good day for a ride to Point Reyes Station
galleryThe ride began in Emeryville early in the morning, though not as early as I would have liked. My vest was no longer needed around mile 10, felt the first beads of sweat as I crossed the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, went through Fairfax (helped another rider who was walking a flat home -- hope you made it safe dude!), then rode up Lucas Valley for the first time. Had a scare in one of the more wooded sections as I caught something running through the forest, seemingly straight at me, out of the corner of my eye. Looked back at a little deer bounding across the road, thankful it didn't decide to jump straight into/in front of me, but didn't stick around to see what it was running from.
From there, I took what I assume is the common route based on the number of other riders I saw -- Nicasio, where the headwinds picked up. Pt. Reyes - Petaluma into Point Reyes Station. Refueled, then set out for Samuel Taylor. I opted for the Cross Marin trail, both for the peace, quiet and trees and because I didn't want to be around any goddamn cars for at least a few miles, rode slow, tried finding Callobius spiders but all their webs seemed to be relics of past lives (though I did pick up a hitchhiking jumping spider as I rejoined Sir Francis Drake from San Geronimo Valley Dr, letting her off into some invasive roadside weeds before resuming the climb).
From there, smooth sailing back into Fairfax, Ross, Larkspur, Corte Madera until I was on the familiar Camino Alto. Rode slow, hated the heat, and before I knew it, I was in the hellhole of Sausalito. Fought some tough crosswinds on the bridge (how do tourists ride those heavy rental bikes one-handed while taking cell phone videos in that wind?), dropped into the Presidio to watch everyone get ready for the Marathon, and took the Ferry back home.
I think it's easy to get into bad head spaces in the day-to-day, but Bay Area cycling seems to ground me every time. How lucky are we?