Re-connecting With Sharon

After WAY too many years, Sharon and I finally met up for a delightful brunch at her home in San Francisco.  We spent the day catching up, exploring new hobbies, and brunching on delicious treats.  Thanks Sharon for an exquisite day.

Training Ride Blues

Another day riding -- but this time we threw in a few hills for good measure.  Alan had ridden this loop several years ago & funny how the uphill section got shortened with the passage of years.  Alan:  "I really want you to see this road.  It is not so steep and quite lovely in and out of trees."

So off we go:  out to Olema, down highway 1 along the coast, and then UP to the Bolinas ridge, down to Alpine Dam, UP to Pine Mountain and Meadow Club with the last bit of down to Fairfax.  Ummmm.  A whole lot of UP and DOWN on the last half of that ride.  Maybe a total of 45 miles.

My confidence began to waver along route 1 as we found plenty of headwind and a few rolling hills.  And the ridge road.  About a mile up the ridge road, I ask (not so nicely) "how far to the top?"  Alan:  "oh we are about half way there already."   I realized this was the optimistic voice of my husband as about a mile later there was one of those traffic signs with the squiggly line and note:  steep, winding road next 14 miles.  

Well, about 3+ up hill miles later..we are now close to the ridge.  A steep descent to the dam where it is level for a few hundred feet and then immediately up hill again.  Alan:  "it is not so steep on this section."  Me:  "!@#$%^&*!

But we got home mostly in one piece.  I am totally sore, especially my arms and hands from riding the brakes down the switch backs and on the steep Fairfax hill in traffic.  This loop was way out of my comfort zone, but I guess you have to push at times.

The ridge was a climb of 1500 feet, which is a lot more than we'll see down the coast in September...and hopefully by then I will not be too sore for the saddle.

Steep Ravine Hike

Kathy and Doug joined us for a Sunday hike on Mt Tam.  From the Pantol parking lot we headed down the Old Mine Trail, continued down on to the Dipsea trail,  and then hiked back up the Steep Ravine trail.  Our weather has been cool, but we lucked out with clearing skies and a fabulous day.

Lots of time for talking & walking.  A fun day for everyone.

Kathy and Doug

The trail has a bit of climbing!

Nautical Flea Market Day

Over the years and boats, we have accumulated a fair amount of boat stuff.  Bits, pieces, lines, stuff...you name it.  With the end of the house and all that storage space we paid up for a booth at a nautical flea in Sausalito market (as part of a harbor festival).  We had to arrive and unpack at 7am; it was a cold gray morning that is typical for the Bay Area.  By noon, the sun had started to break through and the wind had begun to swirl down the hills.  We sold a fair amount of the stuff:  we were especially pleased to offload a lot of the small bits as those are hard to sell via Craig's List.

We left about 1pm with $700 in hand.  Next up for these treasures:  Craig's List and then to the dump!

Let's Make a Deal!

Willkommen Beate and Florian

The Lake Louise Campground is an international crossroads for travelers; especially for adventurous and budget focused travelers.  The Campground had cooking shelters and one evening we met a German couple:  Beate and Florian.  They had bought a 1991 Toyota Land-cruiser with 260,000 miles in Seattle and are driving to Tierra del Fuego.  After a bit of conversation it became clear they would be headed to San Francisco so we offered to host them during their stay.

They managed to pack in all the sites of San Francisco and then headed south along CA Route 1.

We totally enjoyed welcoming them to our home and sharing stories of the road.

Florian and Beate at the Golden Gate Bridge

Miles to Go

We've been riding...riding....riding.  Our goal is a 300 miles trip down the Central California coast in September.  Sunny days, no fog, and not much other traffic..but the hills and views will still be there.

So we are trying to work up to 50 mile rides.  My legs are willing but after a few hours in the saddle, well, my backside just wants to do anything but sit in the saddle.  Alan is a stronger rider and has done this trip before...about 40+ years ago!  Along the coast, probably not much has changed.

It is totally fun to ride and I'm sure we will get our act together by mid-September.  I plan to carry panniers and Alan will tow a small trailer.  This way he can use the bike (Shadow) he has been riding for the last 7,000 miles.  Shadow is in the shop for a major tune up and overall.  Like new cables, that should have been replaced 5,000 miles ago!

This last weekend we started talking to 4 touring cyclists along the bike route in San Anselmo heading south.  Seems it was the last day on the road for them:  after 3,000 miles they were finishing up in San Francisco.  Really fascinating story of meeting in Alabama and taking 10 days to build their BAMBOO bikes.  I am not sure their route to California but they were thrilled for gray, cool days....

Muir Woods for Lunch

Yesterday we all hiked down to Muir Woods (from the highway above) to meet up with Nik B for lunch.  Since his graduation from UC Santa Cruz, he has landed a job in the gift shop in the Park and settled into a share house in Fairfax.  We had a great hike and were glad to share some food with Nik.

On the trail

Hi Guys

The hike was a bit of a training walk for our backpacking trip to Yosemite over Labor Day.  I was carrying my backpack full of lunch:  trail mix, sourdough bread, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, pesto, nanaimo cookie bars, and drinks all around.  Walking back up with a nearly empty pack, made the hour zoom by.

Nik made us some mega cookies -- a great time for all.