Mission accomplished!

At about 11:30 Saturday morning my phone buzzed with a text.

"17 miles from the finish. Having lunch." The excitement and exhaustion must have been an interesting combination of emotions.

After that relatively short distance there were closing ceremonies, parties and after-parties. But a funny thing happened. Suddenly there was no word from anyone :-)

Neither did Kristy ring in nor did the ALC websites post any updates. One can only imagine that the rewards of soft beds, plumbed and unlimited showers, restaurant meals and parties without curfews were too tempting and that media chores were set aside for a day.

Kristy - here's hoping you had the experience of a lifetime! It's been great to follow you and share little bits and pieces. Looking forward to welcoming you home, seeing your photos and hearing some of the many stories I'm sure have of fun, friendships and accomplishment.

Cheers girl - you have made many proud...hopefully most of all, yourself!

This is IT!

Unbelievable! The week is over and today Kristy will pedal the final miles and roll into LA. You rode half the length of California girl! So much dedication and passion for a single cause.

It's hard to imagine all the emotions that you will feel today. Maybe fatigue. Excitement. Elation. Accomplishment. Soreness. Sadness. Withdrawal. Peace.

Hours from now you will have completed one of the most amazing feats of your life. I'm sure I can say, for all of us supporting you - you are a hero and we couldn't be more proud.

Big love from the North, Kristy, to push you those last miles. I hope, even if there are also tears, that today comes with many smiles!

Day 6 - cancelled!

After flooded tents and riders turned back, organizers of ALC 8 and the California Highway Patrol had to cancel day 6 of the event for unsafe and inclement weather conditions.

Some blogs and tweets expressed riders' disappointment but there also seemed to be high spirits and fun as participants made the best of it. What else can you do when you have to wait in line most of the day to ride a bus 85 miles with your bicycle? Kudos to organizers for figuring out how to salvage the day, and to the roadies who had to pull up soggy stakes and put them back down again immediately for likely restless riders.

Kristy checked in last night at the end of the 'crazy day.' There was a candlelight vigil in camp on the last night. "WOW - powerful" was what she had to say about that. We can only imagine with the combined passion of those thousands of riders. "Amazing experience" she closed.

So, in a couple of hours the last night of camping will be over and bags will be packed one last time. One more day in the saddle, Kristy! Enjoy every stroke.

Mother Nature is cranky!

While Portland was weathering crazy thunderstorms and lightning, I could only hope the storm band did not reach far south.
At 6:08 am I had my answer - Kristy texted "woke up to a flooded tent." That hardly seems fair, does it? No word of the state of her gear, but let's hope ALC 8 organizers will find a way to dry them all out quickly and thoroughly.
3 hours later came the reality check. "Raining so hard on the mountain pass they are not letting us leave camp." No word yet how they will remedy that, but probably not what organizers were bargaining for.
Hang in there, K. Be safe!

NOW IS THE TIME!!!

Hey friends - Now is the time! Kristy has pedaled nearly 400 miles already. She has 2 days left. 147+ more miles. 48+ hours away from all the creature comforts we've enjoyed all week. Now is when she needs us!

Post comments. Sent texts. Beam your strongest, most positive juju!

Kristy - you are courageous! An inspiration! A hero!

Keep it up girl. Be proud - we all sure are proud of you!

Home stretch. Much love!

Lions and Tigers and ... Bees - OUCH!

Today was the 'short' day - 65 miles! When was the last time you rode your bike 65 miles? Whew!

It was red dress day - quite apparent in the photos. It also looks like they made it to Solvang, a renowned Scandinavian town along the SoCal coast. Most importantly, there are only 2 days and 147.2 miles left. Piece of cake I tell you!

Our beloved Kristy, on the other hand, has had an intense couple days. At 4:51 pm today she reported in with this:

"Hotter than Hell right now. Got heat rash today and stung by a bee yesterday...along with a flat." To boot, word has it the bee found some sensitive tissue for that stinger. Sorry Kristy!

"Today's wine country had some killer hills. Nice ride overall other than too much sun. Still feeling pretty good."

Evening entertainment was slated to be the comedian ANT - in Lompoc, no less. Last time I was there the woman I was marking on the soccer field was yaking tequila left overs on my boots. Oy!

Tomorrow our stung, rashy girl faces another 85 miles with some crazy downhill, apparently. Makes me wonder - what goes down, must have gone up, right? Hey Kristy - have you done that much more up than down? You must be tired!

Home stretch, Babe! Keep the faith. Maintain the spirit. We know you will do it and do it with grace.

Comments

Don't forget - you can click on the 'comments' link at the end of any of the posts and leave your comments behind. Write a thought or two. I'm sure Kristy will love to see them when she gets back!

All downhill now!

Well - I bet Kristy doesn't feel like it's all down hill! Best I can tell it's hill after hill, but never-the-less they are more than half way.

Day 4 included a pair of hills deceivingly known as 'the twins' - sounds benign huh? From the photos, there's nothing benign-looking about them. Somewhere in the midst of that riders passed the joy-inspiring beacon that said "half the way to LA!"

Not sure if Kristy checked in from the line for photos with that sign or from camp, but in her words (at 11:45 am) "Over half way to LA! Doing great. Having a painful blast!"

Photos from the day show the hills, the volunteers available for a push up the hills, exultant riders at the half-way sign and some shots of camp. Looks like pretty nice digs for a tent village!

If I'm not mistaken, today is Red Dress Day. Alice - did you remind Kristy to pack hers? :-)

Day 3 - 2 guys doing it

Ha - one of the tweets posted from NIGHT 2 says - "I can totally hear 2 guys doing it a couple of tents away - welcome to ALC 8" OK then! :-)

Our mighty cyclist and her 2149 compatriots pedaled 99 miles today to Paso Robles. Apparently there was a friendly little hill known as Quadbuster along the way. Kristy's comment - "kicked Quadbuster's ass!" That's our girl, huh?

From the Daily Spin (the ride newsletter released daily, duh) it looks like there is some entertainment each night at camp. I'm sure Kristy will bring us some great stories from those experiences. The Spin also lists the menu for each day - hopelessly devoid of whipped cream!

The messages from Kristy just keep getting more animated and joyful. Apparently 280 miles of cycling is not tiring her out with everything else she's taking in. Today's message, straight from her:

"Just finished Day 3 (about 3 pm). Kicked Quadbuster's ass but was a tough hill. Had some sprinkles (from the sky, I assume). Watched a drag show at rest stop 4. Doing great. Having a blast. This is such an amazing event. A lady that yelled from her car, thanks for riding, my Mom died from AIDS. I guess I am making a difference. XO - Kristy"

'Nough said, eh?

Good for a smile and a tear

The photos from day 2 are up. There's a link on this page (look to the right). Also a link to the video from day 1. The images are powerful. Be ready when you start the video. Kristy and Kelly's good-bye hug is front and center!

Technical difficulties

Apparently the internet booth at camp after Day 2 was experiencing some difficulties. The ALC blog is not updated yet but blogs and photos should be up sometime today (Day 3). I added the link to the Twitter page if you want to see some tweets that were sent throughout Day 2. Lucky for us, we can follow Fleming on our own :-)

Day 2

King City, CA. Ever heard of it? It's on my radar because there is an In-n-Out there where I used to drive through when driving between LA and SF. I'm betting ALC camp is not near the In-n-Out!

ALC 8 pulled up stakes in Santa Cruz and landed another 107 miles down the road in King City on Day 2. The weather forecast called for clear and temperate (mid 70's) conditions. I hope that was true. The route paralleled the California coast for a ways and then bent in through the Salinas valley, the lettuce capital of the world.

Sounds quaint, huh? Ever been to the lettuce capital of the world? It always smells like rotten lettuce. So much so that I've wondered if any fresh lettuce actually gets shipped out of there. Goodness, imagine the smell if it was any warmer than 75 degrees! Hopefully Kristy wasn't breathing hard when she rolled through.

The update came at 9:21 pm.

"A great 107 miles today. Blew a tire out 1.5 miles into the ride (let's hope the roadies were still near by and not already down the road). Had a terrible side wind that blew a few folks over (thank goodness for Underdog! I bet he helped keep her upright). Had BBQ for dinner. Feeling pretty good."

206 miles already and "feeling pretty good"! You bet, Fleming - you are good! Hopefully you feel all of your peeps up here in the Northwest helping you push those pedals tomorrow. A mere 75 more miles into Paso Robles.

Day 1

After the ceremony of the send off, I can only imagine what it felt like to start day one's 79 mile ride through the fog of San Francisco. Emotions and anticipation were high with so much unknown still ahead.

Last we saw Kristy she was smiling and strong. Hopefully she would feel the same after crossing the summit of the Santa Cruz mountains and rolling into camp.

A text beeped through just after 11:30 am that she was off her bike having lunch. The fact sheet for day one announced that lunch would be turkey and avocado sandwiches. Can you imagine making 2150 turkey and avocado sandwiches? :-) I think I remember Kristy saying that's what she had every day for lunch one week, so hopefully it was a good, familiar boost before the ascent ahead.

She also had expressed her nervousness about the tent mate she would not meet until getting to camp. Hard to imagine every ALC rider is not pretty cool, but understandable that one might feel a little shifty about such close quarters with a stranger.

Final camp of day one was near Santa Cruz. Kristy pinged in at 4:30 pm - 'just out of the showers and headed for dinner. It was a good day." Alice later relayed even better news after a call from Kristy. Kelly, the tent mate, registered "way cool" on the stranger-meter and Kristy's voice sounded elated!

Kristy's final words on the day - the day "was great. Beautiful scenery and a few killer hills!" I bet that all added up to one big grin and a sound night's sleep heading into day 2.

5 am. 2150 riders arrived at the Cow Palace in Daly City at 5 am, greeted by the "comfort in a tube" banner, to load up their gear, participate in opening ceremonies and ride off on their 545 mi journey to LA.Kristy actually looked excited to see the banana she was offered for breakfast. We'll see if that holds true in a week! The arena was a see of spandex, good vibes and high emotions. The aerobicise warm up was good for a giggle and to shake off the stiffness of car seats and strange beds. After a quick speech or two the Positive Pedalers walked in a set of memorial banners that preceded the entrance of the ghost rider. 2100+ strong and not a dry eye in the house. A stark reminder of the foe HIV is to millions around the world and the enormity of the task to find treatments and a cure. Maybe a moment of sadness but also a moment of hope, founded in the efforts of everyone there, and pride in each of those riders and roadies for what they were about to undertake.I'm sure Good Morning was whooped at least a dozen times, so surely they were all ready. Men in tutus, riders in cow jerseys, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and so many other courageous men and women. They each rode out of the Cow Palace through a gauntlet of support, cheering, clapping, whistling and marriage proposals (really!). It may have been grey and cold, but there was nothing but warmth in that crowd. Kristy finally rolled by, hand in the air and smile on her face. 7 am on Sunday, May 31, 2009. You go girl!

the road trip and preamble

Can you imagine taking your bike apart, putting it in a box, handing it to some baggage handlers and then needing to put it back together and ride it 500+ miles? NO! Are you crazy! Who knows what could happen. Put it on the roof of the car and drive. That's a much better idea! Right?

Better or not, so it was. Kristy, Alice and sister Kelly loaded up and pointed south on Friday afternoon (May 29th). Hey - it's only 10 hours. Or 12. Or 14...

Well they may have avoided traffic by arriving late, but a 2 am landing in San Francisco was pretty rugged. Not to mention the Mission Inn and the cranky innkeeper. Worse yet, the sleepless night was followed by coffee from McDonald's. Don't ask how that happened. Fortunately, things looked up from there.

Saturday was a day in the City. Fog. Wind. Pretty cold, actually. But a day in the City, none-the-less. Tiger's for breakfast in Glen Park got the ball rolling in the right direction. Apparently the pancakes met Kristy's approval and magically arrived without whipped cream. SFO delivered the Hampton Inn and an available room. Some hope for sleep the night before the event. And the event registration and microchipping went pretty smoothly, leaving the afternoon for some sightseeing.

Friend Angela rolled down Potrero Hill to join for the evening - dinner at Delfina. About Delfina, let's just say what starts with great bread and wine and can't be bad! The evening was a nice chance to relax, toast our amazing rider, share stories about each other and have an excuse to eat wonderfully and still order 4 desserts. At least Kristy needed the calories!

Background

What on earth would inspire me to write a blog? It's hard to imagine spending more time on the computer or thinking that others should either. BUT - when amazing things happen, amazing things happen.

This particular amazing thing came to my attention in Las Vegas late in 2008. Amidst the glitter and debauchery, Kristy told me of her inspiration to do the AIDS Life Cycle. Really? I asked her. A 7-day ride from San Francisco to LA? Why?

Well, for all of you who know Kristy, that's really a silly question. Compassionate. Driven. Selfless. Dedicated. All adjectives that come to mind about Miss Fleming, especially where people living with HIV and AIDS are concerned. This was just another chance to express her dedication to the cause and remind all of us what a strong spirit can accomplish.

Surely all of you reading this know the rest. She signed up. She solicited support. She trained her butt off (literally, I think). All that was left was the doing. And this is her journey...

Please come back daily to follow along, leave your comments, thoughts and wishes for Kristy. This will be fun for us while she's riding but will be her archive from us when she gets home!