 |
| san francisco bay at daybreak |
 |
| stowing our gear |
the morning was an early start, not just because it was the first day, but also because there was one thing that we'd be doing today that is part of
the ritual of the cross country ride: dipping the back tires of our bikes in the pacific. as the ride ends, the front tire gets kissed by the atlantic ocean in portsmouth, new hampshire.
the ritual of the cross country ride: dipping the back tires of our bikes in the pacific. as the ride ends, the front tire gets kissed by the atlantic ocean in portsmouth, new hampshire.
as is usually the case, we got a late start this first morning. pictures to be taken, things we left in the rooms, loved ones to say goodbye to, and last-minute instructions for stowing gear, including what you can take and what vehicle will carry which of our equipment, etc.
as i mentioned yesterday, this group comes in all ages, shapes and sizes and years of experience on this kinds of rides. it seems like a good group and, as will be born out on today's ride, the people i've met so far are just plain nice folks.
are you kidding me!!??
are you kidding me!!??
a little over two and a half miles into this first day's ride, we get "teased" with our first climb. all of us have been talking about the rockies and the hills we'll have to face in colorado, so no one saw this coming. for a little over one mile, virtually EVERYONE was climbing in his/her granny gear. not even in the rockies. in millbrae for god's sake! in all my training rides up in vermont, i vowed not to use my granny gear and, here we are on day 1 and i'm already breaking out that gear! this hill was brutal. one of the guys with a garmin computer on his bike was calling out the percent grade increases. it started out as an 8% but eventually grew to a 10% climb. that's NOT the way to start the day. [in the oh, by the way department: today was 3300 feet of climbing in total.]
once at the top, we got smacked in the face with the fog coming in off the ocean. while it looks great when you see it from the 101 heading into san francisco, riding through it is another matter altogether. it's cold, it's very wet. and, when the winds are blowing at over 20 mph [weatherman told us that this morning], it shakes the moisture off the trees which "rain" on you. oh yeah, then there's the matter of visibility. riding through the clouds basically means you've got about 25 feet of vision in front of you. and when you're biking at over 30 mph on some of the downhill runs, that's not a lot of time to see something pop up in front of you.
ghosts of aids rides past.
this morning was not only the beginning of our cross country adventure. it was the first day of the san francisco to los angeles aids ride. as we were heading north towards san francisco, hundreds [maybe a thousand -- i didn't think that much but was challenged with that number tonight at dinner] of riders were heading south towards l.a. at one point, i saw a guy on the opposite side of the pacific coast highway who was the spitting image of ken, "the chicken man" from aids rides past. looked like him. same build, same sunglasses. same crazy costume. i've talked about ken in the past [probably somewhere in last year's mississippi missives] and how he inspired me with his compassion and riding abilities. hope it was him, if only to know he's still out there helping others, both on and off the road.
 |
| the foggy pacific, rough and cold |
once i got off of skyline drive and crossed over a ridge, this is the sight of the pacific i witnessed. worth the picture. the fog was still coming in, the weather, in the low-to-mid 50's with a strong off-shore wind, was a challenge given that fact that we all dressed for an 80 degree day.
five miles down great highway, the ocean road, we pulled into the parking lot, took our bike shoes and socks off and carried our bikes the hundred yards out to the water
 |
| if i'd have thought about it, i would have left the water bottles back in the parking lot |
from the beach, we headed up balboa, a mean, short, steep climb up into the city of san francisco. being sunday morning, the streets were rather empty, so it was great to enjoy riding through the city.
 |
| much calmer an hour later. and look! it's sunny. |
a left off of balboa and we were soon riding through the presidio, the military base right in the city [also a bad movie with sean connery, mark harmon and meg ryan].
the shot at the left is front the ride through the woods along the coastline. gorgeous views and a beautiful ride.
once we got through the base, we rode up one last hill and there, in front of us, was the fantastic views of the golden gate bridge, the pacific and, looking back, the city of san francisco, alcatraz and everything else to the east.
the rest of the day was a bit of a blur. we rode through sausalito and larkspur and san rafael. as it's customary for us all the where the same bike jersey the first day of the ride, along the way people would either ask us if we were a bike club or where were we all heading. the looks on peoples' faces when we told them: "portsmouth, new hampshire" was priceless. a couple of times, people asked if we would pose with them, just to tell their friends of the whack jobs they met on the road this afternoon.
the rest of the ride was almost uneventful. HEAVY emphasis on the "almost." the last leg of today's trip took us up into sonoma county and highway 37. when local bike riders asked us where we were heading [apart from the new hampshire bit], the response we got when we answered, "highway 37" was a universal "oh geez!" people either told us we were nuts to ride along that road, or "bring extra inner tubes 'cause the road is crap and so are the shoulders." [sure enough, one of the guys i rode alongside got a flat on that stretch].
i've probably driven on highways 37 years ago when i went up into the sonoma and napa valleys from san francisco. this is a single-lane, 55-mpg state highway that cuts right through the napa/sonoma wildlife marshlands. the sides of the road are flanked by brackish water streams. today, the winds were howling at over 30 mph. at least that much. how could i know? once you've been hit with crosswinds that nearly knock you off your bike, as was the case today, you know. trust me, YOU KNOW!
while we were on highway 37 for seventeen of the last twenty miles, it was the last eleven miles through the marshlands that nearly did us all in. the heavy crosswinds changed direction and came at us all in an oblique angle, fortunately not being full-fledged headwinds. as it was, with the day wearing on, i notice fatigue setting in as my speed slowly and steadily dropped from nearly 20 mph while in a pace line with three other guys [including a local who tagged along as he'd never taken the highway 37 route to his house before] to barely 12 mph while trying my damnedest to fight through the hellacious winds. finally, with a little over three miles to go we finally got through the marshlands and the winds as we entered vallejo.
one small, but significant piece of history from my past. as we left the marshlands, mare island was on our right, just before exiting for vallejo. mare island was where all the navy's war wounded from the pacific in WWII were treated. my grandfather was a naval surgeon and was stationed there during the war. nice to finally see where he practiced his craft.
a hot shower, a meal and a couple of bags of ice on my knees and i'm all set to get ready for tomorrow. we head in to sacremento in the morning. fewer hills, just monday morning traffic to contend with. and, the day after soreness. but, as we're all experienced. that will dissipate as we ride ourselves into better shape.
good night all.
once we got through the base, we rode up one last hill and there, in front of us, was the fantastic views of the golden gate bridge, the pacific and, looking back, the city of san francisco, alcatraz and everything else to the east.
 |
| san francisco from the other side of the golden gate bridge |
the rest of the ride was almost uneventful. HEAVY emphasis on the "almost." the last leg of today's trip took us up into sonoma county and highway 37. when local bike riders asked us where we were heading [apart from the new hampshire bit], the response we got when we answered, "highway 37" was a universal "oh geez!" people either told us we were nuts to ride along that road, or "bring extra inner tubes 'cause the road is crap and so are the shoulders." [sure enough, one of the guys i rode alongside got a flat on that stretch].
i've probably driven on highways 37 years ago when i went up into the sonoma and napa valleys from san francisco. this is a single-lane, 55-mpg state highway that cuts right through the napa/sonoma wildlife marshlands. the sides of the road are flanked by brackish water streams. today, the winds were howling at over 30 mph. at least that much. how could i know? once you've been hit with crosswinds that nearly knock you off your bike, as was the case today, you know. trust me, YOU KNOW!
while we were on highway 37 for seventeen of the last twenty miles, it was the last eleven miles through the marshlands that nearly did us all in. the heavy crosswinds changed direction and came at us all in an oblique angle, fortunately not being full-fledged headwinds. as it was, with the day wearing on, i notice fatigue setting in as my speed slowly and steadily dropped from nearly 20 mph while in a pace line with three other guys [including a local who tagged along as he'd never taken the highway 37 route to his house before] to barely 12 mph while trying my damnedest to fight through the hellacious winds. finally, with a little over three miles to go we finally got through the marshlands and the winds as we entered vallejo.
one small, but significant piece of history from my past. as we left the marshlands, mare island was on our right, just before exiting for vallejo. mare island was where all the navy's war wounded from the pacific in WWII were treated. my grandfather was a naval surgeon and was stationed there during the war. nice to finally see where he practiced his craft.
a hot shower, a meal and a couple of bags of ice on my knees and i'm all set to get ready for tomorrow. we head in to sacremento in the morning. fewer hills, just monday morning traffic to contend with. and, the day after soreness. but, as we're all experienced. that will dissipate as we ride ourselves into better shape.
good night all.
Very impressive Dad your off to 2 very good starts, the first of course being that your vey anticipated trek across this great nation has finally begun and in the time and pace you plan to do it in is extraordinary, rail barons of yore....eat your hearts out.
ReplyDeletethen the 2nd achievement i need to make note of is your blogging skills, not only are you physically sharp but after a long day you muster the will to put it all back through your mind and into words...maybe at times a little to eloquently but the more photos you add the easier it is...I mean after all whats a book without pictures :)