Just a casual morning scurry...the only difference was it was a wet one.  This morning the showers that have been forecast for the last 3 days finally caught up with us.  We woke to light showers and when we loaded luggage at 8:00 it was still raining...not hard, but wet all the same.  No one was really in a hurry this morning since we only had 49 miles to ride...but there were lots to see and do on the way and since the weather was pretty much going to be the same all day, we might as well just get going. 

The departure out of Petaluma was pretty easy and we rode right through old downtown which was a treat.  From there it didn't take long for us to get out into the country and to start climbing.  The first 10 miles were pretty much downhill which gave everyone a chance to get the blood flowing in the legs before the terrain started to rise significantly at about mile 11.  About the time the riders approached the bottom of the climb, the skies in front of us looked much better and after a good 2 mile climb over the golden foothills the riders were treated to a well deserved descent into wide open farm country on a dry road.  From there we rode under overcast, threatening skies but it didn't rain the rest of the day. 

The route was pretty tame from there until we climbed in Sausalito to get to the Golden Gate Bridge.  The last 20 miles or so was through urban areas with plenty of places to stop to either warm up or treat yourself to an espresso or latte.  I stopped to check out 5 big bike shops through town...there's an abundance of shops all sporting large inventories of clothing and accessories...bike shop shopping heaven if you ask me.

All in all it was a pretty lazy day for me.  I think I rolled in at 3:15...just too many places to stop.  It doesn't matter how many times I come through here I still have to stop to admire the Golden Gate Bridge (GGB).  It's just awesome and always seems to be a little different depending the weather.  Today, it was fully visible but the overcast cloudy day gave it an eerie appearance above the bay.  After climbing out of Sausalito, our route took us through Ft Baker and under the GGB which I thought was pretty cool.  I've never been able to ride this section and the vans couldn't follow the riders up the ocean side so I'd never seen that perspective.  The climb back up to enter the bridge looks daunting, but the views of the city and bridge just made the climb seem relatively easy compared to some we've had over the last few days. 

The crossing on the bridge is really beyond words.  Today's threatening weather kept the 10 million cyclists that are usually racing and wallowing on the bridge to a bare minimum so the crossing was much more enjoyable than times past.  The light bike traffic allowed me to stop several times to take photos without feeling someone was going to run over me.  Now don't get me wrong, I have a healthy fear of heights so I didn't stand around long in one place.  While riding the height of the bridge didn't seem to even be noticed, but when you stopped you could feel the bridge bouncing as trucks drove by and the look straight down was something else.  I can't imagine anyone jumping off that thing, but many have done it in the past.  One thing for sure in my mind, if you did jump, you'd have a long time on the way down to think about how stupid a move that was.

After a long day, I finally rolled into the motel on Lombard Street.  As I turned the corner to the motel, I stopped and looked up to my left at the top of the famous street...a mere 20-25% climb to the top.  Last year I said I needed to climb that hill...but I didn't.  Now I was standing over my bike at the foot of the climb with no excuses...gotta do it.  I turned left up the slope and found the bottom to be fairly easy...only 10-15% in places but then it crossed another street and the slope rose significantly.  There was a line of cars about half way up waiting for a light at the top.  Every time the light would change, the cars would roll backwards and then tires would squeal getting started up (below left)...what was I thinking?  As I approached the line of cars, I tried to slow down to a crawl to time their movement so I wouldn't have to stop.  If I did stop, there would be no way I could get going again on that slope...I slowed so much at one point, I started to roll backwards and had to scramble to regain my forward momentum...not good.  As I approached the car at the end of the line, I had to bail out of the road and take the sidewalk.  Luckily there was a driveway with a smooth entrance so I turned onto the sidewalk and continued the climb to the top just about track standing at every pedal stroke...wow! 

What a view at the top!  Now I had to go back down!  Actually, that was more daunting than the climb.  I crossed the street and started back down inching my way to the bottom riding the brakes all the way to hold walking speed all the way down.  If I would have let go of the brakes at any point, I'm sure my speed would have become uncontrollable and I'd have been unable to stop at the two stop signs on the way down.  It would have been a blast to have just let it go had the road been straight and level and no traffic.  But as it were, I'm sure if I'd survived running the stop sign at the cross street I would have become airborne after crossing the intersection...that would have been a hoot...at least until I landed.  While airborne I probably would have had the same thoughts as the bridge jumper...just before impact I would have been contemplating how stupid that move was.

Finally, everyone got in safely...even me after riding the slopes of Lombard.  We spent the late afternoon assembling bikes and orientation of 7 of the 10 new riders we're picking up for the last leg.  I'll feature them in the "Meet the Riders" on Monday evening.  We finally finished around 7:00 and was finally able to take a deep breath and go to dinner.  Everyone is looking forward to a day off Sunday in the city.  We're staying right on Lombard Street within walking distance to Fisherman's Wharf and many other attractions so I'm sure everyone will take some time to tour the sights...and do laundry...and rest hopefully.  I'm thinking with all there is to do there will be some tired folks when we get ready to pull out on Monday...we'll see.

After our long day, the staff was treated to a home cooked meal at a condo overlooking downtown SF.  Ellen's friends (Craig Young and Michele Iversen) invited her and the staff to their beautiful home and dinner...what a spread.  It was great to spend some time away from motels and in such a beautiful setting.  Thanks Craig and Michele...we really enjoyed meeting you and your hospitality. 

It's finally time to sign off.  There won't be an entry for Sunday...the next entry will be for our day into Santa Cruz.  See you again on Monday...hope you'll tune in.