October 5, 2022 to October 6, 2022
Days 26/27 - Bodega Bay to San Francisco and layover
Fog-Sun-Fog
Note: I’m skipping a couple of days to catch up to the present. I’ll add days 24 and 25 to the journal later.
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Tough ride today, with nearly 5k feet of climbing. At 8:00 AM, Colleen and I set out from the campground into a fog so dense that we had to stop very half mile or so to wipe the moisture from our glasses so that we could see (we both wear prescription lenses). The visibility was so bad, cars would disappear into the mist 100 feet away. So, for safety, we rode together until the fog began to lift at around 10:00 am. At that point, I went on ahead, as we ride at different paces.
My first stop was the Tomales Bay Deli - HAD to stop there because it’s a favorite haunt for my Napa riding club, the Eagles. (Actually, we usually stop at the cafe next door, but it was closed.) I enjoyed a cup of coffee and a chocolate-dipped coconut cookie. It was a little strange being so close to home.
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Entering Marin, our first real hill started out at 9% and topped out at a sustained 14% according to my Garmin. I walked the last two-thirds. I probably could have made it up on the bike but, frankly, I was still a little tired from yesterday’s ride and hadn’t slept well last night (noisy campground) and just didn’t want to work that hard.
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Our route took us onto the Cross Marin bike trail, a beautiful wooded trail, sometimes paved and sometimes gravel, for miles through and onto bike paths or trails through Lagunitas, Fairfax, San Anselmo, and Mill Valley, so that we spent a major portion of the ride off the main roads.
The scenery was gorgeous and there was a lot to enjoy, but I was tired and really began to bonk at around mile 45. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it all the way, but I pushed forward to Fairfax. There, I rested in the shade, drank some cold water and an energy drink, and ate some cookies — all of which revived me a little.
When I caught my first view of San Francisco, I knew I could finish, even though there was still a lot of climbing to do (not that I really had a choice).
Finally, I arrived at the base of the bridge. There, I waited for Colleen because she wanted some company crossing the bridge. Together, we climbed our last hill to the top of the bridge and across — where the fog was thick and the freezing crosswinds were so strong I was constantly terrified they would blow me into an oncoming cyclist. When turning to the right to pass around the towers, meeting the headwind was like running into a wall. Overall, this crossing was both extremely unpleasant and scary and I hope to never experience that again, ever!
Once safely across, we proceeded the short 2 miles to the hostel - all on bike paths. I felt trashed. As a group, we celebrated with pizza (I ate 3 pieces). And then I was in my bunk bed by 8 pm — 8 to a room, and I was fast asleep by the time the others came to bed.
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Layover Day
I woke just before 7 AM, feeling both rested and tired. Is that a thing? After a shower, I enjoyed a decent continental breakfast and then walked 2 miles down to the Ferry building to meet Rich. He was coming over on the ferry from Vallejo, and we planned to spend a few hours together.
It was a gorgeous day, sunny and temps in the 60s. Couldn’t have asked for a better day in SF.
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Rich and I walked the length of the Embarcadero, indulged in a lunch of fish and chips, and then later a sundae at Ghiradelli Chocolates.
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After saying goodby to Rich and returning to the hostel, I spent some time on bike maintenance and organizing my gear for the ride tomorrow. 60 miles and lots of climbing. Really, I could use another rest day.
Today's ride: 73 miles (117 km)
Total: 1,065 miles (1,714 km)
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2 years ago