Wine Country Ride {and a BIG surprise!}

Yep, this past weekend Clay took me to the wine country. It was a surprise trip. Until the day we left, I had no idea where we were going. I only knew to bring my road bike, and that the weekend would include a training ride in a beautiful place!

We went to this really awesome B&B in Cloverdale and it was soooo pretty there. On Saturday morning we woke up and ate the yummy vegan breakfast that they made for us and headed out on our ride. We decided to do a loop from Cloverdale to Healdsburg and back around. About 37 miles.

It was truly a beautiful ride! On the way out we had tail winds and lovely blue sky.

After we turned around we (of course) caught a big head wind (duh), but the scenery was still pretty, so we powered through, including a Category 5 climb at mile 30 (OUCH).

When we arrived back at the car we had each burned a healthy 1475 calories and we were HUNGRY. Fortunately we brought some delicious lunch with us to the B&B and we ate every bite.

After lunch we decided a little cable TV on the fluffy bed was in order. After a couple hours Clay kept trying me to go out for a walk with her, and I kept declining. Little did I know she was trying to get me out of the room and out for a walk SO SHE COULD ASK ME TO MARRY HER!! I am such a dork.

Finally, I agreed to get up off the bed and turn the TV off, and before I had a chance to throw her plan off again, she got down on her knees, presented me with a stunning ring and proposed! I could not be more thrilled.

You can read more about what our engagement means to me on my personal blog.

We are still working hard to raise money for ALC. Please help us reach our fundraising goals if you are able! You can donate to Lisa's fundraising efforts HERE, and to Clay's HERE. We can't do it without you!

THANK YOU!!
xoxo
Lisa (and Clay)

And we're off!

Hello and welcome to our AIDS Life/Cycle 2012 training and fundraising blog!

From June 3-9, 2012, we're riding 545-miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles to benefit the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and make a difference in the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS. We'll be training from now until then to prepare. Lisa did the ride in 1999 and Clay did it in 2007. We are both avid cyclists and are really excited about embarking on this challenge together.

Today marked our first joint training ride. We loaded our bikes onto our new racks (thanks, Mom and Dad!) and drove out to Orinda. From there we rode to the town of Hercules and back to Orinda, which is about 30 miles. It's a ride we've done many times, so there were no surprises. Clay's been training since early January, but this was Lisa's first major training ride (she was traveling for most of January), so we decided to do something easy.

It was so cold when we first started out, but we managed to warm up as we approached Pinole and by the time we climbed back up Castro Valley Ranch Road we even took our jackets off (see photo above).

We're really excited to be training together (finally). We'll be posting weekly updates on our training progress and adventures.

We both continue to fund raise as part of our effort, and rely on your support to meet our respective $3000 goals. You can donate to Clay here and Lisa here. Thank you for your support.

112 days to go!

Clay and Lisa