The Golden Gate

To San Francisco, California -- 59.1 miles, 11.1 mph, 2625 ft.

Last night was our last stay in our snug little tent.  It was a damp morning, so at some point we’ll be unpacking and drying it out. A couple delicious peanut butter tortillas and we were on our way.

Our soon-to-be-unnecessary food supplies

Mr Monster, the entire way, with a front row seat

Given the hilly terrain yesterday, my legs were really feeling it this morning along Tomales Bay. The low grassy hills and blue water of the shallow bay was beautiful in the early morning light, but, man, those short little hills were steep. Seventeen miles into the ride we coasted down into Point Reyes Station and found a hopping breakfast spot. If the elevation profile was right -- which is a big assumption given our past experience that some of the lines were drawn with an oversized crayon -- the rest of the day's climbing would be much more gentle.  

Tomales Bay

It was at this cafe that for the first time we felt like we were back in the Bay Area. This was also the last of our Highway 1 riding. Of all the roads we’ve been on, despite the beautiful scenery, it's clearly one of the worst for bikers.  There are just too many huge sections where there is no where to ride except on the roadway.  And, unfortunately, the windy road isn't enough to discourage semis and travel trailers.

The other clue that we were in the Bay Area was the explosion of bike riders. We got a fair amount of attention and encouragement as we rode into Sausalito and then, after a quick snack, negotiated the stream of biking tourists up the last steep climb to the bridge.

I had to laugh as we crossed the bridge; the wind was now gusting, the temperature had dropped by fifteen degrees, and the upper two thirds of the bridge towers were totally obscured by fog. It was still a hoot as we dodged the other cyclists on the eight foot wide walkway and rounded each bridge tower to a blast of wind, one of which took my sunglasses right over the edge... won't be needing those for a while anyway.

Once on solid ground again, the sun was out, and we let Google guide us into North Beach and to the Royal Pacific Motor Inn on the border of Chinatown. Good job everyone; our last stop of the trip!

We knew that Andrew and Emma, our British friends from a couple nights ago, had made it to the city earlier in the day, so we made plans to meet for drinks at an Italian Restaurant, Fino. The adults shared a bottle of wine and Dex and Kylie had Emma's ear the entire time. We learned that Emma is the introvert of the two. Despite that, she did great with us. I am so grateful we had a chance to meet them and wish them a safe and enjoyable journey on the next phase of their trip, Sri Lanka. For us, one day more.