Getting ready for AIDS LifeCycle

I just finished my fourth group ride on Saturday. Even if I wasn't the fastest, I got it done  I was not very sore when I awakened the next day. Yes, I could be faster up the hills, but I keep getting better at nutrition and water, and getting prepared for the heat. It takes a while to remember how to do these things after being idle during Covid times.

While I have spent most of my time getting my body ready, I've also been preparing for a week living out of a backpack on the road. Here are a few things I have been doing to get ready:

• I got tired of having so much junk in my jersey pockets, so I finally bought a small handlebar bag.  It's so much easier than that having bulging pockets and finding things by touch.
• My Iphone 12 mini battery wore out when I was not in range of a cell tower and would deplete the battery during the day.  My battery was at 10% at the end of the Grizzly Peak ride.  I wanted a charger that I could carry and found it with Clutch, a two-ounce iPhone charger that holds a full day of charge. It'll be one of the things in my new bag.

• My bike just went in for its tuneup. Nothing major wrong, but I now have new bar tape and front tire that doesn't have a gash in it.

Updated learnings on 5/25

• Doing Strawberry fields was interesting.  We went along the coast, with much of it on the same route that we'll take on the Santa Cruz to King City on Monday of the AIDS ride.  It gets very misty and lots of mist on the glasses, leaving muck there later when the sub comes out.  I now carry a glasses cleaning cloth so I can clean those glasses.
• It looks like it will be cold this year, with the highest highs in the upper 70s, especially along the coast.  I will be bringing my kit for leg and arm warmers. In fact, I have been wearing a base layer, arm warmers and a windbreaker for most of this spring.

I still have to get my backpack together and bike clothes for each day, especially day 5, red dress day.  Just to give you a taste, these are the socks that go with the outfit: nothing subtle.