Day 1: San Francisco - Half Moon Bay

Day mileage: 35

Trip mileage: 35

Strava GPS Report

I landed at SFO yesterday morning without incident. I collected my bike, which I can only assume the TSA graciously tuned up and repacked for me, and assembled it near the end of the baggage claim. After a short BART ride, I checked into my hostel-situation, bought some basic provisions, and wandered around the city to meet friends (new and old). 

I woke up this morning and reassessed my gear load in a feng shui-like manner. I sent back a few pounds worth of excessive gear, ate a few bananas, then made my way toward the Golden Gate Bridge. 

The GG is pretty much exactly NW of where I crashed last night. Right as I set out, I ran into a guy with a bike / disposition similar to my own. I told him where I was headed, and he said "Oh, you know about the wiggle?" I actually misheard him, so I said "...yeah, totally." He then said "Yeah, man... just take the wiggle all the way to the bridge." 

Not knowing what "the wiggle" was, I just exercised my basic dead-reckoning skills: "just go north... and west." This was something of a mistake. I think I took the most ineficient route to the GG possible. (I didn't think it was topologically possible to go up-hill the whole way?) At one point, I found myself headed down a hill so steep that I actually had to hop off and walk my bike down. While nursing my bruised ego, it occurred to me what "the wiggle" must have been: Imagine a hilly surface (sort of like San Francisco), then approximate the most-efficient route (the one with the least amount of climbing). Tracing those saddle points must look like a zig-zaggy (wiggly) line. Live and learn. 

By the time I got to the GG, the tourist herd was in full swing. I couldn't really complain (because I was one of them), but it did make for a somewhat annoying traverse. Put any group of a few hundred people together, and cluster-fuckery will ensue. 

I set up the gopro and took a time-lapse facing the bridge/city, ate some food, drank some water, and packed up for the return trip. Since that was the northern-most point of the trip, I'm effecitvely calling it mile-0. I started strava, and set out for Mexico. 

I breezed through Golden Gate Park, and made a quick stop at a coffee shop called "Trouble Coffee" (of This American Life fame). This place is great. If you're in the city, pop in and get a cup of iced coffee, and a hunk of artisnal toast. 

I hit the road and started south. The ride itself was mostly uneventful, outside of the car I found in Pacifica that was completely covered in palstic squirells. Their license plate was appropriately customized to say: "SQWORLD." If only I had it in me to be so "into" something. 

Not long after I snapped that idiotic photo, my left knee started to flare up. My knee's never hurt like this before, so I think I need to make an adjustment to my seat height and clip angle. Also, I need to stock up on NSAIDs. 

When I got to half moon bay, I met up with my buddy Kevin and his family. They're on vacation, wandering around Calfornia. We discussed the finer-points of Facebook Patriotism and MadDaddery (http://facebookpatriots.tumblr.com), and broke bread in a weird little chinese reseaurant with an angry manager. Though, in her defense, I'd be angry too if I had to serve a guy dressed like this:

After dinner, I meandered down Main Street, Half Moon Bay, where I was aggressively honked at by a bro in a Toyota 4-Runner. Apparently, on planet bro, bicycles are only allowed on bike paths or bike lanes. Worry not: I corrected him both verbally, and through pantomime. 

I finally met up with David and Molly at an RV site just off the 1. We had beers in a particularly tacky "British" pub on the south end of Half Moon Bay. We're camping in an RV park just south of the restaurant.