I got rolling this morning after sleeping well, despite the external monologue of my new friend down the path. I rode without stopping to the bridge. Along the way I passed the two couples I met the previous evening, and waved my greetings. The roads down to Sausalito are quite confusing, and bikes aren't allowed on the major highways down there, so I was stopping frequently to check my map. At one point I was in or near a suburb called Lakspur and was trying to figure out my path when I saw four ladies cycling by and I asked for directions. They were heading the same way, so they told me to ride with them for a bit. They're all from the north side of the bay, and have been riding around the area together for some time, so they knew some sneaky routes that saved time and effort. Thanks ladies.
I climbed the steep hills of Sausalito that lead up to the bridge, which was lovely in the morning fog. I found myself on the southbound side of the bridge which I learned is closed to bikes and pedestrians until 3:30PM (due to wind?) and I had to take my bike down a long set of stairs, under the bridge and up a longer set of stairs to get to the northbound side's sidewalk. Son of a bitch that was awful, and probably the hardest part of my day. They need an elevator.
Crossing the bridge was fantastic and I stopped many times along the way to enjoy the view. I got across and made it into town by 11:30AM and tried to find a motel. There was no visitor's center near the bridge, and I was pointed to the visitor's center at the Presidio, where I met Ruth. I love Ruth. I was impatient and I felt like I had been misdirected to a Presidio-specific info booth, and wanted maps of the city and not just the Presidio. Ruth calmly and in a perfectly grandmotherly way told me that I didn't know it yet, but I will have all the answers I need. I love her. She did give me all the answers I needed. She even pointed me to the cheap motel district on Lombard street. Foxy grandma.
I stopped at the first place checked the rate. They wanted $130, which was more than I wanted to pay, and opted to shop around. The next place wanted only $75, so I assented, but when the gentleman behind the counter pointed to a sign saying that parking was limited and not guaranteed, I pointed to my bike. He then refused to let me stay there if I was to bring my bike in the room. Weird. He said it would mess up the carpets. Asshole. The next place wanted $90, but I talked her down to $80 and she was thrilled that I would be sharing the room with my bike. She even gave me the handicap accessible room so I didn't have to deal with the stairs. The designers of the Golden Gate bridge could learn a thing or two from this lady.
I got the room, showered and was out walking about within an hour. What a perfect day weather-wise. I got on the phone with Amberleigh and made plans to meet with her for dinner and had time to run around the city for the afternoon. My first goal was to find a Peet's coffee shop (the best coffee there is) and did so quickly and with great satisfaction. It was so nice to be on my feet instead of on wheels, and I must've walked about 5 or six miles all told. I started near the Presidio, and hoofed it along the wharf to pier 39 and got a sourdough baguette from Boudin (delicious) then went up to market street to Union Square and found the library at 8th and Market and checked my mail and blogged a bit in the 15 minute intervals that the library permitted. After 15 minutes you had to rejoin the queue, which never took very long. It was interesting though to see what people would do with their fifteen minutes while waiting. One guy was watching telenovellas via YouTube, and another older gentleman would load old black and white photos of pin-up girls and stare at them for maybe five minutes each. Good times.
Met up with Amberleigh and had coffee and then we met with Anna Maria and her step-brother Peter, with whom they were staying. He's the RA at a dorm for a University of Fine Arts. He keeps watch over the ballet students. Nice one. He knows the area well, and he took us to Japantown for sushi where we ate and drank so much and paid so little. I feel like we robbed them. Awesome. And the grilled squid was amazing. I'm still gearing up for some Tokyo Delve's once I hit L.A., so this was a nice tease.
He had to get back to his dorn by curfew though and to do a headcount, so Amberleigh and I hung out a bit longer, caught up and grabbed a late/early breakfast at IHOP. I love pancakes so much. It was a good day, but I wish I had more time to stay there, which can be said for so many of the places I've visited so far. Perhaps, I'll consider this a surveying mission for the next time I come out here to know at which places are worth spending time.
For the day: (half day)
Rolling time: 2:48:46
Distance: 31.18 miles
Avg speed: 11.08 mph
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