25th june 2018
This morning its another earlylish start as I am meeting Sylvie and Lynda at the Marina in San Fran as we are going to attempt to see the redwoods again, so another ride across the Golden Gate Bridge… yay!
Oh dear it’s really cold this morning and the sea mist is thick across the whole of San Francisco.. calls for several layers of clothing and the heavyish leather jacket I’ve brought with me. Of course once across the Bay Bridge I am into the financial district which is just murderous traffic this time in the morning. I’m supposed to meet them at 9.30 but don’t actually get there until 10.15..sorry grrls.
On top of everything it is really windy today, more so than previous days so the crossing is going to be fun…. not!
I didn’t get Sylvie in shot on the film I took of the last crossing with the Aussies so I purposefully put the camera on (yep, I have remembered to turn it on this time).
Really great job Sylvie, that was very tricky and you have Lynda on the back, well bloody done. I don’t know how Lynda manages in all that wind without a sissybar (backrest), so well done you too.
We ride on up to Muir Woods where Lynda has arranged parking for the bikes, on the way we stop off at Sausalito again and go to the artisan sandwich shop we went to the other day to pick up lunch… we are having a Teddy Bear’s Picnic today.
The fog is really very thick, it’s such a shame as it spoils the views. We arrive at Muir Woods at about 12pm having taken a couple of wrong turns.
It’s $10 to actually go into the woods to see the Redwood trees, we agree that we are too short of time really to spend the money for a few trees because they have to return their hire bike back to Eagle Rider by 4pm, then Sylvie has her tattoo appointment in Haight Ashbury after that.
We enjoy our lunch
and have a quick look around in the tourist shop… I don’t buy anything – shocking I know! I spot this plaque on the wall… not entirely sure what it’s for but I can see it is commemorating a woman, which is good enough for me.. more herstory that needs to be publicised.
We also check out our wingspan…..
DOBzilla is an Oak Titmouse, Sylvie a Spotted Owl and Lynda and I are Ospreys.. hahaha
We discuss the plan for returning to San Fran… I plan to cross over on the other bridge that goes straight to Oakland rather than via San Francisco so we agree I will peel off, but first I need petrol. I look on my gps and there is a petrol station just 1.5 miles away so we head off in that direction. Now don’t tell me how but I manage to lose Sylvie just before the petrol station.. I am very low on fuel and think she must have decided to continue on as we will be splitting up soon.
I then end up missing the turning for the Richmond/San Raphael bridge and end up having to cross over the Golden Gate again…. even more windy than before. I’m then stuck in absolutely stationary traffic in the financial district trying to get on to the Bay Bridge.. my leg is burning off and I can’t even filter because the traffic is so packed in.
At last I make it on to the bridge, but the traffic is really thick…
The other thing is the throttle grip is very slack, I have to turn it quite some way before the throttle engages.. mmm what’s that about I wonder. It’s almost as if the grip itself is loose and has come away from the plastic tube that sits inside and connects to the throttle and idle cables. These grips are actually really cheap rip offs that I bought on eBay just for this trip, my normal grips are aluminium so I wanted something with some cushioning to help with the pain in my arthritic hands. Ok so I think I better get some new grips; I ride over to Harley Davidson in Folsom, it’s actually just down the road from my apartment. It’s a really big shop and I am able to buy the exact same grips, but these are the real deal Kuryakyn, however they are chrome… mmm not really ideal for the style of my bike but whatever they will have to do. I don’t have time to fit them now, will have to make time over the next couple of days.
That reminds me… the other day I was walking up to my bike and noticed the rear right indicator has lost its glass… seriously it’s just so annoying.
Once back at the apartment I set about trying to get my packing done, am on the road for the next 4 weeks making my way to New York. After much internal debate I have decided not to ride with the Aussies up Route 66, in the end I enjoy solo riding more than group and ultimately I’ve done Route 66 already and don’t know if I will ever return to the States so want to see something different. The route for the next couple of days therefore is down to San Francisco airport to see Sylvie and Lynda off tomorrow morning… we are having lunch together, then on the road to Monument Valley in Utah via Sacramento, Lake Tahoe, Winnemucca and beyond.
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