This was a weighty day! I made the decision to ship my unused camping gear (and some random other stuff) home. It might seem like a huge relief, but I have mixed feelings about it. I haven’t camped once on this adventure yet, but I always had the option if I couldn’t find a place to spend the night, but now I don’t have that option. I scanned the route ahead, but I don’t actually plan more than a day ahead, so I am just hoping it will all work out. I wish I had taken a picture of all the stuff I shipped home, but I didn’t think of it. With the box, it was just over 26 pounds! So my bike might weigh less than 100 pounds now!
I almost got squashed on the way to the FedEx store. I ended up in a right-turn-only lane onto the freeway without realizing it. When I realized it, I just figured I’d go straight, but the second lane was ALSO a right-turn lane, and it was full of cars. There was some honking (from them) and shouted apologies (from me). If I’d have gotten hit, it would have been my own fault. Anyway, I survived.
On the first climb of the day, I saw a bridge, and I thought “THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE!” But I gradually realized it wasn’t, and I stopped to confirm this with a gentleman walking on the waterfront. His name is Scott, he is 84 years old (but 12 in his head, and I can relate!) and he had a design firm in San Francisco for 40 years before he retired, and we shared stories for a few minutes (while my friend Chris Rosa was listening in on the phone).
The second climb of the day was up to the bridge. When I got there, following the Adventure Cycling Route, I discovered that the west side of the bridge is only open to cyclists at certain times – and this wasn’t that time. I had to walk down stairs on one side, and back up on the other, taking my panniers off each time. I was sweaty and tired when I finally got there.
I wasn’t sure how to get on the bridge, but I saw two people on bikes, wearing backpacks, go down a ramp, so I followed them. On the other side of the bridge, we introduced ourselves. Billy and Romain are visiting from Quebec, and are doing bike adventures in the area.
I followed the route through the Presidio, and shortly after I hit the streets, I heard someone call my name. I didn’t recognize the person, but he was wearing a randonneuring jersey, and he told me his name was Pascal and mentioned he was a friend Yonnel Gardes, a very accomplished cyclist and Seattle friend. He recognized me from the pin Seattle Randonneurs jersey, and a couple Facebook posts. Pascal and Yonnel are both from France, and Pascal invited me to join him for a pastry from a French bakery – Arsicault on Arguello Street. He treated me to a croissant, the best one I have had! We sat in the gorgeous Golden Gate Park, ate our croissants and talked about many things. It was a magical chance encounter!
The rest of my ride was mostly uneventful. There were a few locations with scary traffic, scary roads, or both, but I survived! At one point, by the San Francisco Zoo, my route seemingly ended at a closed road that was covered in sand, but a local told me it was fine, so I dragged and pushed my bike through the sand for a couple hundred yards before I could ride again!
It was really warm today, but a little cooler right by the water.
