As I pumped up my bicycle tire this morning I thought back to the last time I had to change the tube for a flat. It was before last year’s AIDS/LifeCycle. I remarked to myself I would probably get a flat on today’s ride. In fact I got two.

When I woke up this morning I thought it was raining enough for me not to ride. I looked again and it was fine at my house so I went out any way. I was at the stop sign at Sacramento and Harmon on my way to Rockridge. I was waiting for traffic on the far lanes to pass when a pickup came up behind me, decided not to stop at the stop sign, went around me, and clipped me with his extended mirror.

It hit me on the left shoulder and I went over to the right. I was fine but furious so I just turned around an went back home (about half a mile). Because I fell over I didn’t get the guys plate. I’m glad it wasn’t more serious. I hope that’s the closest I ever get to a car hit while on a bike.

Hey there. Today is the day (night) I got off my butt and sent out a letter to people about donating for the AIDS/LifeCycle 7. I’m riding for the third year in a row. If I haven’t sent you the message don’t feel slighted, I either don’t have your current email address or I haven’t hit you on the list yet (I do it in waves).

For completeness here’s the message I sent out:

Hello,

This year I will be riding for a third time in the AIDS/LifeCycle. The last two years have been amazing experiences because of the support of people like you. HIV and AIDS has a personal significance for me. In 1992 my uncle Keith passed away from AIDS related illnesses. Like every other person lost to AIDS over the years he was loved dearly by his family and friends and we miss him every day.

AIDS is preventable, but helping people living with HIV and AIDS will only grow more important as the global epidemic increases. With money for research and education the world can stem the growing tide of HIV infections and one day we may be able to have no new infections and recovery for those afflicted. I look forward to the year that I get to ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles in celebration of no more infections and lives extended for millions of people.

As with the last two years I’m riding in memory of my uncle, Robert Keith Weeks, and my room-mate’s brother, Kevin David Klohn. If you would like for me to ride in memory or in honor of someone you know with AIDS or HIV leave a note on the AIDS/LifeCycle website or send me an email. I’ll be riding this year with a list of names on display for all to see.

Even with the ride being four months away I’ve been training so that I’m ready for the 545 mile journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The seven day ride is not easy, but it is also not impossible. The only way that the amount of training and the week of riding becomes worth while is with your support. A large part of the yearly budget for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation comes from the millions of dollars raised each year by the volunteer riders and roadies of the AIDS/LifeCycle.

In the last couple of years people have asked me how much they should give. I always tell them to give what you can and give what you feel comfortable with giving, every dollar counts in the fight against HIV and AIDS and every dollar can help allow someone to live a better, longer life with their loved ones.

To donate you can follow the URL below and click on the blue “Make a Donation” button under my picture:

http://www.aidslifecycle.org/1102

I thank you for your support. Don’t forget your donation is tax deductible so be sure to keep a record of it for next years taxes. If you don’t want to donate via an online form then you can download a form to print and mail in at:

https://www.aidslifecycle.org/donate/forms/1102.pdf

Please feel free to pass this message on to friends and family as you
see fit, any little bit of support will be greatly appreciated. As always if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me!

Thank you!

Dan Weeks

There we are, the first real week of training done. After being off my bike since around Thanksgiving (I think, but whatever it is it was enough to make me pudgy) I got back on and did three real days of riding. Total milage was 54 miles. There was a fourth day of 30 miles, but I did it at such a leisurely pace I don’t feel like counting it. Next week I will return to the gym as well to mix up my training.

There are 550 miles to ride in June and I’ll be ready for them.

For those that are curious I’ll be sending out my fund raising information next week.

This morning I got up early for the first time in a while and rode my now rebuilt bike up the hill with Keeth. I had to adjust the seat hight a little and this evening I’ll adjust the seat tilt.¹

Other than that the ride was smooth and without issue. The back wheel was making a bit of noise again. I had it serviced but it seems like I might need to get the hub bearings replaced.

1. I have a great seatpost, but adjusting on the road can be difficult↩

I just finished putting Darkside, my carbon bike, back together. I took my time and made sure I did everything correctly. The only parts that didn’t get taken off were the shift handles and the cassette. Other than that, every part had been removed and a few replaced (cable housings and the front derailleur being the big items).

Now I will ride it every day this week and do all the fine tuning it needs. It feels a little weird since it’s a smaller frame than what I was riding, but once I have it all back in tune and ride it I know it will feel just fine.

Well, I got all my components off of Keith’s frame just fine and then installed all of his. All that is left to do is tension the cables, tune the drive train and brakes, and then get Keith a bike fitting to make sure everything is in the right place.

Sadly, on my frame I couldn’t get the bottom bracket to thread in. It would only go one to one and a half turns and stop. Not wanting to jack up the threads I stopped trying. Instead I dropped my frame and bottom bracket off at Cycle Sports in Oakland. They did a great job on my wheel tune-up and they are Trek specialists.

The mechanic said that the threads looked okay and a chasing would probably get it all working again. There is a possibility that I might need a new (or used, but new to me) bottom bracket, but we’ll deal with that when it comes up.

I just wish I could ride again, but I’d rather have my bike be working and not broken again, especially by my own hand.

I just got my carbon frame (Darkside) back from repairs by Joe’s Bicycle Painting. You may remember that a month before ALC 6 I cracked the frame.

I was very slackerly¹ in shipping it out.  Joe’s, it appears, did a fantastic job. I can’t wait to build it back up this weekend.

1. Meaning it took me a few months to finally get off my butt and ship it out last week, much to the exasperation of some.↩

This last week Emeryville made the bike route I take even better:

Well, this morning I got back on my bike for the first time in about five weeks.¹ Man, I huffed and puffed and generally sucked getting up the hill. I was tired, but I made it all the way to Chris and Athena’s new house in the Berkeley hills. More riding for me very soon, yes.

1. Two weeks with second degree burns on my hand, two weeks in New Zealand, and one week getting back into the routine here.↩