Tam biet / Bye!

So, now that I've been home for over a month, it's time to finally sign off this blog. Thanks for checking it out. Stay tuned for more adventures somewhere else in the world.

Did it!

Dear friends and family,

I did it! And I never could have done it without you!

This week I rode every mile of the 545 mile AIDS LifeCycle. It was an amazing experience, on many levels. I've been involved in the AIDS LifeCycle for many years through friends and family, but participating as a rider this year was truly special. First off, I was very touched at the amazing support from all of you. You helped me to raise a total of $3,558! Collectively the fundraiser raised over 13 million dollars this year, making it the largest AIDS fundraiser in the world. As a first time rider, I was very apprehensive about the large fundraising requirement. However, I was so impressed by the response from my friends and family; I received donations from over 50 people. It was amazing to see who stepped up to donate. I want to give special thanks to all of my peers who donated. I know many of us are still starving students (and starving graduates) and it was moving to see you give. I was definitely in the minority as a young rider, but happy to proudly represent my demographic!

Being a part of AIDS LifeCycle this week, I felt the importance of the cause we were supporting. On the ride this year, there were over 300 riders and roadies (volunteers who make the whole thing run) who are openly HIV positive. Hearing their stories, and the personal stories of others affected by HIV/AIDS made a big impression on me. It was powerful to hear these stories from the riders I had chatted with at rest stops, or the roadies who had parked my bike. Before this week, I didn't fully understand how very personal and significant this event is for many participants who have the disease, or have lost friends to it. I felt very humbled by the courage of many of many fellow participants. I also have great respect for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the LA Gay and Lesbian Center, as well as the AIDS LifeCycle staff and roadie volunteers. As a rider, I felt like just a piece of a larger puzzle; the ride works because of the combined work of so many roadie volunteers, you the donors, sponsors, and supporters along the way.

The AIDS LifeCycle was not only a meaningful experience, it was also a huge physical challenge and breathtaking tour of California. I rode longer than I ever have (107 miles on the longest day), and got to see the many landscapes of California. I rode through the fields of the Salinas valley, over golden hills, on the shoulder of 101 (yuck) and down the Pacific Coast Highway. It was astonishing to see the number of supporters along the way. So many people came to cheer me on, along every part of the way. One lunch stop was in a town with a population of 120 (and we were over 2500 riders alone!).

Throughout the ride, I was often asked if I will sign up for 2011. My answer was a conditional "yes!" because I'm hooked and would love to do it again, but I'm not too sure where in the world I will be next year. But I would encourage anyone and everyone to participate, it was a beautiful and meaningful week. And anyone can do it...the oldest rider was 83 years old!

Thanks again for all of your incredibly generous support and for allowing me to have this fabulous experience!

AIDS LIFECYCLE IS HERE!

Tomorrow I leave for the ride! I've got to bike 82 miles to make it into Santa Cruz! Woot woot! I'll be sure to take tons of photos and send a big update at then end when I finish in LA on June 11!

Everyone's invited to closing ceremonies in the VA center in LA. More info here:

Home again and gettin ready

Home again!
Still riding...
OH MY GOD people are equipped for biking in this country! Going from the sublime to the ridiculous. My old clunker and my flip flops in Vietnam have been replaced by a snazy Raliegh Street bike, padded bike shorts, special road tires, clip in shoes...that's just the beginning. I felt like I was shopping for jewelry when I was buying my clip in pedals. Now I've got to get used to my clip ins and pretend that my shoes are not brand new sparkling white....

This is how I feel about my new clip ins...its a bit hard to get used to

The last days....

Last days in VN,
filled with crazy work schedule, getting everything in, eating all manner of Vietnamese foods for the last time...
Had to return my trusty blue bike yesterday. A hard goodbye.

Opened a tearoom at HWH Shop - a cool thing to leave behind. A giant final push.

Minh Mang Tomb

To Minh Mang Tomb

There is a whole lot of significance and important history, which I kind of overlooked during this visit. Mostly I wanted to ride to a destination - Ming Mang tomb was a pretty epic one even if I don't know who's buried under there




Not a bad ride, and with good company. Lan and Mimi joined in. Even though Lan was only in Hue for 20 hours during this short trip we managed to get some good biking in.

If all else fails, read the map...or not

Never underestimate mountain passes! When I casually looked at the map this morning, the two dots labeling the Phuoc Tuong and Phu Gia mountain passes somehow escaped my attention. It's not that I didn't see them, they just looked so unassuming as little dots.

Let's start from the beginning. This morning I started off bright an early, planning to eat my very favorite breakfast: bun chay, vegetarian noodle soup. Vietnam is predominately buddhist, and its a custom here for buddhists to eat only vegetarian foods on the first and middle of the lunar month. I was sorely disappointed to see that my stand wasn't there - but I substituted with some fabulous Mi Quang...how to describe...flat chewy noodles with pork, egg, shrimp, peanut and a sweet soupy sauce and lots of fresh greens and sweet pickled veggie and some cruncy rice cracker sprinkled on top. Maybe I should rethink my favorite breakfast choice actually...



Well, off to Lang Co beach. This time riding solo. While many of my friends have been awesome troopers joining me in my rides, they all learned pretty quickly that riding with me is no walk in the park - so if you're not training, I understand how it can be a bit too much. In the end, I was happy that I was alone because it was in fact WAY too much and I would have felt responsible if anyone else had joined me!





The route I took to Lang Co is about 90 km, along the coast and then cutting back to the highway. It was the same route we took last weekend to my friend's village, but further. When I arrived at the village I stopped for lunch and took my time. When I hopped back on the saddle in the afternoon, I asked some locals on the side of the road how far Lang Co was. (This is always fun - usually they're super excited when I say something as simple as "beach? where? far?", and they repeat it back to one another "did you hear that? She said 'beach, where, far?'"! Its good fun but sometimes hard to get your answer..) They responded by saying "OH, far!"...which they usually say to me when I bicycle, and then suggest I take a motorbike instead. But this time I pulled out my map, and unfortuantely, confirmed that it was in fact quite far. Looking at that "little" bay on the map, it looked a whoooole lot bigger looming there in front of me. In my excitement this morning I didn't plan my pacing very well... nor did I take into account the MOUNTAINS between me and the beach. Yes, I saw the mountains in the distance from my friend's village, and last week even commented on how beautiful they looked in the mist. But somehow did not put two and two together. Well, I very quickly put it together once me and my rickety blue bike were battling the mountainous terrain along the lagoon and then switchbacks over not one but two passes! Beyond my burning thighs and calves, the giant trucks careening around the curves did not make it any easier.

My usual style is to just kind of go for it, and see what happens, which usually ends in adventure. I was counting on this today, however, my adventure had a deadline at 3:30pm, when I had to catch a bus to get back home (I chose to go one way this time, to be able to reach a far destination, and then bus home with my bike). So there I was, just me my rickety blue bike and over 35 kilometers of mountain pass in front of me, and the sun already fading into late afternoon. There was nothing to do but kick my ass into gear! (Well, only one gear because I've got a single speed bike...) I munched a few dried lotus seeds to power me up and then bombed up those hills! I would have loved to be one of the villagers that rode past me - I'm sure they were wondering how a foreigner ended up zooming by on a secluded road, with only an old cruiser bike!



The image of my friend Kelly kept coming to mind: of the story she told me about when she climbed Mount Fugi in the middle of the night with only a keychain flashlight. I was perhaps a bit more prepared but not much. Throughout my climbs and exhilirating descents, I kept flip flopping between pure joy, utter fear, all the while asking myself "What was I thinking!?" In the end, I rolled into Lang Co beach at 3:30 on the dot. It was perfection: sometimes things just happen so magically. I don't know how I ended up making it in time but the whole trip was perfect in its imperfection. I've got a nasty heat rash to show for it, but besides that all in one piece. And did I learn my lesson: to plan ahead and to carefully read the map? NOPE, not at all. Because if I did it again, I'd do it the same way. Where would the adventure be otherwise?