San Francisco!
After several days to recoup, here's the blog entry for arriving to San Francisco.
Well we made it to San Francisco and it was an amazing sight. The last two days we were sure to maintain strict focus because it would have been so easy to just zone out and think the trip was over. The last few days of riding were great, we rode a bike path through Sacramento, California for about 50 miles along the American River. We stayed at a hotel our last night of the trip because there wasn’t any camping in Davis, CA. The ride from Davis to Vallejo, where we would catch the ferry to San Francisco, was beautiful. Riding through countless orchards we saw pears, apples, tomatoes, strawberries, cabbage and other produce I couldn’t identify.
We were planning to catch the 2PM ferry to SF and arrive in the city at 3:30. We hauled it 65 miles to Vallejo and had plenty of time to eat some lunch before the ferry. Riding in to SF we saw all the standard sights, Angel Island, Alcatraz, San Quentin, the Transamerica building and of course the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. Even when we could see all these indications that “the trip was really coming to a conclusion” it just didn’t feel real. For two months we’ve been hyper focused and aware of everything, shooting for that final goal of arriving in San Francisco, and once that day is finally here it doesn’t really register. After landing at the SF ferry terminal we biked 5 miles up to the Golden Gate and went to the base of the bridge at Fort Point Park. It was a perfectly clear afternoon; no clouds or fog blurred the bridge. Soon after we met Melissa and Niki right by the entrance of the bridge. Seeing Melissa, knowing I was in my new hometown and done with the trip was really exciting. We then hopped back on the bikes for our final 5 miles to the Pacific Ocean where we would dip our front tires. Our adrenalin helped us dominate the San Francisco hills on the way to the Pacific. At the top of the great highway there was a great view of the Pacific. We pulled down to the ramp by the beach where Melissa, Niki and our friend Allison were waiting. We detached our trailers, put on our crocs and got ready for the hike out over the sand to the water. As we rounded the corner to go down the ramp, I had to do a big double take because there were my parents and Brent's Mom to surprise us. It was great to see them and quite a surprise. Melissa had been planning and keeping everything a secret.
We walked across the sand and dipped our front tires in the cold Pacific as a finale of an “Atlantic to Pacific” bike trip. After that we loaded the bikes in the car, we didn’t think it was a good idea to bike all the way back to Marin County after a night of celebrating. The restaurant “Beach Chalet” overlooking the beach was the location for the festivities. Thanks to our friends Andrea, Elizabeth, David, Annie and Ellie, Laura, and Allison for joining us for the evening. There were balloons, ribs, beer and cake to celebrate. It was a great night and pretty overwhelming to take it all in.
Thanks to Melissa for organizing such a great celebration.
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