Education
Cal road warriors: AIDS LifeCycle 2012
A campus bicycling team, 22 strong, is on the way south from San Francisco with AIDS LifeCycle. Students, staff and alums on the Cal Team offer daily updates on the 545-mile ride, which ends in Los Angeles, June 9. Follow their progress down the coast.
Day Seven: Ventura to Los Angeles, 60 Miles
Saturday, June 9th- Day 7 Blog by Cal Team 2012
The final day was very emotional. It was so sad to finish such a life changing journey. What an amazing community of people to be a part of for seven days. Can't wait for next year!
— Tiffany Ann Fields 
#teamcal2012 #ALC 11 My Bike Parking team has packed up, cleaned up and we're on the road to LA!Rain and shine, laughter and tears; riding alongside 2200 riders, supported by 500 roadies, it's an amazing, life-changing experience. On top of all that, the members of the CAL team were the best people to be with this week. A diverse group of people from different departments on campus who came together for one reason: to help others and, ultimately, each other.
— Jonathan GoodrichA week ago today I had my Garden State moment, drenched to the core in the middle of Steinbeck Country wearing a durable force-flex trash bag as a dress. We were halfway through our first century when rain began to pour over acres of artichokes and cilantro, and the farm workers remained hunched over in their wide-brimmed hats, gloved hands abiding to the climate change, graceful reminders that there are things our hands have yet to learn. I imagine adjusting to life with HIV/AIDS is something like shifting gears on a bike smack dab in the middle of a storm.
— Kate Scarlett Mitchell- Photo taken by Timothy Ames, Nicholas Ames' father, as the ALC Cal Team rode into the LA finish on Day 7.
- It was the best week of my life. The ride was fantastic, but the people on the ride gave it the character and are the reason I have already signed up for next year. In one week, I feel closer to people that I have been around for years. I am already looking forward to ALC 12 in 51 weeks!!
Thank you Cal for your support—and thank you Christine for being the best team captain a biker could ask for.
— Cailyn Katsev 
#teamcal2012 #ALC 11 Three of the Cal team's first-time riders, now veterans in LA: Nick, Andrew and Cailyn. Congrats!! http://pic.twitter.com/j1vyQWzmThis was my third ride, and it just keeps getting better each year. The last day, when we ride into LA is just as amazing each year.
— Josh SchoenfeldWhat a wonderful journey! My first ALC ride was one I'll never forget. One personal reason, among others, that I went on the ride was to mark the end of my career as a graduate student, and I couldn't have asked for a better way to mark the transition in my life than spending it in the company of so many other dedicated and inspiring people. By Day 5 I had already signed up for next years ride! I can't wait to be back...
— Colin Dingler
I guess one thing I came away with from the week was a feeling of empowerment. AIDS and HIV present huge medical and scientific challenges. Unfortunately, my education and career aren't suited to tackling these head on.
However, in the supportive environment of AIDS LifeCycle, I am reminded that there are important social issues surrounding treatment and prevention, such as stigma and access to care. These are areas where folks like me can contribute. As part of a group of well-meaning, like-minded people, my contribution can be significant.
On a lighter note: I also learned that there is some chafing even butt butter can't prevent.
— Hari Phatak- Congratulations Cal Team 2012! Thanks for taking us along for the ride...
Day Six: Lompoc to Ventura, 83.3 Miles
Friday, June 8th- Day 6 Blog by Celeste Roschuni
It's Day 6 of the ALC, and I'm sitting in Bike Parking at the Ventura Campground. It's amazing that the week is almost over! This is my fourth year riding in the ALC, and every year I get to know more awesome people on the ride—I wish I remembered them all when they say hi to me the next year, though!
Today's ride started out with a "gentle" 15-mile climb to Rest Stop 1, followed by another couple miles of steeper climbing before a fast 5-mile decent through the gorgeous Gaviota Pass on 101 (my speedometer claims I hit 50 mph, but I don't believe it, since it sometimes registers up to 65 mph when I'm stopped near drive-thru restaurants!). Lunch was in a new, nicer location this year (with grass and picnic tables instead of sand and pine needles!), and then it was a pleasant ride through Santa Barbara to Paradise Pit! Paradise Pit is an unofficial rest stop a couple miles past Rest Stop 3 hosted by the city of Santa Barbara, which treats the riders to cookies, pastries, and all the ice cream they can eat (with plenty of candy and fruit to top it off!). It's fantastic, and delicious, and totally worth getting seconds. I was lucky enough to get there early enough for the scoop of my favorite ice cream—mint chocolate chip—before they ran out. 
#teamcal2012 Part of the Cal teaoften morning of Day 6. Go Bears! #ALC 11 http://pic.twitter.com/7juK88Kb- A part of the Cal team leaving Lompoc on Friday: (l-r) Evan, Jonathan, Kirstie, Andrew, and Jesse. (Note how empty the racks around them are—they were not the first ones out.)
- The parking lot mid-afternoon, slowly filling up!
- Day 6 Blog by Christine Shaff
My alarm clock has had two settings this week: 4 am and 4:30 am. Tomorrow is a 4 am day. I'm dreading it a bit, not because it's SO early but because it's the last day of the Ride. I've had a great week. My Roadie team of 21 has worked their butts off. They've done it with smiles and made the long days fun. So much happened in a week! We set up and took down 230 10-foot steel poles each day, building a bike parking lot for our cyclist friends. One of my Roadies learned that he lost his job. Another's mother, a cyclist on the ride, ended up in the hospital with chest pains. Yet another learned that he got As in the classes he's taking toward a Masters of Theology. I wish I had more time to talk to them about what they do the other 358 days of the year, and what inspired them to join the ride and give so much of themselves for a week. I'm really honored to have had the chance to work with them.
My own ride has been full of hugs from old friends and meeting new ones. The Cal team has been great! It's been fun shooing them out of camp each morning and celebrating their return each afternoon. The icing on my ride has been the fact that my Mom is riding! She's pedaled every mile so far, and I was happily in the right place today to see her ride in after finishing 84+ miles.
Ending the week is hard! - Mom did it! This is my mom Kay Sweeney with me after she finished Day 6. She's ridden every mile so far.
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tony easonAIDSlifecycle is 'An Experience of a Lifetime". And with each 545 mile, 7 day bike trek from San Francisco to Los Angeles, I have learn something new about...more2012-06-16T00:17:31.865Z
- tony easonAIDSlifecycle is 'An Experience of a Lifetime". And with each 545 mile, 7 day bike trek from San Francisco to Los Angeles, I have learn something new about...AIDSlifecycle is 'An Experience of a Lifetime". And with each 545 mile, 7 day bike trek from San Francisco to Los Angeles, I have learn something new about myself. AIDSLifecycle 2012 - Day #6 - Lompoc to Ventura - It was a very challenging & rewarding day. My bike wheel became united with another cyclist's wheel. And then, I fell into the freeway pavement. And as I assessed my bodily damage, I realized no bones were broken yet I had road rash on my right extremities. And then, I invisioned my good friend of Bella Luxe, Lisa Hines saying, "if nothing is broken, then get your butt back on that bike"..... And then I heard the words of Oprah Winfrey, "Vision, Focus, OWN It!" And then I heard my mother saying "no one said it would be easy". Well, although it was mentally challenging, I continued with the journey. 85 miles later - Mission Complete! Thank you to all of the riders, roadies, and cheerleaders who support the 2,200 cyclist. 15th California AIDS Ride / AIDSLifecycle Cyclist, Tony Eason - http://ynottony.com/ynot/aidslifecycle/ #alc11 #aidslifecycle #aids #hivmore2012-06-16T00:17:31.865Z
