I met Brian and Kevin at dinner in King City. They are remarkable people. Brian is Kevin's brother-in-law. They are the closest of frineds and have done the ALC ride together several times. One is gay, the other straight, and they make great sport of not telling you which is which and making you guess. The straight brother is one of the least homophobic people I have ever met in my life. He could care less what people think about him, as you can probably guess from this picture. Meeting these two guys was really one of the nicest things that happened to me all week, they are just wonderful people.

They had these "Homo Depot" shirts made up and wore them on Day 3. I ran into them at the first rest stop of the day, just befor our big climb up the hill they call Quadbuster.

There was a photographer taking pictures of the riders as they reached the top of Quadbuster. I'm glad they caught me when I was smiling - I must have realized the top of the hill was close. Glad I wasn't swaering! You can order the picture here if you want a copy. (Photo: Brian Black Hodes)

Since I was knew we were going to be climbing that day, I wore my Alpe D'Huez jersey that day. Alpe D'Huez is a ski resort near Grenoble, France, and the road that leads up to the resort is the most famous climbs on the Tour De France bicycle race and the scene of several of Lance Armstrong's most stirring moments. I was lucky enough to pull a business trip to Grenoble in 2006. I made my pilgrimage up to the top of Alpe D'Huez. No, I did not do the 1,120 meters in 14 kilometers climb on my bicycle. (Maybe next time.) But I did manage to climb up Quadbuster on my bicycle.

One of the cool things about the ALC ride is that after not seeing someone for a couple of days, you run into them again at some point, then you ride with them for a while. I ran into one of the other David G.'s at the top of Quadbuster and we hung out the rest of the morning.

Two David G.'s at a rest stop that was all Christmas-y.

My favorite part of this particular rest stop was Bad Santa and his three nasty little elves!

Day 3 takes you through the little town of Bradley, California, population 120 according to Wikipedia. One of the big events of the year in Bradley (if not THE big event) is when ALC rolls through. The whole town shows up and throws a barbecue for us. They use the money for school programs, such as field trips, that the kids would not otherwise have access to. The barbecue in Bradley is the only meal during ALC that most of the riders pop for. The welcome we received from that little town was just amazing. At camp that night, the teacher who organizes the barbecue spoke at dinner and brought the house down.

I ran into Brian and Kevin again in Bradley at the barbecue.

I also ran into my friend, Bill S., in Bradley.

Towards the end of Day 3, there was a rest stop at Mission San Miguel. The guys there all dressed up in drag and were lip syncing. Great fun and great outfits.

The grounds at Mission San Miguel.

Another picture of the grounds at Mission San Miguel.

I noticed this poster on the door of the office at Mission San Miguel. It was really nice to see that the Mission community supports both the ALC ride and the local AIDS service organization.

My tent mate Martin at Mission San Miguel. I ran into him there; we rode in to Paso Robles together.

The guy in this picture was married to one of the riders, and this is her dog, Timber. He and Timber were at every single rest stop all along the way, offering their support. (Photo: Bob Katz)