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.