Manteca, CA to San Francisco, CA
Distance: 85.79 miles
Time: 6:51:15
Max Speed: 33.4 mph
Average Speed: 12.5 mph
There was certainly excitement in the air this morning when we awoke, knowing there was only one more day of pedaling between us and such an iconic city. I think everyone has their own reason to love San Francisco, but there is no one person on the team who dislikes the city, so far as I can tell.
It was apparent that we were approaching a large metropolitan area as we rode today. The first half of the day was spent on small, two-lane highways, snaking through endless agricultural fields that seemed as though they could feed an entire state. And there were more fields than we could even see. It is definitely a very fertile area. But, these were not like fields we have seen before on this trip, such as our last days in Texas. These fields were very neatly structured, fitting together like Tetris blocks with irrigation ditches slithering along the boundaries, leaving no earth unused. There was also moderate traffic on these roads, a considerable amount of which was 18-wheelers, so there was not much opportunity for conversation as we rode single file. One of the most peculiar sights we saw was a field bordered by several canon-like contraptions attached to propane tanks which would rotate and "fire" periodically, making a loud bang like an explosion. Vitek and I could not figure out what the purpose of these contraptions was. My only guess is that they are used to scare off birds. I suppose they would be slightly more effective than the old overalls-wearing scarecrow. At one point, we also rode by a peach orchard, at which time we stopped to sample the fruit. I have never tasted a sweeter, juicier, more delicious peach in my life. It may just have been the best piece of fruit I have ever had. Admittedly, we sampled a few, and packed our jersey pockets with a few for the road. They were so juicy, it got all over our hands, faces, and jersies, but it was definitely worth it.
We did not want to deal with the hassle of riding through the East Bay Area at rush hour to into the city itself, so we had decided last night to take the BART into the city. Our plan worked out quite well, except for an adventure that Peyton had while trying to meet us at the BART station in Walnut Creek. She had managed to get the van stuck in an apartment complex a block or two from the station and Vitek and I had to go give her a hand getting it unstuck. Otherwise, Peyton did an incredible job navigating the Bay Area and San Fran itself, which is no small feat with a 15 passenger van and trailer as large as ours. I hope I never have to do something like that, so many, many props to Peyton. In a similar situation as I was yesterday, Peyton was the only driver today going into San Francisco, which must have been one hundred times as hard as my solo drive day. My hat, or rather peanut butter hat, is off to you!
Once we got off the BART in the city itself, we rode to Fisherman's Wharf to get to a bite to eat. There was quite a large group of us, around half of the team, and we all enjoyed some delicious seafood before the rest of the team met up with us at our chosen lunch spot. The weather was absolutely perfect by the way. I was able to see both the Golden Gate and Alcatraz perfectly, neither of which I had witnessed first hand on my previous trips to San Francisco. We could not have asked for better conditions.
We split up once again, this time into smaller groups, and my group (consisting of Elyse, Vitek, Elyor, Shelley, Rambeau, and myself) went to a little beach on the north side of the city at the base of the Golden Gate to enjoy the view and take pictures. All the while, we basked in the gorgeous weather and our triumph of reaching the West Coast by bicycle! From there, we crossed the Golden Gate heading north into Marin County, which probably took us upwards of an hour due to the countless stops we made on the bridge to take pictures and enjoy the view. My greatest sense of accomplishment on the trip thus far was definitely while crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on the same bike that had carried me there all the way from the Best City in Texas. Knowing I had made it this far just felt and still does feel incredible.
On the other side of the bridge, there was much confusion as to where exactly we were supposed to go and we had to talk to about four different people, some more than once, before finding our way somewhat. Luckily, as we were trying to find our way at a corner, we met an awesome commuter cyclist who happened to live near our destination at the Marin Rowing Association Clubhouse. Thank you very, very, very much Matthew! Without your help, we may very well have still been trying to find our way!
We were greeted at the clubhouse by smiling faces and an amazing spread of delicious foods, another rockstar welcoming that felt undeserved, but ever so wonderful. As if it were not a given, our stay in San Francisco should be awesome.
When we arrived, we found out that Darlene had gotten a little to friendly with a pole in the middle of one of the bike paths we traveled en route to the Clubhouse and had cracked her helmet and ended up in the helmet. Luckily, she is alright, just a little shaken up and I think a bit embarrassed, and she is back with us at this time.
Tomorrow I will be taking all the team's bikes to a bike shop in Dublin, CA, a suburb of San Francisco, where they are ever-so-graciously doing some much needed bike maintenance for us. I also plan on visiting the Hydes out in Benicia, CA, some old family friends from El Paso who I have known since 1st grade. After that, who knows what this magical city will have in store for us!
Peace and Love,
Golden Gate Tito
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