alc_gary

Off to SF

Fri, 02 Jun 2006 02:22:57 GMT

Hi everyone,

Yes, its been a long time since I updated this, and life has been hectic for ol' Gary.

OF MOST IMPORTANCE:

Because of all your help, I have been able to raise $3,240.00, that is $240 over my goal, I am overwhelmed by your generosity.

LifeCycle participants received an email two weeks ago asking everyone to slow down, rest up, and not over-do it before the event on June 4th. I was involved in a 10 day film shoot which didn't allow myself any cycling, which was the good news. The bad news was that I was working 18 hour days on my feet.

So the past four days I've been resting and eating as much as I can. James and I fly out to SF tomorrow, Friday June 2nd at 1:00pm. We'll be back on the 10th of June on our bikes.

HERE'S SOME BIG NEWS!

I have been selected to be one of five participants that will be updating an official LifeCycle blog every day on the ride. There will be daily podcasts that I will be a part of as well. So after today, to read all about my first experience on AIDS/LifeCycle, BOOKMARK this web address and check in daily:

http://experience.aidslifecycle.org/

So there's Barry Bostwick the Bitchin' Blue Bicycle on the back of my truck yesterday. A lot of people have asked me "how do you get your bike up there?" And the answer is simple, McCollisters Transportation Group provides bicycle shipping to LifeCycle participants for a small fee. I dropped the bike off at the Hollywood Bowl yesterday, and my bicycle will be waiting for me at the Opening ceremonies in SF.

OPENING CEREMONIES INFORMATION - SF

Sunday, June 4, 2006, 6am
Cow Palace
2600 Geneva Ave, Gate 5
Daly City, CA 94014

CLOSING CEREMONIES INFORMATION - LOS ANGELES

Saturday, June 10, 2006, 4-5pm
Wadworth Theatre Grounds, Lot #7
Department of Veterans Affairs
11301 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90073

Updated information about opening and closing ceremonies can be found throughout the week at http://www.aidslifecycle.org/ceremonies.html

Once again, check in with http://experience.aidslifecycle.org/ for all my updates throughout the week on the ride.

And, as always, thank you all so much for your kind words, your generosity and all of your support. This is a big deal. Love to all.

Gary Cotti
Los Angeles Cyclist #6902

A Day on The Ride...

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 18:44:17 GMT

This past Saturday, April 22nd was the official "Day on the Ride" training ride in Los Angeles. The day is set up like a typical day on the LifeCycle ride in June, complete with rest/water stops, a marked route, sweep vehicles, support staff, etc. The mood on this ride was much more exciting than the previous organized training rides I've been on, I guess thats because everyone is really ready to go..

Weather was great all day, mostly overcast or partly cloudy but enough sun to teach me the lesson, that I should always make sure I put sunblock on my knees too. See, this was the first ride I wore those spandex shorts (instead of baggy cargo shorts) that everyone is talking about. Let me tell you, with all the padding, its like riding on a cloud! But see if you can tell from the following picture, where the leg ends on my biking shorts.

I know, right?

Okay lesson 1 learned. Sunblock on the face and arms just isn't going to do it.

Lesson 2 was learned earlier but put in to practice on Saturday. See, I used to ride with these shoes:

But while the 1991 Reebok Pump sneaker might be a great conversation piece, they don't hold a candle to the comfort of efficiency of these:

Shoes that clip in to the pedals. I am now clipped in to my bike and FUSED TOGETHER MAN AND MACHINE! Which is totally nuts. I practicied on Friday and fell down in front of the following:

1) a little league game
2) a group of senior citizens on Fairfax and Santa Monica Blvd
3) an old man coming out of whole foods
4) a prayer group in a park.

It was also a good learning experience.

Anyway, back to Saturday. The official mile count was 81. But I'm going to say it was at least 85, because some of those miles seemed a little longer. To date this was the longest ride I've done with the most hills, and luckily there were enough orange weges and Cliff Bars at the rest stops to keep me energized. Also, before I clipped in to the bike I never realized how much fun cycling really is. Getting up those hills is a lot easier, pushing and pulling instead of just pushing.

My goal for the day was to keep peddaling and only stopping during at break points and rest stops. Happy to say I accomplished that save for the one time I fell over. At a stop light, no less.

Here's what check in at 7am looks like:

Here's what lunch looks like at Mile 45, eating what was at that point the most delicious turkey sandwich in the whole world.

This is what James and I look like at the beach very happy after a long downhill ride:

This is what it looks like at mile 65 eating Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels. Yes, thats the ground. No, I don't care.

And here's why I'll never leave my gloves sitting on my desk at home again.

All in all a good day, and since the sunburn was the only thing hurting bad the next day, I can honestly say that I'm ready to go in June!

And honestly, while this was a big physical struggle, there are folks living with HIV who's struggles physically and emotionally are exponentially more difficult than riding a bike to San Pedro from Santa Monica. Thank you all for your donations and support, and if you haven't yet, you can send a donation by going to www.aidslifecycle.org/6902.

Thanks!
Gary Cotti
Los Angeles Cyclist #6902

More Updates!

Mon, 17 Apr 2006 04:44:37 GMT

Hi all...

Last weekend I finally realized that when you ride more, it actually becomes easier. I did almost a repeat of the star maps ride I did last week (with some added hills for good measure) and I must have gotten a good night's sleep or something because I was ready to go another 40 miles after it was over.

One thing that was different about this ride was that the group was much more spread out, which I actually like because when I ride in big groups I get distracted and it gets noisey. Plus I can't sing songs to myself at the top of my lungs when I'm riding right behind/in front of someone, because I bet that gets pretty annoying.

So by the time I had made it down to Santa Monica I was pretty much on my own and I headed back myself, until halfway where I caught up with two more riders.

Here's a terriffic shot showing off my new aerodynamic haricut.

Two really big updates:

1. Thanks to many generous donors over the past few weeks I currently stand at $2,045.00, just under a thousand dollars left to go before June. And according to some calls and emails, I'll be even closer to my $3,000.00 goal by the end of the week. Thank you ALL so much for your support and generosity.

2. I finally bought cycling shorts. They look ridiculous but apparently are very comfortable.

Thanks!

Gary

Celebrity Sightings

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 03:39:16 GMT

Back from another extended absence...

A battle with strep throat and an ear infection kept me off the bicycle and generally off the map for a bit, and I started a new job which has sucked most of my energy to another dimension, but this weekend I was back in full throttle with James for a training ride through Beverly Hills, Bel Air and then uphill to Mt. St. Mary's College, down again, and then to Santa Monica (past the home of generous donar Marc Golden) and then back up to West Hollywood.

Altogether the ride said 33miles, but I'm going to add 2 to that, because I got lost along the way at one point. So, lets say 35. And a lot of it was uphill. The biggest news was on the corner of 26th and San Vincente I saw Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger driving his luxury SUV. So far this celebrity sighting beats chatting with Hollywood princess Lindsay Lohan for .04 seconds last November.

So the best and most important news of all is that I'm over halfway to my $3000.00 fundraising goal thanks to many generous donations from friends and family. Quite honestly there are too many to mention in this blog without the list going on and on, so thank you again to all of you who have made your donations, you really have all been amazingly supportive.

Here's me and James looking really fabulous in our helmets:

Also, if you're playing the home game, you can view our exact route, we clip these on our bikes before the ride so we all have directions, I still got lost in Bel Air.

This is what I acutally look like while riding. I know you are probably not supposed to take pictures while biking, and this one makes it look like I actually have my eyes closed, so don't do anything you see in this picture.

On April 22nd I will be participating in "A Day On The Ride" which is an entire day that is set up exactly like how it will be on the LifeCycle ride in June, full support team, rest stops, etc, which will be a great idea to figure out how much more (probably a lot) training I have to do...talk to you before then!

-Gary

Beverly Hills Is A Great Place To Ride

Thu, 02 Mar 2006 07:04:56 GMT

...because on the residential streets people generally drive their expensive cars real slow.

Sunday morning, I missed my alarm clock for the morning "Star Maps" ride, and I really felt stupid about that, but I was able to get up and I did my usual ride up Benedict Canyon (short but steep) and then back down Beverly Glen from Mullholland and came back Sunset Boulevard. Ran in to some friends having brunch on Santa Monica boulevard and I got to show them how cool and gross I looked after riding up and down the Hollywood Hills.

Also, I saw an entire family on those Seguay things. The things that you just stand on and they roll. Its really strange seeing five of those in a row. Its like they all got them that day and decided to take them out.

Here's the basic idea of the route, give or take...Benedict Canyon actually runs right in the middle, but Google maps couldn't do my exact route.

And a foggy view at the top..

I have a new boyfriend. His name is Vitamin Water. He's sweet, supportive, and always there when I need him, and most of all after spending time together I really feel like I'm participating in life.

I love you, Vitamin Water.

And I love some of the recent donations and the donor's, including Matthew Beverly of Wood's Hole, MA and Leah Siporin of Boston, MA. Seriously, donating is cool so you can fly right over to www.aidslifecycle.org/6902 and contribute to AIDS/LifeCycle 5.

Thanks everyone,

Gary Cotti
Los Angeles Cyclist #6902

Good updates and could-be-better updates.

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 06:36:50 GMT

So, back from Arizona for a bit, and I'm sad to report that during my two week stint as an AD on a horror movie there was absolutely no time for riding. After working 16 hour days, the last thing I wanted to do was pedal for a bit. So Barry Bostwick the Blue Bicycle sat in my room the entire time.

However, the good news is that I came back to LA ready to ride and I completed my first official training ride (around 30 miles) the first weekend I was back in town. We started in Culver City and headed through Beverly Hills, up Benedict Canon to Mullholland Drive and then down through Franklin Park (I didn't even know it existed and might be a new favorite place to cycle.)

I went with fellow rider and good buddy James and we had grandiose plans of pictures of us trudging up the Hollywood Hills on our bikes, but wouldn't you know it as soon as the camera came out of the bag it said "Change Battery Pack." So you miss out on pictures from that ride.

Rain cancelled most of the rides last weekend so I was able to re-do the previous ride on Monday taking advantage of the not so crowded holiday streets in Los Angeles.

More rides this week, and as far as fundraising I'm juuuuuust about a third of the way there, so we're getting there steadily. If there's someone you know interested in donating, tap them on the shoulder and forward them this weblink:

www.aidslifecycle.org/6902

Donating to LifeCycle is like, the new cool thing to do, and thanks to some recent very generous donors:

Dianna Ball of Wallingford, CT
Paul Trombetta of North Hollywood
Marc Enyart of Mission, KS
Georigia Jean of West Hollywood
Anne Coleman of Boston, MA

Thanks and more updates soon, with pictures! I promise.

Off To Arizona...

Sat, 21 Jan 2006 08:32:40 GMT

Starting tomorrow, the next two weeks I'll be Assistant Director on a horror film shooting 2 hours outside of Tuscon, AZ (basically in the middle of nowhere.) Hopefully our schedule will allow me some time on Barry Bostwick the Blue Bicycle for some training. I have no idea what the landscape will be (I'm assuming just rocks and....dirt) so with any luck while I'm out there I can get some riding in and some...desert vistas for you to see? Let's see how many of the cast and crew I can get do sign up for donations...

Thanks to all that have donated so far!

Cheers,

Gary Cotti
Los Angeles Cyclist #6902

click here to donate!

Official Bike Name

Wed, 18 Jan 2006 07:55:59 GMT

Okay, so my friend Mike in San Diego decided that "Bob The Blue Bicycle" apparently lacked a certain amount of celebrity flair that one would need as a Los Angeles rider.

So he came up with "Barry Bostwick the Blue Bicycle"

And I think its just perfect.

Also, it was dark today by the time I wanted to take a ride, so I didn't get to do any riding on Barry Bostwick the Blue Bicycle. I headed over to the YMCA and did about 9 miles on the stationary bike. Uphill. Both ways. Thing is, those stationary bikes don't allow you to coast. At all.

Thanks today to Justin Burton of New York City, NY and Ali Burton of Portland, OR for their generous donations. You can read their messages and make a donation yourself by clicking on www.aidslifecycle.org/6902

Cheers,

Gary
Los Angeles Cyclist #6902

Step One Complete!

Tue, 17 Jan 2006 21:25:43 GMT

Greetings. Well it all starts here. Last week I purchased the bike I will riding on for the next 6 months to train, and as well as the 585 mile ride for LifeCycle.

It's a Trek 7100 Hybrid bike which is perfect for the road. Nice and light and it allows me to ride sitting upright which is great for my back. AND IT'S BLUE! Also, I realized this the second day I had it, there's a bell on it. Like an old school bell that has this great
Mr. McFeely-Special-Delivery "ring ring!" when I ride by. I can't wait to annoy everyone on the road with it. If you're buying a bike in the Los Angeles area, I highly recommend Helen's Cycles in Westwood. They totally didn't make fun of me when I walked in and said "I need a bike and I know nothing about them."

The other accomplishment this week happened today when I received health insurance from Blue Shield, which was the last obstacle to being allowed on the LifeCycle ride.

This week I'm hoping to get out as much fundraising letters and emails as possible before I head out to Tuscon, AZ for two weeks for an assistant directing job on a low-budget horror film. The good news is that we'll be shooting in the middle of nowhere and they'll be plenty of road to ride on.

Thanks for checking in and if you haven't yet, please donate to AIDS/LifeCycle by clicking HERE.

I haven't named it yet, but I'm thinking "Bob The Blue Bicycle." We'll see how it fits.

Best,

Gary Cotti
Los Angeles Cyclist #6902