Harbor to the Bay -- Made It 2008!

It was a beautiful day on September 20th for the Harbor to the Bay ride for AIDS. It started early for me – I was up at 3:45 AM getting ready to get to Trinity Church in Copley Square at 5:00 AM in order to check-in and eat breakfast. It was dark and COLD but thankfully no rain. I had on many layers – long tights over my shorts, two pairs of socks, liner gloves, a headband, arm-warmers. a vest, and a jacket. Still, I was cold. My bike was clean and lubed and ready to go.

We had a good breakfast at the church and opening ceremonies were around 6:15 and we rolled out of the church around 6:30 to start the ride. It was cloudy. When we riding by the University of Massachusetts Boston, the sun started to come through the clouds creating rays of light. It was quite beautiful, although the skies didn’t really clear until mid-day (at which point I shed some of my layers).

I was riding with my friend Andi, a friend of hers Lee, and a friend of his Bob. Overall, we were well matched in terms of speed and riding style. It was fun to ride with others and be able to draft and work together. (This wasn’t possible in the rain last year.)

There were seven pit stops along the way, with snacks and water and the all important porta-potties. We had lunch at the Sagamore Bridge and then walked over the bridge to the cape.

The riding on the cape was quite beautiful for the most part. Toward the end, we rode on a lovely bike path that was flat. This was a welcome break before we hit the hills at Truro. Last year, I remembered those hills as being so difficult. We had a horrible headwind and since we had ridden in the rain, we were wet, cold, and tired. So I was dreading this portion of the ride. Although I wouldn’t call the hills easy, they were not as horrible as I had remembered. This year we had no wind to speak of and the sun on our backs. I was riding with Bob and we blasted up the hills much to my surprise. Finally, we could see Provincetown and the ocean. What a sight after such a long ride. We made it to the motel where all the riders and crew congregated before we all rode into Provincetown together.

Moving Violations, the women’s motorcycle group who so wonderfully supported the ride, led the way as we rode into Provincetown. People on the street cheered us and shouted their appreciation of our cause and efforts. We arrived at the Boatslip for closing ceremonies and dinner. Although I was tired, I felt good about the ride.

Thank you for those of you who contributed to my fundraising. If you still want to contribute you can until the beginning of November. You can do so online by going to my Harbor to the Bay homepage: https://www.harbortothebay.org/personalpage.asp?ID=618. Or if you prefer, you can download a form and send in your donation by going to harbortothebay.org and clicking on “donate” from the menu on the left of the page. I am rider #130. Unlike many charity events where a percentage of the money raised goes to overhead, in this ride a 100% of the funds go directly to the service and research organizations.

Thank you to all my friends and family for supporting me in all the myriad of ways that you do. I would not be able to do this without the support I get from all of you. I am glad that you share this cycling adventure with me.