Not every day’s weather can be perfect. Or close to perfect. About midnight last night we heard a little pitter-patter on our tent. And it continued. I felt a little puddle by my hand but I felt dry enough. I woke at 2:00 am for a little more pitter-patter. Then Ben woke up and said, "I’m soaked." Indeed he was. The ground was sloped, and he was most definitely on the downhill side. He was sleeping in a puddle with no thermarest. Ick. I got up around 5:00 am, went to breakfast and then it started raining again. At this point, my enthusiasm was definitely waning. In the rain we had to pack, get our gear to the truck, take down our tent, finish getting ready, and then get on the bike. It sucked and I was pissed. But I had come to ride, not sit in a bus because it was too cold or wet. So a lot of us got on our bikes and went. I put on my long sleeve Once jersey (yeah, pretty jersey, brand new), threw on my jacket, strapped my polypro rain booties on, taped my ankles so the booties wouldn’t rub a hole in my legs (thanks again for shaved legs), and away we went. Oh, I had my long gloves on too. Once I got on the road, I felt good. I was warm, riding well, and relishing the fact that I had the right equipment. It was so moody (oops, Freudian slip, I meant muddy), and wet, and fast. I felt so cool. I felt tour de france cool. I felt tour de france cool because we’ve been through so many extremes, like the tour experiences. This day 5 of 7, and I feel the accumulated effects of multiple days of exercise and extremes in weather. Once riding today things got better, the weather changed, I got hot, then I got cold.

More later – talent show coming.

Stats:

Distance – 56.28 miles (90.57 km)

Time on bike – 3:22:40

Average speed – 16.66 mph (26.81 kph)

Maximum – 46.04 mph (74.1 kph)

[written on Day 6, on the beach, Ventura]

I think there was a lot more to write about, but I can’t remember.

The talent show was, for the most, amazing. What were some of the acts? A man singing, "I Hope You Have the Time of Your Life," a woman doing interpretive dance (sounds corny, was amazing), a cute-as-a-button lesbian singing, "Beast of Burden" and vamping and being silly. She drove the girls crazy! Then, a teach who has done the ride introduced a student of his who has been HIV+ since birth (19+ years). Two of her friends came to to Lompoc to sing the song they had composed with the lyrics written by the teacher. It was incredibly moving and got me and the audience all choked up. The other good performance as a guy who, on the second day, wore an "I’mpassable" t-shirt (making fun of the I’mpossible theme of the AIDS Ride). He then sang "Rainbow Connection" with a Kermit the Frog puppet. It was so cool. the talent show was fun, I went to the tent, and immediately passed out!

Oh, one anecdote. As I was climbing a hill in the yucky weather, a guy yelled out to me:

"Nice go-go boots."

"Thanks, they are riding boots."

"Do they work?"

"My feet are toasty."

"I’ll [offer of sexual gratification] you for them."