Rolling through the miles: Day One

Miles: 92.93
Camp: Colusa, CA
Temp: 100 degrees
Winds: 20-25 mph

NCAC08 Day 1 - Folsom to Gridley

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Day one was a painful remainder of the worst conditions the valley has to offer, and of why we train so hard for the NorCal AIDS Challenge. We faced 100 degree temps, 25 mph headwinds, and the knowledge that even when we were done with the day, we would still have 240 miles to go.

55 unsuspecting riders collected at Folsom Lake on Thursday morning to hear some inspiring words from our fearless leaders. My friend KC was nice enough to get up at 5 a.m., pick me up, and then drive up to Folsom. Once she got all the stuff out of her car, and was satisfied that all was well, she took off, and hopefully went back to bed (Thanks, KC!).
We had some coffee and snacks courtesy of Starbucks, some stretching, a little butt butter slathered on for the road, and off we went.

I was so excited to finally be on the Ride, after so many months of thinking about the Ride, that the inability to breathe was back-burnered for a few minutes. We rode through and out of the eastern edge of the Sacramento Valley, through commuting traffic (we had some angry parents who were afraid their kids were going to get a tardy when our motorcycle support team stopped traffic for us), and then turned north for about 75 miles. On Thursday, the winds picked up -- 20-25 mph winds from the north. That means they were coming straight toward us. Which means we were pushing as hard as we could, taking turns drafting off each other, and fighting to go about 12 mph. Painful.

Along the way there was a lake -- the kind of lake that reminds me why I like to ride for miles and miles.

I think it was the Camp Far West Reservoir -- a huge body of water just outside Wheatland, CA.

As the day went on, the temperature rose, the wind stayed about the same, and people got more and more frustrated. Even the strongest riders among us decided to jump in a car and get driven part of the way. By the time we got to our last rest stop with about 18 miles to go, we were feeling pretty defeated. We showed up at a small community center where a group of locals had snacks and drinks for us in an air-conditioned hall.

You can tell this car is not one of 'us' --
but we appreciate the folks who supported the ride.

After a painful 89 or so miles, we turned the last corner and got a most welcome tail-wind. After a full day of not being able to break 13 mph, suddenly we cruised along with an Irish Blessing on our minds. I was pretty spent, and probably didn't go faster than 18, but some folks took off at over 20.

We pulled into the Butte County Fairgrounds, our final day one resting place, and what do you supposed we saw? A swimming pool! The best sort of mirage after 90 some miles in 100+ degree weather.
It was empty. No water.

Thursday night we learned about CARES -- one of the Ride's primary beneficiaries. The biggest thing we learned is that there are way too many people who don't understand how AIDS is transmitted, how to prevent it, or how/where to get tested. The educational programs that CARES runs largely with money from NCAC target these areas.

A few highlights from Day One:
Highway sign -- bibles from the vet:

Peter and Leigh moving into the accomodations:

Campground -- to avoid [some of] the heat, we were to get up at 4:30 a.m. on Friday. So even though it's perfectly light outside, we had to hunker down and try to sleep.