kevinsac

Thank you very much: 2 donations today!

kevinsac

Another donation during the night--thanks! A card will go in the mail today.

rwoman

Kevin,

We continue to compete in our craziness.



Happy to support your cause!

kevinsac

I've said it before. I'll say it again.

I'd rather ride a bike 50 miles than try to run 1 mile. You amaze me! ^

Comicwoman

I couldn't resist the Starwood miles either.

I just made a donation to support you, your ride, and the cause.

kevinsac

Oh, my golly. Yes, you did just made a donation. Thank you very much for your generosity!!!

(I'm out of town dealing with some family issues, but I promise a more-appropriate acknowledgement ASAP)

kevinsac

OK! Lesson learned -- I should not leave a garage door open, just to bring in the mail and take a quick pee, because in less than 5 minutes, I will walk back out into the garage to find that my bike has been stolen. Yes, just 3 weeks before our ride, my trusty steed was taken, probably never to be seen again.

I did my due diligence. The first 24 hours were spent feverishly hunting on Craigslist and eBay, calling about 150 bike stores and pawn shops, making and emailing flyers. But I could not get hung up on the loss any further; I had to pass the grief stage. The anger is gone--mostly. But I still miss the bike on which I have ridden about 4,000 miles in 2.5 years!

Then came the next stage. Determination: I will ride NCAC2015, even if on a new bike. During that weekend, with the help of my team from Performance Bikes, I spent time focused on getting a new bike. I cannot adjust to a totally-new bike in 2 weeks and then ride 330-miles�it�s like giving a marathon runner a new pair of shoes the week before the event. But we built a new bike close to what I had -- a newer model of the same frame with very similar components. It won't be perfect, but that's the only way I am going to be comfortable enough on a new bike.

Several of you still are sending PMs ... "Are you serious? 330 miles? Where does that take you?" The first day of the ride, Thursday May 14, kicks off from Beal's Point at Folsom Lake. We show up at 5:30 in the morning (YAWN), make final adjustments to our bikes, get everything ready, take "Team" pictures and pictures of all the 200 riders/crew, and at 6:30 we are ready to hit the road.

The first day is planned at 101 miles. Ironically, last year the temperatures on Day 1 reached 101 degrees. This year the forecast is a bit cooler � and even with some showers! Day 2 will see us pedaling over 100 miles again. Then Day 3 and Day 4 are somewhat shorter: "only" 80 miles and 50 miles. We make a big loop around Northern California. Sacramento to Gridley to Chico, over to Williams and Woodland, then back to Sacramento.

At the end of 330 miles on dry and dusty and windy roads through the backcountry of Northern California, we return to Sacramento on Sunday morning, May 17th. This year, we will be celebrating our arrival on the West Steps of the California State Capitol. It's one big event -- the participants and the sponsors, our family and friends -- to bring all of us together.

All kidding aside, this is my final update before the ride. I need to, once again, give a shout-out to all of you who kicked in to help. Some of you have been with me from the beginning of the 2013 ride -- my first but failed attempt. Without your emotional encouragement and financial support, I would not be planning to participate in this monumental event -- it still blows my mind what I am trying to do.

With your help, I now have raised just over $10,000. :-: :-: :-: Thanks -- from the bottom of my heart!

rwoman

Have a great ride this weekend!

kevinsac

I wanted to thank the FT members for their donations. I believe I raised almost $1,000 from this community.

This year was so much better than my first two rides. My ride in 2013 was “interrupted” by an ill-placed piece of gravel that sent me tumbling…and into the hospital. The 2014 ride was … well, let’s just say that riding 100+ miles in 100+ degree temps is not a lot of fun. But this year was a success--for me and the other riders. For the first time in 11 years, no ambulance was summoned!

The first day we skirted a thunderstorm that headed into Northern California from the Pacific. Although it brought much-needed rain to our drought-stricken area, the riders were lucky not to be “baptized.” And the temps were cool—perfect riding weather. And so the ride continued, until we rolled in to the steps of the Capitol, with police escort, on Sunday morning.

There were a couple of highlights for me.

• In a previous post, I wrote about a new rider who joined our group. She publically has stated in many posts on social media, so I am not telling secrets about her: she is 280 pounds of fun! On her first training ride with us, she struggled. And while the rest of our group went for about 50++ miles, I stayed behind and rode with her. We call that “pulling someone in.” She and I only made about 30 miles that day … which was the furthest she ever had ridden a bike. We rode, we chatted, we laughed, and it took her mind off the physical challenge. So, from her first ride with NCAC to the last, we became buddies: she and I rode down Capitol Mall, holding hands held high and proud, as she completed her first 4-day ride. :-:
  
• This year, we had a team of youth riders. One of our city council members (who has ridden with us for years) was able to find bikes for these 10 “kids,” none older than 18; his wife became their “bike mom.” These kids come from an inner-city school, many with a history of dysfunctional/broken families. Well, our group is tremendously supportive of each other. We dress in funny kits – and laugh at ourselves as we ride 100 miles a day. We yell and scream and cuss as we ourselves are struggling--and we offer support and encouragement to those who need it. Hugs abound from morning to night. While we may ride to support HIV/AIDS, we are not a gay group; it’s about a 50/50 split. Many of the kids were taken aback with the emotional and physical support we offer one another. On the third night, as the group broke from dinner, I walked out of the hall with one of the 17 year olds. I reached over to give him a bear hug, as I often do to many of our riders and roadies. And in my arms, I felt his body go limp and he started sobbing. The ride itself is overwhelming for many of us, but for him, it went even further: he told me that it had been about 10 years since a man had given him a hug; he said he never remembers being enveloped with so much love and support. I’ll never admit it in public , but I still get tears in my eyes thinking about that moment.
  

Many people have heard about another AIDS ride in California. It’s the AIDS Life Cycle, going on this week. They have about 3,000 riders, and they raise over $16 million, which unfortunately, is kept only in SF and LA, even though the riders come from all across California and the nation.

Our group, NCAC, is small. But we are mighty. The route we ride brings us through the counties in which our beneficiary organizations are located. We had a contingency of only 125 riders and crew but we raised just over $300,000. We are the last remaining AIDS fundraiser in all of Northern California outside SF. HIV/AIDS just is not the “in” cause anymore, even though it certainly is not gone. The vast majority of new infections are amongst those 13 to 24, which is why our youth riders are important to us; we will need them to help get out the word.

So, while the ride is over, our books still are open until the end of the month. I still have limited-edition thank you cards with a silly picture of me. I even autograph them for my donors. I’m grateful and appreciative of any more donations I can finagle … and then you can have one of these special cards! I promise: it is a keepsake. (Well, almost a keepsake!) Just click HERE.

Thanks to all of you!

rwoman

Well done!!