San Francisco

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Thankfully the rascally raccoons of Olema didn't get quite every bit of food and we still managed to put together a decent breakfast on Friday before our ride into San Francisco. As we approached the city the roads became busier, the neighborhoods more dense, and the turns more frequent. The turns initially made a welcome change from spending 50 miles a day on highway 1 but then grew tiresome. There was much checking of directions as we wound through Marin County and it slowed us down considerably. Thankfully one of our hosts for the weekend, Joven, rode out to meet us as a grocery store and he took the lead towards the Golden Gate bridge. We stopped for some obligatory photos along with 1000 other people. The ride over the bridge was windy but fun.

Joven, his wife Katelyn, son Tino, and dog Artie generously put us up for a couple of nights as we had a rest day to give us time to catch up with each other. As a bonus, Blake (whom we stayed with in New York) was also in town. The rest day included much eating, a walk to the beach, a home improvement project, sportsball on TV, playing peep-bo with Tino, stocking up on snacks at Trader Joe's (these snacks are NOT for the raccoons), and then some more eating.

We said goodbye to everyone this morning after taking some group photos. Tino was a little disappointed when he realized that he was not to be included in the bike ride but Joven appeased him with a skateboard. Thank you for having us Joven, Katelyn, Tino, and Artie! And Blake, we look forward to seeing you again in Los Angeles!

Our route out of San Francisco was less complicated than our route in, though we still managed to briefly lose Mike Sr. We got him back before too long and continued south along the coast. There were plenty of beaches and hills. Nothing too big, just enough to add some interest. My favourite part of the day was zooming down a tunnel at 20 mph. It felt like being in a computer game. For a moment I thought it would be wonderful if the rest of the day was like that - downhill, wide shoulder, good road surface. I mean, the scenery would be boring but we'd make great time! As it turns out, I needn't have worried. The afternoon brought screaming tailwinds and we zoomed the final 15 miles to the campground. Tonight we're camping at a KOA campsite since it's the only campground on the route for about 20 miles. They offer both a special cyclist rate and have a dry sauna. We took advantage of the first but not the second. Maybe another time.

Friday's miles: 39-ish
Saturday's miles: NONE!
Sunday's miles: 50

This is fun but Mike got tired before the tent got dry 
Coming in to San Francisco


The city itself

Thanks to Joven for guiding the way

Golden Gate bridge from the other side

Mike acquired a tiny passenger

Great to see everyone! Thanks for having us!





Comments

  1. CheriOctober 22, 2018 at 12:03 PM

    I don't know if you remember, but we lost Mike, Sr. a few years back by the dark pool at Dublin Castle. We eventually met up with him again at Christ Church Cathedral. In any event, thank you for finding him once again. You are all missed and the Southern California contingent is waiting for your return.
    Ride safely.
    Cheri

    ReplyDelete

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