Fortunately, the early morning departure was quiet, and even with all the fog of Bodega Bay, dry due to the thick cover of pines and a steady wind. For the first time ever in the fortnight we had been camping together, I was the first one off. I said good-bye to each of the group just in case, but we promised to meet at the Golden Gate on Sunday.
On the way to SF, Hendrika and Harald passed me as I was lubing my sticky pedal clip. I took the hills slowly and the descents as fast as I could. Still following CA 1, there were still lots of ups and downs. When I got to just outside Point Reyes Station, John caught up to me. He went left, I went right, but turns out we were going to the same place. Shortly after I passed the Samuel P. Taylor state park, there is John coming down the Sir Francis Drake Blvd towards me. He had already reached the park, but went into the next little town to get food and beverages. I thought of stopping to visit, but I still had 30+miles to go, and I would be seeing everyone tomorrow.
After riding through numerous town centers, and a climb over Corte Madera I was finally on the descent and flat to Sausalito where Aaron met me. He had rented an e-bike for the weekend and had been touring SF all day. We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then started the climb up to the Golden Gate, a tough one. Requisite pics of SF and the bridge, of course, and Aaron took a video of me crossing. When he showed me it later, he said, “I thought you would say something.” I wasn’t prepared for a speech. 😉
At the apartment, after oggling the views, including from the rooftop outdoor lounge, I took a long, hot bath. Oh, that felt good. Settled in for a long night’s rest. Ahhhhh.
A hot bath, a killer view and no raccoons to boot!! Sounds like a good night : )