After a divine bowl of peach cobbler hot out of the oven (thanks Julie), Neil and I set off west back towards the Pacific Coast. We had a really nice day of riding setting off on Red Hill Road, despite the heat and one long hill, we cruised easily through farmland, pine trees and big reservoirs leaving the fantastic Sonoma County and entering Marin County. We stopped off at the Marin Cheese Factory to try their cheese, and picked up a wonderful truffle brie for the evening.
Beautiful Marin County
It was nice to get back to the woods as we arrived at Samuel P Taylor State Park and our beloved hiker/biker campground. This park is filled with redwoods - much of them 'old-growth' (trees that have attained great age without significant disturbance), so were huge and majestic. That night we met an older couple from New Zealand, Grum and Juliet, who were great company for the evening. Grum has spent the last two years cycling around the world, and his wife Juliet (a paramedic in NZ) has been visiting him in various countries for a few weeks at a time. Needless to say, they were both filled with interesting stories and views on the world. We also met a lovely guy named Joel who was cycling from Portland to San Diego with his adorable dog Roxie - she quickly became everyone's friend!
Joel and Roxie ready to go
Pioneer Redwood - hundreds of years old
We took a rest day the following day, and spent time reading our books, taking a walk on one of the trails, and doing a Scrubba bag of washing. We felt very relaxed and ready to take on San Francisco the following day. We met some friendly cyclists who had rode up from Oakland (across the bay from San Fran) for the Labor Day long weekend, and Neil was pleased to find one of them - Sam, had recently opened his own brewery with three friends. This gave me good time to finish my book as the two of them chatted all things yeast, grain, temperatures and hops.
On Sunday, Neil and I got up before sunrise to pack up shop in the dark, and set off for San Francisco by 7am (earliest yet). We had arranged to meet our hosts at noon so needed to get moving. Back in Westport we met a cyclist, Max, who after chatting to us for a short 10 minutes, had offered us a place to stay at his home in San Fran. We eagerly accepted the invitation and had arranged to meet his wife and kids at the house that day.
En route to San Francisco
The ride to San Francisco was thoroughly enjoyable! We were able to take quiet back roads basically the entire way, passing through beautiful towns such as Fairfax, Ross and Larkspur, stopping for a mid-morning bagel. There were so many cyclists on the road and there were hardly any cars to contend with. As we approached the town of Sausalito, we joined a designated bicycle path following the signs for the Golden Gate Bridge. Not long after that we were introduced to the San Francisco hills. Up and up we went until finally we reached a beautiful look out at the Marin Headland, presenting us with fantastic views of the infamous Golden Gate Bridge.
Streets of Sausalito
View from the Marin Headland Lookout
Cycling across the Golden Gate Bridge
We had such a fantastic and memorable time in San Francisco. We spent two nights with Max and Kara, who went above and beyond to look after us, generously giving us the key to their beautiful house in a great part of town (Cole Valley area) to come and go as we pleased. We enjoyed the interesting conversations and simply delicious dinners, hearing about their lives and adventures, exchanging stories and getting tips for the future. Their two girls Marilisa and Amelia were wonderful company and really sweet, clever kids! Thanks to the four of you for making our time in San Fran a highlight of the trip. Hope we can return the favour one day!
View of the city from Tank Hill
Our third night was spent in the Lower Haight District on Fillmore Street, another great part of town. To sum up our time in San Francisco, we ate some excellent food, tried fantastic craft beer, walked the town, cycled the town, took the bus and trolley across town. It was cool to see the typical San Fran houses all around us, and were amazed at just how steep the hills were EVERYWHERE. We particularly enjoyed the Mission District, seeing the impressive murals and indulging in mouth-watering authentic Mexican food which we struggled to order due to our inability to speak Spanish.
Murals in the Mission
Typical San Fran homes
The Castro district
The large homeless population of San Fran didn't go unnoticed, and oftentimes Neil and I would comment on the amount of rubbish lining some streets, hold our breath when the smell of urine was too strong or cross the street when we felt uneasy in a few sections. It is quite startling the contrast between the wealth and the poverty in the city. One minute you are walking past Twitter headquarters and taking in the fancy cars (I can never tell the difference between a Ferrari and a Lamborghini), and around the next corner you have a man, dishevelled and sleeping on the sidewalk with his cat and a sign that reads "Please feed kitty". This is just one of the many examples.
All in all it didn't completely detract from the experience. We both really enjoyed San Fran, wished we had more time there, and would like to go back one day. The city felt happy and busy (there was a great sense of community on the buses), the people we met were warm and it was very bicycle-friendly considering the size and number of people to contend with.
We set off on Wednesday bound for the Caltrain Station across town, and found our way there with ease after a couple of hours relaxing in a big park, reading and enjoying a picnic lunch. We were heading for Palo Alto, another town in the Silicone Valley that is considered particularly expensive and up-market. The train was the best yet, with an awesome bicycle carriage that allowed you to hook your bike up to a railing to keep it secure.
Bikes secured
The train took about 45 minutes, and we then found the streets of Palo Alto to be very flat (literally have yet to find a hill in this town) as we cycled the way to our friend David's house (who we met cycling the Pacific Coast a few weeks ago). David lives in a massive share-house, which has about eight rooms and on average 15 people living here. We were offered a bed in the attic but decided to set up our tent in the backyard to avoid the heat of the attic and navigating the trap door to get up and down without breaking doors and waking residents. We have spent the last two days cycling around town, visiting the famous Stanford University, wandering the streets of downtown enjoying the more relaxed pace.
Exploring Stanford University Campus
Typical street in Palo Alto
We have been lucky to meet David - a one of a kind person. Like many of his housemates (and I'm sure most of Palo Alto) he works for a successful IT company as a software engineer. He is also really passionate about meditation, and has been meditating daily for the last year. Like many of our hosts he has some great stories, plans for the future and views on life and loves his cycle touring. Hope we'll see you again David and thanks for having us.
This morning Neil set off on the train to pick up the hire car which we will have for about 16 days. We're please to have yet another Ford Explorer, which we know fits our gear very easily! Today we will drive a short way to Big Basin Redwoods State Park for the night, and we will plan to slowly make our way down the coast to San Diego, before cutting in through Joshua Tree, up past Las Vegas and towards Flagstaff Arizona where our next leg of cycling to the Grand Canyon will begin!
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