The 2002 AIDSRide - Norfolk, VA to Washington, DC

My Experience

Boy, where to begin?  "At the beginning" - I know.

- Day 0
- Day 1
- Day 2
- Day 3
- Day 4
- Summary

DAY 0 Back to top
=====
On Wednesday, I woke up relatively early and metro'd with all my stuff to
meet my ride down to Norfolk.  I rode down with two friends that I met at
training rides, John & Craig.  Craig and his girlfriend made us an amazing
breakfast and then drove us down to Norfolk.  We arrived early and I found
my bike right away - I had shipped it and they had set up bikes on racks
so it was actually amazing that I found it so easily!

I ran into other friends quickly - I was surprised at how many people I
saw that I knew, not just recognized.  We all went in to watch the safety
video and then to complete our registration for the event.  I was staying
in a hotel with 2 other riders so trying to coordinate that, along with
dinner, was a bit of a trial!

About 15-20 people met up for dinner that night at a local Spanish/Italian
restaurant to do some last minute carbo-loading.  I think the waitstaff
weren't too pleased at the size of our party, but accomodated us anyway!
Afterwards, we went to The Cheesecake Factory because crust has
carbohydrates, doesn't it?  Well, after all the paella I had eaten, I
managed about 3 bites of my cheesecake before calling it quits.

That night we relaxed and went to bed pretty early so that we could wake
up and be ready for...

DAY 1 Back to top
=====
We arrived at the Scope (Norfolk's arena) bright and early on Thursday.
We loaded our gear onto the trucks, sat through the extremely moving
Opening Ceremonies, performed some last minute maintenance, and then we
were off!  It was a bizarre, but beautiful, experience seeing all those
bikers riding down the streets.  I was so excited that first day.  It
started off gorgeous - sunny and hot.

We rode through Norfolk - probably the most heavily railroaded town in
America - and finished the day in Williamsburg.  It was close to 100 miles
and three moments stand out: the ferry ride over the James River and the
20 miles between Pit 3 and Lunch, and an event at lunch that came back to
haunt me.

I'll start with the 20 miles between Pit 3 and Lunch.  By that time, it
was *HOT* and everyone was sort of cranky with the heat and how far away
lunch was (it was already after noon and we weren't going to get to lunch
til 2ish).  So my friend Andrew and I started singing.  And I don't mean
humming, but full-out, at the top of our lungs *SINGING*.  Every song that
came into our heads!  And as we passed people, they sometimes sang along.
All of them smiled or appreciated the attempt at levity.  We made jokes
about how bad we were and how people were probably glad when we passed
them so that they wouldn't have to hear us anymore.  It was the best and I
got a bit of a reputation for that!  The only down side - it's difficult
to drink while you're singing that much and with the heat, I didn't drink
as much as I should have and paid for it later.

Next, the event at lunch that came back to haunt me.  So for those of you
non-cyclists, sitting on a saddle for hours on end, day after day can be a
somewhat painful experience.  If you're not careful with the delicate
parts you have, bad things can happen.  So lots of cyclists use what's
called Butt Butter or Butt Balm to help prevent that.  It's basically a
lubricant that prevents chaffing.  So being the good little cyclist that I
am, I diligently apply some after lunch.  Not being modest, I take a scoop
and stick my hand down my pants to smear it on my chamois (the padding in
the shorts) in full view of a group of men, who are watching me with
obvious interest.

Okay, divergence here for a second.  It's not like I didn't have the
option to do it more privately.  But the port-o-potties aren't exactly the
most pleasant smelling enclosed areas nor are they breezy and cool, so I
went to a bunch of trees and did what I had to do.  Back to the story...

So the guys say something to me - "You know people usually wait til the
second day before doing that in public."  I say, "Well, I guess I'm
ahead of the curve then."  Little did I know what trouble I was in for.
More on that next.

Last, the ferry ride was great - they loaded all of these bikes and cars
onto the ferry and carted us across the river.  It was the neatest thing
to see.  And all of us chatting away - and I see the guys from lunch
standing next to me.  We start talking and they tell me that they've
nicknamed me "BB" for Butt Butter.  Not only that, but as the trip
progresses and I run into them all the time, it seems they've told
everyone else about me and what I did so all their friends now know me as
"BB" and the girl who stuck her hand down her pants!

We arrive into camp around 6:30p, exhausted.  It had clouded over after
lunch and cooled off considerably, with rain clouds rolling in by the time
we arrived at camp.  I set up my tent, showered, stuffed my face with food
(which was quite good), and went to sleep before 9p!  It was a long first
day...


DAY 2 Back to top
=====
Woke up a million times in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom,
but slept like a rock, regardless.  There's lots of noise so people are
all usually up and about by 5:30a, which is when I officially got out of
bed.  Got dressed, packed up my stuff, ate, and back on the road.  Day 2
was good for most of the ride since it was overcast and alot less hot and
humid than Day 1.

Nothing really eventful happened until around 4:30 or 5p, when the heavens
opened and it poured buckets of rain, thundered, and lightning.  We were 3
miles from the last Pit stop, about 15 miles from camp, and stuck in this
nice man's garage who let us take cover there.  He had the most adorably
Chocolate Lab, Sadie, who was so excited by the storm and the people that
she ran around, not quite sure what to do with herself.  The sweetest
puppy you ever saw!

Finally, around 5:30 or 6, they let us back on the road and we made it to
the last Pit before camp.  My bottom was hurting so bad at this point that
I wanted to call it a day.  It was mile 97 or 98 and we had 12 more to go.
And one of my riding friend's parents lived a mile from camp and were
offering to put us up for the night.  Martyr that I am, I stuck it out and
biked the last 12 miles with my beacon of hope, Marvin Grubbs, whose name
I recognized from the AIDSRide listserve, leading the way home!  He got me
through those last 12 miles and is my hero for it.

When I finally got to camp (in Fredericksburg) some time after 7p, after
close to 110 miles of riding, I set up my tent, ate, showered (not that it
meant anything at that point), and went to bed.


DAY 3 Back to top
=====
Day 3 dawned fairly pretty, but little did we know....  We get ready, pack
up our stuff, and eat.  Right after we finish breakfast, the skies open
again and pour down rain.  I had been planning on leaving around 6:30a,
but the rain didn't let up enough until almost 7:45a.  If you're not on
the road by 8a, you're not allowed to ride!

So we scramble to leave and wouldn't you know it, after 200 miles and one
sore tushie, there was a huge hill right out of camp.  It was pretty
miserable.  The nice thing about Saturday was it was a shorter ride, about
83 miles or so.  The weather held out and turned pretty nice in the end.
There was a fantastic stretch of 14 miles that we hauled ass on -
averaging about 19-20 mph the whole time.  It was amazing!

One of the best parts about this ride were the Pits.  They had some really
creative people dreaming up themes for the Pit stops.  One of the Pits set
up a game called "Pay Phone Lotto."  Someone called the pay phone at the
stop from their cell phone and whoever picked up, won!  The same people
also set up a game called "Potty Lotto," whose motto is: "You have to pee
to play!"  People went into the numbered port-o-potties and a number was
drawn.  Whoever was in that stall, won!  It was a blast.

We arrived at camp (Dale City, I think) early, at 4p.  I showered, got a
massage, watched people ride into camp and cheered them on, and then ate
dinner.  After dinner, they had a talent show.  It was fantastic.  There
were some really funny people, but the most touching, moving, emotional
moment for everyone there was when Lloyd performed.  Lloyd's brother died
of AIDS.  Lloyd wrote a tribute to him that he read outloud to us and then
signed (yes, *SIGNED*) the words along to the song "The World's Greatest"
from the _Ali_ soundtrack.  It was absolutely the best thing I have ever
seen.  He was so joyful, so radiant, so exuberent - I had tears streaming
down my face.  You could *feel* the love.  And I'm not even doing it
justice.  It was priceless.

I limped off to bed after that emotional display around 10p.


Day 4 (LAST DAY!) Back to top
=================
I woke up early on Sunday, packed up for the last time, had breakfast, and
we headed out around 7:15a.  It was the last day and we only had about 50
miles to ride.  It felt strange because I knew it was the last day.  In
some respects I was happy (my delicate bits were *really* sore), but I got
used to the routine and the spirit of the ride and knew I was going to
miss it.  As we got closer and closer to DC, it was amazing.  We saw
people on the streets cheering us on, I began to recognize landmarks,
streets, and towns.

When we finally rode into DC, I was exultant.  My family came to town to
watch me ride in and Jenn (my roommate, for those who don't know)
organized a bunch of my friends to come down to see me also!  I must have
had the most people there!  I've never felt so truly loved.  At a time
when I was emotional to begin with, it was the icing to have so many
people come share it with me.


The Summary Back to top
===========
All told, the ride was probably 340 miles.  I averaged over 15 mph every
day, which made me so proud.  I can't believe I did the whole thing - I
rode every single mile.  I endured the heat, the rain, the port-o-potties,
the pain, the joy - everything.  And I did it with two friends the entire
way - Paul and Mark.

I met Paul a long time ago, when I advertised as needing a ride to one of
the training rides.  He and I have ridden together ever since.  It meant
so much to me to spend the entire ride with him since we've been riding
buddies so many other times.

Mark I met on another overnight training ride.  He hooked up with me and a
friend Michelle to tackle the massive hills and we rode together the
entire second day.  After that, we would ride together whenever we were at
the same rides.

Having those two guys with me the entire way was just the best feeling.
We took turns leading, and even forced Mark to lead for a little bit - he
was a bit shy to take the front, preferring to follow, but was so strong
and did a great job.

Those two are my heros and put up with my constant bitching about my
crotch (and got way too much information in the process!), put up with my
singing for that 20 mile stretch, commiserated with me on the more
difficult portions of the ride ("We love the hills!  We love the hills!"),
and shared my joy at this incredible event.  And they did it with love and
friendship.  For that, I will be forever grateful.

So as I wind down from this long diatribe, I want to thank you all too.
You all made it possible for me to experience this.  It was truly a
once-in-a-lifetime event that I will remember forever.  I've taken
pictures and am bringing them in to be developed today.  I should have
them posted for you to see early next week.

Lots of love and thanks,
Rachael