Tour of San Francisco

New Years Day was a bust as far as riding was concerned, but today was forecast to be a break in the rain, so I wanted to get out.

The “traditional” start to the New Year is Mt Hamilton, and some of my friends were planning on doing that. I wasn’t in the mood, plus I woke up late and knew that I wouldn’t make it to the meeting spot in San Jose.

So I decided to head north. The initial plan was San Bruno Mountain, which would count as a climb of some kind. However, as I rode north I changed my mind and continued into San Francisco.

Before I reached the city, I dropped down to Pacifica to see the coast. From there I saw clouds gathering, but no rain that I could see. If it started raining, I figured I could hop on the train.

My route through San Francisco took me along the Great Highway, most of which is now closed to cars, which made for a pleasant part of the ride.

I headed toward the Golden Gate Bridge, where I dodged a lot of people who were out enjoying the day before the rain. This was the theme of my ride as I continued east along the Bay before I got on the Embarcadero. Before I left the pathway, I enjoyed a very tasty but expensive hot dog ($10!!) from a street vendor at the pier for the Alcatraz ferry.

I noticed the time and realized it was likely going to be dark before I got home. Hindering my progress was a nice strong headwind, which was opposite of the usual direction.

My route took me past Oracle Field (baseball) and Chase Center (basketball), and I ended up staying close to the bay, where I followed my usual plan of just pointing my bike in the general direction (south) that I needed to go.

Eventually, I ended up at Candlestick Point, where the old stadium used to be, and I took more familiar roads home.

Sure enough, it started to get dark, but I had two front lights, so I was unbothered and was able to see my way quite well. However, the rain started as I passed the Facebook campus. Fortunately, I didn’t have to endure it for very long, plus I had my fenders on, which is good practice for my upcoming trip to Great Britain in May.

Over, it was a nice long ride, and a great way to start the year.