[Sportsandrec] My Cycling for Sight weekend!

[Fred C]

Hi Sports&Rec friends,

It's not too early to be thinking about Cycling 4 Sight next Summer.   
The web links are:
www.cyclingforsight.org
and
www.blindstokersclub.org

Get signed-up so you'll get all the info and swag.  One thing I know  
that we'll try to do is move the C4S-ride weekend so it won't  
conflict with the RAGBRAI.  I plan to do the big Iowa ride next  
year.  A few BSC riders were on it this year, so they had to skip our  
So. Cal. tour.

No matter where you are on the planet, sign-up with the Blind Stokers  
Club.  If you aren't riding, but want to -- the BSC can match you  
with a captain and a tandem.  Even if you already have a captain and  
a bike.  Sign-up, and you can find spare captains and bikes.  I know  
that I've needed one or the other a few times.  The BSC's network can  
hook you up!  Grants for transportation are available.

I had a great Cycling 4 Sight double-century weekend!  My captain and  
i are fast.  I'm a better rider after stoking for him.  He's a  
licensed racer, and a patient and firm coach.

I only got 4-hours of sleep on Thursday night.  Ugh!  We rolled out  
of Pfizer (a pharmaceutical company and major backer of Cycling for  
Sight) next to UC San Diego on Friday morning, rode up the Pacific  
Coast Highway, zipped through Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base, and  
kept on along the coast to Laguna Beach.  Then we hung a right and  
headed inland along a busy highway, eventually finding a bike path  
that took us through some cool greenery and coastal sage scrub  
habitat, leading us to UC Irvine.  It was about 80-miles, and my  
captain and i still felt great.  when we arrived, our support people  
had cheers and refreshments.  We relaxed on the grass, helping to  
cheer each team coming in.  We got our rooms, hit the cafeteria to  
enjoy college food, then went to a meeting.  At the meeting, a recap  
of the ride, some goofy awards were given out, and we were told  
almost nothing about the Saturday cyclo rally.  The cyclo rally was  
to be fun, mysterious, and full of surprises.  We knew when and where  
to leave from, that we would receive packets at check-in, and that we  
had to be back by 2:30pm.   Afterwards, a bunch of us walked to the  
local brew pub to continue hydrating.

I got about 5-hours of sleep, up at 6am, hit the cafeteria and got  
ready.  Between 8 and 9 we were off on our cyclo rally.  We zigzagged  
through local towns, awesome bike paths, and ended up along the  
Newport Beach boardwalk.  We parked our bikes and had to find various  
landmarks nearby, ride a ferris wheel,  answer questions about items  
on a table, and then ride a ferry to an island.  Balboa Island was  
where we hit the road again.  The way back was tight with traffic for  
the first mile or so, then opened up to another gorgeous bike path  
along the estuary.  Soon, we were finding other tandem teams, and the  
whole pleoton was racing for UC Irivine to turn-in our cyclo rally  
booty.  We did about 40-miles that day, and went to a stretching  
class.  We learned several partner stretches that helped, and will  
come in handy on my next date!  Then it was dinner and a meeting with  
another review of the day's rally, awards, and an  overview of  
Sunday's ride home.  A big group walked to the brew pub, but I was  
fading, so chose to pack my bags, and hit the hay.

Sunday -- up early, we rolled out at 8am, following cool sunny smooth  
roads back to San Diego.  Heading home, we cut off the worst part of  
Laguna Beach.  Flying along, meeting up with other bike clubs like  
Major Taylor and Meet-Up, we stopped within blocks of my apartment.   
A lunch of sandwiches and stuff was waiting for us.  Normally, i  
don't like to stop for a meal.  I get cold, and my blood is busy  
trying to digest food, so seems to not flow oxygen to my legs.  The  
people were great, and one of my other captains showed up!  I made a  
few introductions, and tried to get moving.  We staggered back on the  
road.  I was hurting, with legs of rubber.  I focussed on putting  
power through my pedal strokes, and the miles clicked by.  We just  
had about 25-miles to go.  close to the finish, we had a good climb.   
It was very tough, but with my captain's guidance, we powered  
ourselves up.  I could even feel my captain ease up on his pedals,  
and let me power us up the "beyond category" climb.  It was great!  I  
think i earned a few points with him.

So close to the finish, lots of people were taking photos, passing  
out refreshments, etc.  We stopped for a few minutes at a Lions Club  
booth, waiting for the other tandems to catch up.  Once most of us  
were there, we rode another few miles or so.  Racing now!  I like to  
tease  the other teams, saying "On Your Left!" as my captain and I  
quickly and safwly slingshot by.  That gets almost any team with gas  
speed up.  With a couple hundred feet to go before our turn to the  
big photo shoot at the glider port, we hit a bump and lost a chain.   
As our pursuing teams whizzed by, my captain and i had to coast in.   
We stopped right at the photo spot.  That was pretty funny.

After the group photo, we did a careful easy ride with police escort  
up and over the hill to Pfizer.  Families and friends were there,  
with lots of hoopla.  Ice cream from ben & jerry's all you can eat,   
silent auction, massages, a fun live band, the big ending ceremony,  
etc.  It was good fun, but we all seemed to be freezing in the breezy  
shade.

I can hardly wait to go riding again!  Cycling for Sight was a  
blast.  I learned few more techniques from my captain, learned some  
great bike paths for my friends and i to ride, and really had fun at  
Newport Harbor.

I want all of you to sign up and do Cycling for Sight next summer!

Fred, in Carlsbad, CA. USA