foundation, Neil Giuliano. Niel just began work this spring and was on a few of the training rides that I participated in earlier this spring.  He is a great guy and I'm sure will help the Foundation continue to expand its services.  His largest single donation came from Bishop Gene Robinson and Gene's partner, Mark.

Further down the road at one of the rest stops, Judy and I were reminded how important it is for vehicles and riders to "Cher" the road.

At rest stop 4, eight miles north of Ventura, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of this annual ride...my 2nd and Judy's 7th.

We were less than three miles from Ventura when Judy's back tire met a sharp object of some kind and she encountered a flat.  Because of the arthritis in my hands, I really don't have the strength to change a tire but fortuately, as happens often in the ALC ride, a cyclist stopped and fixed the flat.   We then peddled on into camp in Ventura.  That evening while out to dinner with my two friends, Jim and David, I was able to briefly visit my Aunt Edna and Uncle Chuck who were celebrating the high school graduation of my cousin Sheri's son Wesley.  As fate would have it, we were all at the same restaurant and Carol Anne found out on Facebook that they were in a private room in the restaurant so she sent me a text message on my iPhone.  It was great fun to surprise them and the other family members present to celebrate Wesley's accomplishment.  Thus, Day Six, ended happily and it was off to bed.