Over the weekend Team Hype handled Day on the Ride. It was a great opportunity to see how an actual day of ALC9 would be. The route was tough, and only getting 3 hours of sleep did not help. I blame Team Hype fundraiser for that. There was a lot more climbing than I thought there would be, and being fixed did not make it easier. Ascending was not as bad descending. With no coasting I was spinning out a lot, and it was taxing on the legs. Babies need not apply.
The route up to the 1st rest stop was nice. I was hopped on the adrenaline from the excitement. So the lack of a real breakfast had no affect on the first 17 miles. Rode along the coast for a bit, and through a lot of neighborhoods. When we got to the rest stop met Team Lope Tyre Clubbe, who are also riding ALC fixed. Nice to see another crew committed to riding 545 miles with no coasting. After the much needed food and Powerade, we saddled up and started to ride to the next stop.
Image from here.
The next stop was LUNCH TIME! Boudin's catered lunch. Best. Turkey. Sandwich. Ever. Well, probably not but anything I ate was going to taste good. The route to lunch was my favorite of the entire ride. Bombed down some nice descends, and had some nice long rollers. After handling lunch and a quick nap. We rode to the last rest stop.
Image from here.
Last rest stop with Team Lope. Your eyes do not deceive you that is another Cinelli x Mash SF frame. Built up beautifully by Thom. The route to the last rest stop was definitely not for babies. We had 2 huge climbs which took a lot out of me, and hit some nasty headwind.
I don't remember much of the last leg of the route mainly because I was beat and was looking forward to SF Beerfest. At the end of the ride they had a spaghetti dinner. The pasta and salad were decent. BUT, there were these cookies and cream cookies from Anthony's. If you're in San Francisco DO NOT SLEEP.
Over the course of 8 hours I saw more of San Francisco then I'd ever thought I would. I am convinced the best way to truly appreciate what a city has to offer is to ride through it. I already know after riding 545 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles I am going to have a brand new appreciation for California. CA > your state abbreviation.