DANNY AND DUG'S LIFECYCLE RIDE

Pismo Beach Pic From the Road

2009-06-04T08:18:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we rode to Pismo Beach. It was beautiful!

Sunday through Today

2009-06-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

So, as you know, Sunday, we rode from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. On Monday, we rode from Santa Cruz to King City. It was 107 miles of beautiful wine country with lots of difficult hills! We did another 60 Miles today with a fun lunch in Bradley, population 120. The lunch was great! Selling burgers for $5 to the Lifecycle riders every year helps raise money to support school programs including sports, music and arts programs in Bradley. Every year they raise over $10,000.00 with this lunch alone!! Speaking of lunch, we are eating so much food!! This morning we had a really big breakfast of eggs, muffins, yogurt, potatoes, english muffins, corn muffins, oatmeal, chocolate milk and coffee. Every day there are 4 rest stops with cliff bars, orange slices, bananas, gummi fruit and potato chips. And lunch is big, too...sandwiches, wraps, carrots, chips....we are consuming tons to keep our energy up! And of course, we're drinking about 5 water bottles filled with power aid each. We're tired but having a blast! Stay tuned....

Monday, June 1st - 107 Miles

2009-06-02T21:26:00.000-07:00

Today is Santa Cruz to King City, 107 miles of very different terrains. With all of the Stop Lights and Signs it took 1.5 hours to leave the city of Santa Cruz....wow! Of course we start along the coast with incredible views! Both Danny and I were feeling refreshed and ready to ride (Lots of snoring in camp, but we got used to that). Again, who put hills in California's topography? Fun, but sometimes daunting.. Tons of Strawberry fields greet you with such wonderful aromas it's incredible. The day was a long one.....I (doug) got a head of Danny for half the day and just kind of rode on my own. Somewhere toward the end we met at a rest stop and got to do some neat rollers (rolling hills)....Power your way up, haul ass down, power up....etc etc......Good cross winds at the end of the day, but a tailwind for at least 20 miles in the middle of the day made it bearable!

The First Day - San Francisco to Santa Cruz

2009-05-31T04:32:00.000-07:00

Orientation day was quick and easy.......today is SF to Santa Cruz! There was soooo many people at Opening Ceremonies, it was beautiful. The Positive Pedalers (all HIV positive riders) walked in unison with the "riderless" bike.....a bike that should have a rider, but that rider is no longer with us. It was awesome, and made lots of eyes leak. Then we stretched!! Heard some speeches and filtered out to our bikes. We were off, it was foggy, and people were cheering........what a way to start a Sunday morning. Somewhere around Daly City I (Doug) got my first of 3 flats. For some reason I was frantic to fix it and get riding, it's not a race, there is no hurry, but that first day is so exciting, you just want to ride! The other thing we quickly noticed about this 87 mile day is Hills, Hills, Mountains, and Hills.......Fixed gear is fun for climbing, but not so much for the decent. We stopped at every rest stop (always 4 per day, plus lunch and dinner) and really took in the beauty of highway 1. Danny got himself a Tic (thought he was having a leg cramp until we saw a hole and some little legs coming out) but medical took care of that at lunch. We arrived in Santa Cruz to cheering and much needed showers..........and the first of many GREAT dinners! They fed us VERY well.

Orientation Today

2009-05-30T10:21:00.002-07:00

We leave for SF in about 30 minutes......Start watching this blog, I'll get some photos and stuff up later tonight......see ya on the road!!

Doug and Danny!!

Just over 2 weeks away!

2009-05-15T08:51:00.000-07:00

Jumping for Joy that the ride is almost here! Danny and I are basically in the planning stages and past much of any "training" stages. I think we are as ready as we can be to ride fixed gear bicycles for 7 straight days and 545 miles. I'm looking forward to the ride and will be updating this blog as well as my facebook everyday of the ride. So, it's all about, how are we getting to SF, where are we staying, who is going to get us to the Cow Palace at 4:30 a.m. and who will pick us up and when, in LA 7 days later!........Keep on checking, we'll update as we go!.....This is going to be an experience like no other!

Been Too Long

2009-04-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, I'm still riding my fixed gear, but I did get a new geared bike......why not have other options right!.....So I know it's been a while since we've posted, don't worry though, we are training, beggin for money, and taking care of bikes! I'm up and over 150 miles a week, and trying to keep the training in high gear. The spring winds suck a$$ though....Danny and I have a GREAT show on May 2nd at the Kennel Club....All of the proceeds go to the ride, so get out and see us. I'll get together a post specific to the show and with all the details soon. In the mean time, visit our Lifecycle pages at the bottom and donate if you can! Take it easy, and Ride for Fun!!!

Doug

The Amgen Tour and I got in Lance's way!

2009-02-17T08:37:00.000-08:00

We were hanging out on a blocked off street before the time trials were going to happen. I was being a dork and doing track stands (basically balancing in place) with a friend in the middle of the street.........I looked behind me and realized a car had stopped just 2 feet of hitting me because I was in the middle of the road..........I rode away and watched the car pass.......15 feet later it stopped and some dude gets out and starts walking towards the team area........tons of reporters start running up and yelling "lance" questions...........So I almost got hit by, and totally was in the way of Lance Armstrong on the way to the time trials.........I know, it's a silly story, but fun!

Not much new to report, I rode in the wind and rain to work today..........ughhh, not fun, but still feels good to pedal!

$425 Raised

2009-02-16T19:30:00.001-08:00

That is the number of dollars I have raised for my ride that starts on May 31st. I am so grateful for the financial support I have received from my friends, but I need more. I need to pull together another $2,575. (cracking my knuckles) Let's do this!!!

http://www.aidslifecycle.org/about/

-danny

Typical Man

2009-02-11T19:38:00.001-08:00

I am home sick, and in bed. I have been unable to go to work because of my asthma. When I get a cold or the flu, allergies or a cough, my lungs tighten up. This time, my (step) son passed on his germs that he picked up from being a sweet 3 year old boy. Poor little guy was sick and with fever and couldn't sleep at night. He joined his mom and I in our bed during his terrible sleepless nights meanwhile his germies made their way into my chest. He really had it bad for about a week! Hearing his tiny chest rattling all night made us so sad.
When I get the sickness, it lays me out hard. This time around, I caught it relatively early. Other times I try to fight it,and would not give in, trying to outlast it like a typical man. HAHAHAHA! So far, that has never worked.

Today I am starting to feel a bit better and I can't wait to get back to work... and on my BIKE!!! My bike hangs over head right next to the fireplace and I am always looking at it. Thinking about cleaning it up and lubing the chain. It has been hanging there for over a week and has not been ridding as it deserves. I bet the tires are low too. But I just keep looking at it. I bet I will not be able to ride it for at least another week or so. I need to be fully better before I take off on it again...

-danny
It's an old picture, but you get the point...

REPRESENT!!!

2009-02-06T21:26:00.000-08:00

I must have one of these, VATO!
-Danny

Bikes are Bikes

2009-02-05T07:57:00.000-08:00

I had just turned 5 years old when my dad taught me how to ride a two wheeled bicycle. It was an old rusted hand-me-down from my sister Sandra, originally purchased at a thriftstore. I can picture it as a 1950's style cruiser with a red and white spray paint job my dad did behind our tool shed. I remember the way the over spray of white paint felt on the plastic sun baked grips, all cracked and rigid. Dad really tried to make things appear to be new or better than new when he purchased things from a triftstore. Regardless, it was one of the happiest times in my life for I experienced freedom for the first time.

I was only allowed to ride my bike in my back yard for the first year by myself, but as I gained trust from my mom as a "peddling pro", I slowly rode my way out to the front of my suburban home. Just shortly after, I was riding up and down my street which lead to my friends house a couple of blocks away. By 7 years old I was either on my skateboard or my BMX bicycle on a daily basis. Most kids my age in 1981 were riding bikes and had little to no experience with riding skateboards. So, I was part of a neighborhood BMX gang called "THE GENERAL LEE'S" after the car the Duke boys drove.... Yes, it's true I wanted to change my name to Luke because it was both Star Wars and The Dukes of Hazard related... It just didn't fly with my mom or my first grade teacher...

My BMX bike turned into a road bike in the late 80's then to a mountain bike in the early 90's. Through the 90's I juggled back and forth between a cruiser and my mountain bike. Today I ride a fixed gear conversion. If I had the space I would have as many different bikes as I could store. (Fixed, Track, Mountain, BMX, Cruiser, Road, Vintage, Time Trial, ETC...) Because my personality finds change refreshing and exciting, it would be awesome to be able to have a bike to suit my current moods. When I see a dirt trail, I wish I could tear it up with a mountain bike or a BMX. When I need speed, a geared bike or my fixed gear. When I cruise Critical Mass, a vintage 3 speed or lowrider bike would be sick!

Just like everything else, bike trends come and go. (Riding fixed gear isn't so cool anymore, geared vintage bikes are back! LOOK OUT!!!) That's all fine and dandy, but it's the freedom you feel when riding a bicycle that doesn't change. And that is what I will always love about my bike!

-Danny

Riding with a racer, A crash, and damn broken spokes again

2009-01-13T07:51:00.000-08:00

This past weekend saw some absolutely beautiful weather for riding and what did I go and do? I drank too much on Friday night so my attempt at a 30 mile ride on Saturday was riddled with a throbbing headache and all around soreness. I did make the ride anyways and felt good afterward. My band played the night before and apparently I just needed to get it out...........bad news for training. On to Sunday, I didn't drink too much Saturday and figured I'd get a ride in early afternoon but my buddy Bri who actually races road bikes called me early to do a "short" little ride. I realized that my gearing is not ideal for riding hard and fast..........ugh, we were doing about 22mph the whole time, which is about 4mph faster than what I average........good for the heart, bad for my stamina. 4 miles into what amounted to a 20 mile ride for me a car pulled left in front of us, Bri broke hard left and braked, I did the same only clipped his rear wheel and went down hard.....I bruised my poor little bottom but felt ok..........4 miles later my headache from the day before was back...........ugh, I went as far as I could but had to turn around..........I do believe I'm going to get a road bike as well..........I'm going to do the Aidsride on my fixed gear but I want to haul ass on a road bike too. Oh and yesterday I heard a pop and lost 2 spokes on my rear wheel again.........it's getting too expensive to keep fixing so I think I'm going to look into some new wheels.............damn bikes are expensive!! .........

-Duggy V.

Time to start fundraising

2009-01-08T08:59:00.000-08:00

As daunting as the idea of riding all those 545 miles is, the harder part is thinking about Danny and I having to raise 6000 dollars........Ughhh......it is for such a great cause that I don't feel bad, I mean I'm not trying to sell candy bars to fund a trip to basketball camp (not that that's bad either, but I think the concept of the ride and the way it funds aids research is bigger) so I feel like I can really sell it, but again, asking/begging for money is tough. So, I'll be sending out my emails, and working the angles, and hopefully we can concentrate on training and our friends, colleagues, and family will help with the money side of things!

- DUG

To Davis, Too much to Drink and a hurt back

2008-12-29T09:34:00.001-08:00

Oh man, what a ride we had on Saturday. We did critical mass on Friday night and rode around for an hour or so. At the end we decided to meet at Peets Coffee at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. I rolled up first and got some caffine in me, Danny followed and then our friend AJ. We left around 9:00 a.m. and averaged about 19 mph for the 20 mile ride. We got into Davis and headed to Crepeville for some breakfast.........Danny's back started giving him problems so we decided to walk a couple of miles to a store to get tigerbalm (and yes the label assured us there was no tiger parts in it). Now, smelling like an old man we walked back to town to have a beer. By this time Danny was in noticible pain, we encouraged him to drink a large (quart) of beer. AJ and I did the same just to encourage him..hehe..........Danny was at a point of not being able to function so we whipped out AJ's iPhone and found the nearest, and most available massuese to see if something could be done. While Danny was being worked on. AJ and I proceeded to a local pub to pass time. After quite a few Anchor Steams AJ and I were obviously drunk........probably not amusing to Danny........They told Danny he had a torn muscle in his back and that he should even attempt to make the ride home. Danny called his wife and we left him at a local Coffee shop and began our drunken fixed gear ride home..........For some reason AJ and I thought it might be funny to screw around and try tricks on our bikes, which after less than a mile, two crashes (1 each), we realized was pretty stupid...............We sobered up fairly quickly though, and made it home just fine. Moral of the story is...........hell, I don't know, other than to not drink and ride, don't ride with a hurt back, and be careful always!

-DUG

WEAK SAUCE

2008-12-25T13:19:00.000-08:00

(Above is the route of the Aids Lifecycle)

I am surprised by the amount of negative feedback I am getting for doing the Aids Lifecycle 2009. "Why are you doing that?" "Are you crazy?" "You're dumb to do it on a fixed gear" It's not all negative feedback but a lot more than I thought I would get!

Being human, It's hard not to focus on negative feedback. I actually started to doubt my abilities to do this ride on a fixed gear. All the hills and wind is starting to become an impossible challenge in my mind. Just this past Saturday I almost didn't make the 50 mile training ride. It was irresponsible to not eat before the ride. I totally ran out of steam by 20 miles into the ride. After eating at the half way point, I felt much better, but still found myself dragging my feet and wishing I was laying down in my warm bed. I have made the ride many times before and felt great in the process. I just can't help but think that some of the negative banter I have received may have given me second thoughts while I have been training.

Boo Hoo... Sorry for this whine session... Hahahaha. It will pass, it always does! :)

-Danny

First Officially Sanctioned Aids Lifecycle Training Ride

2008-12-22T12:42:00.000-08:00

Ok, yes, I took this image off of the web, it's not us from the ride. We met 3 folks from Sacramento who are either doing the ride this year or have done it in the past. It was quite cold at Natomas Oaks Park at 9:00am and the car full of gangster looking folks was odd, but we were pumped to do a good ride. Because it's an "official" ride we had a trained trainer with us who was required to read rules, show us hand signals, etc..........Formalities I know, but it didn't bother us. So we hit the road at about 9:30 on what was to be a 30 mile ride. After about 2 miles Danny and I realized that we wanted to go farther and faster than what was going to be the norm and so we said our good byes and shot ahead. We did our normal ride into old Fair Oaks and nestled into our favorite cafe. Funny how you can build up quite the appetite as we both had 2 orders of a breakfast sandwich special, 1 sticky bun and a large coffee.......We took it easy on the ride back and stopped off at a friends house for some lumpia and pumpkin cookies, then rode back into town. Was a fun ride, Danny learned that he should eat something before we leave or he'll run out of energy and hate life for the last couple of miles. I look forward to the next ride...........and maybe I'll get some bike related gifts from Santa??

Doug

Nature Rides rule

2008-12-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things when I'm out on a ride is the surroundings, whether it's on a trail, in traffic, or just in front of your house you are hyperaware of your surroundings. Sometimes it appears, people just leave their bike leaned against a tree and walk away because it's so beautiful. I can't wait for the Aids Lifecycle ride! 565 miles of nature, beaches, cities, towns, etc... is going to be a blast. Danny and I have a training ride this Saturday, I look forward to meeting some folks who are doing the ride that live in the Sacramento area.......Keep riding!

Doug

Fog Rides and wet cold clothes

2008-12-13T10:04:00.000-08:00

Friday's ride to work was 12 miles of pure fog and a balmy 39 degrees........It was interesting to say the least. When your light only shines 5-10 feet ahead of you and there's fog on top of that, you don't see the bumps and piles of leaves until you are right on them.....it was actually fun, my bike is quite responsive despite the longer wheel base that French frames have (apparently roads in france are quite bumpy so French frames tend to be softer rides). There's a storm coming, I have a test for work, and my home life is hecticly turned around so I don't see a ride this weekend happening............I'm going to try and find time though........

Here's an article on French frames........http://sheldonbrown.com/kunich.html

doug

Why does there have to be a "scene"

2008-12-11T11:31:00.000-08:00

I have always wondered why there is such a need for a "scene" to exist in any genre, sport, or other various form of "different from the norm" activity. Invariably it only leads to elitism from folks who want to be one of the first. And what are they claiming to be first at?? Something that they end up slamming because it sold out...........so really what you end up with is someone who wants to say they were to first to fix the gears on their bike and now it's lame because so many people are doing it..........that doesn't make sense, is someone riding a fixed gear bike any different today because they bought it pre-assembled from a bike shop having less fun than someone who borrowed his friends welding torch to cease a cog to a wheel? It happens in music, skateboarding, snowboarding, and just about anything else that someone considers hip............I started riding fixed geared bikes only 6 months ago and I am having as much fun as anyone else no matter what time.........So I guess what I'm saying is I was one of the first to have fun riding, but it'll sell out soon and I'll think everyone having fun is so yesterday and lame............

---DOUG---

Not much today, quick 10 miles after work

2008-12-10T18:20:00.000-08:00

Took the trail after work. I went by the capital as they were tearing down the stages from yesterday's tree lighting........I heard it was quite boring from my friend Angie. She get bored easy though, so ???? Anyway, cold along the river but a nice ride non the less. I promise I'll post something more interesting tomorrow........Have a good one everybody!

Oh and I hemp twine and shellac'd my seat post............fun stuff!

2 guys, 2 blogs, 2 cold son of a b@#%es

2008-12-09T10:09:00.000-08:00

I know, silly of me to post my hipster pack to show you how I carry my stuff, but I rode with backpacks for 5 years and can tell you that messenger bags are waaaaay more comfortable......So I pack all my stuff in this Timbuk2 bag and love how much it fits.

So on to the title of my blog............I'm hoping we don't confuse folks since we are each posting a blog every day, hopefully we'll remember to sign it, but today Danny didn't (shame on you my friend, hehe) so we'll try and update daily and if folks are reading, come back, check in, comment, tell us to f-off, whatever!! .......

My ride this morning was cooooollllddddddd, like Danny I don't have warm weather clothing and therefore froze my family jewels off. I only rode a couple of miles so it wasn't terrible, but I'm hoping Santa brings me a scarf and some more long underwear, oh, and socks............I grew up in Colorado and have never really felt too cold, but as I get older I'm finding that my feet get colder (I am 6'7" and my feet are a long ways away from things so maybe that's the problem?). Other than the cold, I don't have much to add about riding..........I look forward to each time I hop on my bike and can't wait to get in a long ride in a week or so...........

Rawk!
Doug

Frost Bitten Commuter

2008-12-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

This Summer I committed to commute to work for as long as forever. With the rise of gas prices, pollution and needing exercise while being close to nature, it made total sense to me. Even on the hottest day of Summer here in Sacramento I was not about to drive!

I live on the corner of 25th and C st. in midtown Sacto, just 5 blocks from the midtown entrance of one of the best bike trails in California. My commute to work takes me about 3o minutes and is about 98% on the bike trail all the way to the front doors to the Java City Coffee Roasting Facility. This picture of my bike and my trusty skateboarding helmet was taking inside the roasting facility a few months ago. I couldn't help but take some pictures of my two favorite worlds together; Coffee and cycling. I get tons of crap for wearing that pink Protec helmet, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Back to my commitment to commuting to work on my bike every day... Today was one of the COLDEST days I have ever experienced on my commute. Must have been in the low 30's!!! I am not equipped to ride in such cold weather. The rain I am ready for, but not freezing weather! You can bet that I will be doing some thrift store shopping for some warm clothes! A ski mask would be perf! As long as it fits under my Bad Ass Protec helmet, I'm set!

-dannygoot

Weekends Over, Monday begins!

2008-12-08T08:32:00.000-08:00

Doug here, finally getting to posting......

The weekend although fun, did not turn out the way I thought it would.............don't you love that? I actually do, it's nice for life to throw curve balls so we don't just keep swinging and we actually watch the ball. I spent the last few days of last week looking forward to a long ride on Saturday (we were going to do a 60 mile ride). My wife Gillian expressed interest in doing the first 10 miles or so with us. So we woke up and got ready.........we walked out the door and realized it was friggen cold.......in fact we got about 3 blocks before it was time to turn around and get my wife's sun glasses (to many tears from cold wind) and another layer for her...........ughh, now we're late..............oh well, no real hurry anyways.............So we meet Danny at Pete's coffee have a cup (I already had two at home) and took off for the trail..............It was pea soup out there........fog, drizzle, cold (ok, it is California so it was 41 degrees, not sub zero, but cold nontheless) and it started to become evident that my wife wouldn't make the first 10 miles........we rode her off the trail and decided to make a pit stop at Danny's house..................I went to the bathroom and when I came out this is where the curve ball came........Danny says, I'm hungry, let's get breakfast...........so off we went to Cafe Bernardo's for some good grub and another cup of coffee. And after a bathroom break again (come on, lots of coffee) I come out to Danny saying, hey, let's just ride over to Tupelo coffee shop and work on our Aids Lifecycle page and start a blog too! ...........ok, so I see that my 60 mile ride has become a 10 mile ride, but with a good purpose............so curve ball is pitched, doug swings, and out of the park it goes!! Saturday was a blast!! We got most of our site done, set up this blog, and my Wife and I were able to buy the kids main christmas presents to boot..............Oh and that night my band played at the Fox and Goose and had a blast.............Sunday was uneventful like Sunday's usually are, so I'll not go into details there.

Sundays

2008-12-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

Sundays are the hardest days for me to ride. I usually take this day to catch up on all the stuff I need to get done for the previous week or get ready for the next.
I did find some time to paint my lugs a bit. I started a few weeks ago with a nice gold paint I picked up from a local hobby store. Cheap and high quality paints made by Testors. I also bought some black paint because I thought it would be a good idea to outline my lugs to help them stand out even more. That was not such a good idea, I found out half way through my project. It actually cheapened the look I was going for instead of making it stand out. DAMMMMMIT! How am I going to fix it?
I couldn't figure out a way, so I decided to hang it back up on the celing in next to my fireplace and Christmas stockings. Maybe It will be fixed when I wake up in the morning? HAHAHAHA!
Anyway, I am going to take some pictures of my lugs once I can bring myself to.

-danny

NUMBER ONE

2008-12-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

AH HA! Here is t he very first blog for our ride to help fight aids! Here are the two weapons that we will be taking to the front line with us.

DANNY'S - 1968 Raleigh Super Course custom fixed conversion but you can call her FRECKLES! This bike is one of my biggest scores, besides finding my wife Jenney! I bought this bike in August '08 for my birthday from a friend for $80. The only changes I made to this ride was the wheels. Everything else is fully original! I am riding this *fixed gear conversion* with a 52 tooth chainring and a 18 tooth cog. She is a nice Rootbeer Brown with custom painted Gold **lugs**. I commute to work everyday on my Raleigh for a total of 16 miles a day. My homeskillet Dug and I try to ride every about 50-60 miles every weekend, rain or shine!

DUG'S - 1971 Peugeot U-08 is my conversion....25" or 64.5cm frame. Cheap(er) Alex 450 rims, Sugino Cranks, Brooks Seat, Riser stem, Soma Urban Pursuit Bars, and Shimano 600 Aero pedals are not original. I ride every day to work, and sometimes I ride along side my daughter to school just to add a few miles to the day.......I end up with about 10-12 miles a day. I ride with Danny on the weekends to get closer to the 100 miles a week that I want.........It's a blast!

*A fixed-gear bicycle or fixed wheel bicycle, is a bicycle without the ability to coast. The sprocket is screwed directly on to the hub and there is no freewheel mechanism.*

**Lugged steel frame construction is a method of building bicycle frames using steel tubing and sockets called lugs. For most of the history of the bicycle, steel has been the material of choice for high-quality bicycle frames (though its dominance has waned in the last two decades). Likewise lugged construction has been the preferred means of assembling a steel frame, and retains this status among builders of high-quality steel frames.**