I’m safely in Santa Cruz after a windy ride down Highway 1.
At the opening ceremony they announced that this year’s ride has raised $16.7 million. Thank you for being a part of that. That money is the single largest source of funding for the SFAF and LALGBT in their work to support people with HIV/AIDS as well as advocacy and prevention of future infections.
Before the ride out my friend Mike was there at 4am volunteering handing out route sheets to all 2000+ riders
The ride out was an unusually sunny Daly city morning. The sun lasted until we got to the top of Devils Slide to head down into Pacifica. Almost instantly the sky opened up with rain and wind.
But Stef was there with a group dressed up as lumberjacks – well, Santa lumberjacks (?) to cheer us on.
The ride down the coast was hard because we had headwinds the whole way. Usually the wind blows from the north, but today we had special treatment.
The lunch stop was absolutely gorgeous.
Here are a couple of photos to show the level of coordination that a camp for 2300 riders +600 roadies takes
