Monday, November 30, 2009

A Beautiful Day to Ride

Sunday proved to be a terrific day to get out and ride. Temps in the mid to upper 50’s with a strong wind coming out of Northwest. I met up with the boyz in Delaware at the Beehive for a 2 hour spin and was surprised we only had about 6 riders in our group, especially after all the eating that took place during Thanksgiving.

Chairman Fred stopped by on his bike to say “Hi” but was headed on to attend a family birthday party. Marco was our ride leader and led us north into the headwinds. On a sad note, as we headed north we rode along Klondike Road and saw a small group of people gathered at the spot where two Dublin high school students were killed in a fatal car crash the previous evening. My thoughts are with the families and friends of the young people involved in this tragic accident.

After working hard to fight the wind we turned east and then south to enjoy the strong tailwind that carried us back to Delaware where Marco and I enjoyed a hot cup of Java and some homemade pie at the Beehive. This time of year I always think we are just about out of nice days to ride so I’m glad I made it out on Sunday.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Heading out to San Francisco - Part 2

Part II – Point Reyes, San Francisco & Alcatraz

After a restful sleep at our B &B in Sonoma we were treated to another great breakfast before checking out of our room and heading off to visit a few more wineries. We stopped at Imagery and BR Cohn wineries for tastings. I enjoyed BR Cohn the best out of these two. BR Cohn is the winery owner and manager of the Doobie Brothers. In addition to having a great selection of wine, the tasting room had several band pictures and gold records on display. After visiting these wineries we traveled west through Sobastopol toward Bodega where we picked up Hwy 1 for a really great drive south along the coast. We stopped at a few neat shops on the way south back toward San Francisco. Along the way we stopped at the Point Reyes lighthouse . The light house was a pretty long drive off the main road and I was a bit worried as we drove and drove knowing that our rental car was due at the airport that evening. We arrived at the lighthouse with just enough time to walk around and take a few pictures. The wind at the light house was strong and the views were spectacular. I think we both felt Point Reyes light house was well worth the drive.

After visiting the light house we drove back toward Hwy 1 and traveled south toward Hwy 101. We really enjoyed the drive along the twisty road that looked out over the sea. We stopped a few times to take pictures and check out the view. We missed sunset by about a half hour which was too bad. However, we weren’t sure how long it would take to arrive at the airport so we tried to keep moving as best we could. When we arrived back at Hwy 101 we gassed up and picked up some burgers and In N Out , a well known California burger chain. We then headed to the airport and dropped off our rental car with about 30 minutes to spare. We caught the Bart metro train which took us into the city and then took a cab to the Mayflower hotel. We were going to take a bus from the train to the hotel but the clerk at the hotel suggested a cab since the bus would have gone through the Tenderloin which is a rather dicey area. The Mayflower is an old hotel that was modest, but clean and it suited our needs. Our room was only $98.00 which is a steal in downtown San Francisco.

The next morning we enjoyed a really nice breakfast and then checked out of our room. The hotel was kind enough to let us keep our bags in a secure room while we enjoyed the day walking around San Francisco. Our walk included China Town, Fisherman’s Wharf and Alcatraz. At fisherman's Wharf we shared a clam chowder bread bowl and then watched the sea lions before taking our tour of Alcatraz. Our tour was fun but it began to rain while we were in the prison. The rain prevented us from walking around the grounds so we headed back to the ferry for the short trip back to the city. After returning on the Ferry from Alcatraz we walked to Ghirardelli Square and then caught the cable car back to China Town. We visited a few shops and bought a few souvenirs in China Town before walking back to the hotel to pick up our bags and then catch a cab to the train station. We then rode the Bart train back to the airport and grabbed a quick bite to eat before catching our red eye flight back home.

In 4 short days we really fit a lot into our trip. I’m looking forward to our next adventure – wherever that may take us.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Heading out to San Francisco - Part 1

Part I - Muir Woods, Sausalito & Sonoma

A few weeks ago Sweetie and I took a long 4-day weekend trip to San Francisco. The trip came about as a result of some flight vouchers we received after our epic journey south this past summer. We left on a Thursday after work and arrived in San Francisco late that evening. After catching some sleep at our hotel we were up early Friday morning to pickup our rental car at the airport and then we headed into the city to see a few sights on our way to John Muir Woods. We drove through Golden Gate Park and the Presidio en route to Lincoln Park where we stopped to take a few photos of the Golden Gate Bridge. We then drove on Hwy 101 up to Mill Valley where we exited the freeway and traveled along some really pretty roads to Muir Woods. Muir Woods was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. Walking through the park into the forest full of giant redwood trees was pretty spectacular. The forest had a prehistoric feel to me and I felt like we had gone back in time to prehistory.

After our trip to Muir Woods we drove back to Mill Valley and stopped at Studio Velo before getting back on Hwy 101. In addition to having some really cool frames and gear, Studio Velo had a vending machine out front with inner tubes, gels and other cycling necessities that were available to cyclists even when the store was closed – pretty cool!

It was then back on the highway to Sausalito where we took in the beautiful sites and checked out a few shops before having a really nice dinner at Poggio. Sitting by the window enjoying the view of the harbor with a nice glass of wine, it was cool to watch the steady flow of cyclists riding past us on the street. We quickly realized how cycling friendly the area is in and around San Francisco. After dinner we stopped at Bicycle Odyssey another great cycling shop. This may be one of the coolest and most complete bike stores I have ever visited. Great gear and a HUGE selection of top end road frames. Sweetie picked up a neat bike bell that lit up in multiple colors when you rang it – the perfect accessory for an upcoming night ride.

By now it was getting dark as we hopped back on Hwy 101 to travel north to Santa Rosa where we would spend the next few nights at Melitta Station, a small bed and breakfast that would be our home base while we checked out Sonoma’s wine country. After arriving we met the owners, a really charming couple from Great Britain, and then settled into our room to rest up for the next day’s bike ride into wine country. The next morning we enjoyed a nice breakfast and met Melitta Station’s other guests before driving into Sonoma to pick up bicycles for our ride. We rented bikes from Sonoma Valley Bike Tours . The bikes were OK and the service was so so and I’m not sure I would recommend this company to someone else. However, we really enjoyed our ride and we stopped along the way at Acacia Winery for a testing. After returning our bikes we drove to Bartholomew Winery for a tasting and we bought a few bottles of wine to bring home. We then walked around Sonoma’s town square before having dinner at Lasalette, a Portuguese restaurant recommended by our hosts at the Bed and Breakfast. We enjoyed our meal and the weather was warm enough to dine outside. After getting back to our Bed and Breakfast that evening we enjoyed a relaxing dip in their hot tub before calling it a night.

Coming up – Hwy 1 & our walking tour of San Francisco