Day Two was a BIG one... 105 miles, which, if completed, would be my very first century. I was overwhelmed by the thought of riding so far only a day after having done about 80 miles, but was optimistic I would finish.
We set out after breakfast, riding through downtown Santa Cruz on the way out. There were quite a few people out and about in town to wish us well as we departed. At one stop light, we spoke briefly to Joe Solmonese - head of the Human Rights Campaign - who was riding with some other folks from DC and New York behind us.
Day Two was to take us inland a bit, but we had an early glimpse of the Pacific Ocean at Rest Stop 1. The day started with heavy cloud cover, giving us all a little anxiety that we might get some rain despite the weather forecast given the night before.
As we crossed inland, we came upon miles and miles of agricultural fields - artichoke, strawberries (someone commented that The Beatles just must have had this in mind when they wrote Strawberry Fields Forever), herbs, brocolli, leeks. It was quite a sight. And much to my surprise, even the farm workers, hard at work tending to and picking crops, stopped to wave and say hello as we passed. The roads were pretty beat up around the fields from the constant flow of farm machinery and trucks in and out.
As we turned back toward the coast, Scott pointed out seal lions on the rocks in the bay... I had wondered what the stench and horrible sounds were all about. His observation answered my question.
A lot of people had stopped at an artichoke stand, but not wanting to waste any time and not being much a fan of artichokes, I continued - stopping only momentarily to take a photo with Ginger Brewlay in an outfit that appears to have been inspired by the foil-wrapped artichokes...
We continued on - had lunch in Salinas and took a moment to rest and kept going. Sometime between lunch and Rest Stop 3 - around Mile 61, things took a turn for the worse for Scott. Scott had moved a short distance ahead of me and I stopped to take some photos (see below) of the countryside, hills, and tilled fields. I clipped back in and went no more than a mile or so down the road when I noticed someone had crashed and was now lying in the ditch surrounded by people. I slowed a bit, not intending to become the next casualty, and as I passed looked down into the ditch. I was shocked to see Scott face up and filthy - in the ditch. I put on the brakes and pulled over to rush to see what had happened. Thankfully, Scott was mostly coherent, talking to a driver who had stopped while several people who had called 911 tried to explain to dispatchers where we were located. After awhile, Scott noticed I was there, the ambulance came and checked him out - all fine except that he couldn't lift his right arm. He made the choice to have ALC's Medical Transport take him to the hospital for x-rays rather than take the ambulance. As they took him away I told him I would finish the day for him - but ONLY if he stopped taking naps in ditches.
The accident happened - allegedly, since Scott's memory of it was cloudy - when Scott turned to look over his left shoulder to see if I was behind him. When he turned, he squeezed the brakes for reasons unknown and was thrown over the handlebars - still partly clipped in - and landed on his right shoulder. When he came to, he realized he should roll off the road and out of the way of other cyclists and cars, which is how he found himself in the ditch. Either way it happened, it meant he was off the ride at least for the day and likely for the rest of the week.
I spent about an hour at the site of the accident, so needed to move along to make up time. I stopped at Rest Stop 3 at a vineyard (damn it, no wine!) and moved along to the next stop, which could not be missed... The Otter Pop Stop.
The Otter Pop Stop is an official water stop on Day Two... But if you thought all you were getting was water and portapotties, you would be in for a shock. Roadies at the stop - most of them anyway - were dressed in Western attire... With the exception of a handful of whimsical Bears found dancing about in tutus with ribbons and flags and handing out Otter Pops. It was worth the stop for a smile and the sight of it all... Look below. I sweat this doesn't do it justice, but it's a glimpse.
The next big attraction after the Otter Pop Stop was the famed Cookie Lady. I didn't get the WHOLE story (if anyone knows it, let me know), but the Cookie Lady prepares THOUSANDS of cookies from scratch each year to hand out to cyclists on AIDS LifeCycle... These weren't Betty Crocker! I had an Oatmeal Raisin cookie and it was awesome. Rumor has it Cookie Lady starts baking after Christmas each year to have her goods ready for June. And she was so enthusiastic, wishing everyone "A SUNSHINY DAY!" as they set off through the strong cross winds toward Rest Stop 4.
Cookie Lady led on to Rest Stop 4, followed by the final 14 miles of Day Two. I arrived at Rest Stop 4 with less than 15 minutes to spare before the Sag Bus and Caboose arrived, so I didn't take photos... However, Rest Stop 4 featured the Miss ALC tournament and such beauties as Miss Guantanamo Bay and Miss-ed My Period - my favorite.
I left the Rest Stop and didn't get more than a block away when I observed I was losing pressure in my rear tire. I checked things out and found a very slow leak. Taking time to change a tire meant that I might be picked up by the caboose and miss my chance to finish my century ride - so I pumped the tire back up and went on. Halfway to camp was a gradual, but slightly challenging hill. On the way up I stopped to take this photo - and to pump my tire back up for the remaining few miles into camp.
On the way up the hill stood a fellow rider, bike held high above his head. And as I rode past he shouted, "CONGRATULATIONS MAN! YOU JUST RODE A CENTURY!" I felt a swelling of pride within - and while it didn't matter if I completed the rest of the day for having achieved a real challenge in my first century, I pressed on. As my rear tire slowly deflated I pedaled and pedaled to the finish line, met by cheers, bells and whistles as I crossed. My first task was to change my tire - using ALC's notoriously bad pumps. I popped the first tube and needed a second, but had used the spare I had on hand. It was then that I made a new friend - as is true so many times a day on AIDS LifeCycle. A Positive Pedaler saw me - probably looking a little discouraged - and asked if he could help. I explained my predicament and he offered me one of his spares and a place to park my bike - right up front with the Pos Peds. As I pumped up my new tube and repaired my bike, we had a chat. He introduced himself as Tripp and we discovered we were both from Washington, DC. Tripp and I became good friends throughout the week and I'm so happy to have met him. It's a typical ALC story - people helping each other out and making new friends.
That night I was too late to catch a shower, was too late getting my tent up to allow it to dry of the dew deposited the night before, but ate and slept well nonetheless. Before turning in for the night, I went to visit Scott in the Medical Tent. He had news that he had a broken scapula (shoulder blade) and was off the ride for the week. Time to make lots of new friends or I might be riding solo!
YOU CAN VIEW A VIDEO SUMMARY OF DAY TWO from ALC 7 on YouTube!
CLICK HERE TO VIEW OFFICIAL ALC PHOTOS FROM THE RIDE, SORTED BY DAY!
NEXT! DAY THREE: KING CITY TO PASO ROBLES!
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