and the journey begins...

I remember my first bike ride after I signed up for ALC (AIDS LifeCycle). It was in September 2005. I rode on a bike trail, completely flat road with no traffic. I had to rest for 30 minutes and catch my breath after 9 miles (14 km). Last Saturday I rode 100 miles (161 km), including hills and traffic. Talk about progress!

This Sunday I am starting to pedal down to Los Angeles. Yes, time has come. The 7 day, 585 mile (941 km) journey is about to begin for me and 2800 other people. I spent a lot of weekdays and weekends on saddle to get ready for this. I neglected some of you because I was busy biking or I was too tired after a ride. But it was your support and encouragement that kept me going. I raised $5235 with the help of 77 friends. All of this money goes to San Francisco AIDS Foundation and will be used to help people living with HIV. No matter how much donation you made, each of you helped the fight against AIDS and you should be proud of yourselves. I am proud of all of you and happy that I have such supportive friends!

I will take lots of pictures along my journey and share them with you after I am back. ALC setup a website where you can follow our ride down the California coast. It is at http://experience.aidslifecycle.org/ You can also leave messages for each rider, but we won't be able to return them.

You did your part, now it is my turn.