Day 15:
Jenner - San Francisco
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
stats:
88.22 @ 15.2 = 5:47'21, max: 38.2, trip total: 1183.3
weather:
warm - sunny, and breezy, beautiful day eats:
raisin cinnamon bun, pancakes, vanilla shake, clam chowder,
tequila shot, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, nachos, Negra Modelo
sleep:
Matt & Kate's home - Thanks!
thoughts:
The fog was in the distance- out in the ocean just hanging out in
the horizon. So the sun was shinning and the was warmer right off
the start. We had a plan too. Start out hard and get the bulk of
the riding done soon. We were planning to get into to town by 3pm
to have Tim meet Jessica.
It started out with the "warm up". We planned on riding
for a while to get into a rhythm. Maybe 10 miles or so. But that
somehow
shifted into let's see who has more muscle. I don't know what happened
but I was going hard at mile 0.4. Maybe I approached to close,
maybe I had too much to give, maybe we all wanted to get rolling
before we were warm.
And 32 miles later we were well into our day. It was probably
only 10am or so and we decided to push ahead another 9 miles for
breakfast. It was a fast morning. And we were that much closer
to San Fran.
Breakfast was spectacular. You could tell we were closer to the
city- the menu had more ingredients, higher prices, and the customers
weren't all locals.
The ride was smooth- even with the large numbers of hills they
were smaller and more manageable. And even though our legs had
had enough they were getting closer to a major goal. So we were
off
with excitement of reaching another milestone.
As we got closer the directions got more complicated and the grid
was part of what we had to navigate through. And yet there were
a few major climbs right through the heart of some suburban neighborhoods.
But before we knew it we were on our last climb to the Golden Gate
Bridge. And there it was. Right in front of us.
It's been years that I've wanted to ride the climb over the Golden
Gate (the park on the north side). And so I took the three miles
of climbing as a gift. Reaching heights that overlooked the entire
city and the bridge itself.
video clip: looking down on the golden
gate bridge »
After hanging out for a bit we re-grouped at the base and rode
over the bridge and into the city together.
And then the momentous ride across the bridge- the Golden Gate
- into the city. It was a long anticipated ride across and it was
great to roll into to town. Much easier than I thought. Then again
how hard could it be? Just get on and over.
We met Matt there on the other side and quickly decided that some
drinks were in order. And that's how we ended up at the bar telling
our tales of success. Welcoming Jessica as the new driver and saying
good bye to Bill and Melba. We were happy for our day off and ready
to enjoy the good life - eat, sleep, and rest. And yet we've been
doing that the whole time right? Well, kinda.
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