Commitment To Excellence

Day 28: Point Reyes to San Francisco

Today's Distance: 47 miles

Total Distance: 1,349 miles

Last night, before bed I ended up meeting a Mom & Daughter from Berkeley.  They shared their Milano cookies with me as we chatted and got to know each other.  I thought it was such a cool thing for a mother and daughter to bond over being outdoors together surrounded by nature.  They absolutely made my morning by offering to give me and Sabrina a lift to the bottom of the hill.  It's not cheating because I didn't let them take me any further south, just to where I left off yesterday.  Although I'm super sore, after a little warm up i'm ready to get going.

To be completely honest, my main goal for the day was just to make it to San Francisco in time to catch the Raiders vs. Chargers game.  I had no lack of motivation today, but of course like any other day on this trip I know there will be some type of adventure.  The first notable moment of the day was when I was riding through Lagunitas.  The popular brewing company came to mind of course, but what really stood out to me were the amount of cyclists.  Like lots.  Looking back on it, it does make sense.  It's a Sunday morning and i'm right outside a major city...of course there are going to be people out exercising.  It was just a shock to me at the time because:
1. I haven't been around lots of people lately and would be lucky to see more than one other cyclist on the road on any given day and
2. I've never experienced riding with a big group of people ever.  Not even back home, not even once.

Another thing I noticed was that these other cyclists I encountered today were definitely not as friendly; No waving or smiling, just business as usual.  I rode through Marin County mainly on a bike route.  I basically just started following others with the hopes that I was heading towards the Golden Gate bridge.  I had fun stunting on the local cyclists climbing the hills in Corte Madera on their road bikes, while i'm passing them with all this gear.  Of course I kept it classy, but I felt good about it on the inside...I can't help it, i'm competitive.

It got very touristy around Sausalito.  When I finally reached the GG Bridge I got the tingles.  To make it to this point was a major goal and working hard for it and then accomplishing it is a good feeling.  Everyone should try it!  Maybe if I didn't get so caught up in the moment I would've stayed on the right path.  Instead I somehow ended up on the 101 about to cross over the bridge with all the cars.  I finally realized it when I looked to my right and saw a fence blocking me from all the other cyclists and one nice cyclist pointing for me to go back.  Other than missing the turn for the pedestrian path over the bridge, it was a cool moment making my way across that bridge.

When I reached the other side, I made my way to the Presidio and met up with one of my best friends, Rigo.  I'm super lucky to have a place to stay here in San Francisco while I figure out the situation with my bike.  I'm hoping it will be a quick and easy fix for a professional and that I can be back on the road as soon as possible.  Wish me luck!  In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy this burrito, beer, and football game.  Mission accomplished!