Olema to San Francisco

Olema to San Francisco CA
about 20 miles
Day 26
11/11/09

When I think about our night in Olema I actually laugh out loud because of the absurd amount of noises we heard from animals. We used the BOB trailer cage method to keep raccoons out of our food, but they still tried to break in all night. So there was the sound of raccoons walking around, fighting and trying to break into our food. Then the cows in a nearby farm started mooing. They mooed constantly for hours. I have never heard cows make so much noise in my life. Then a pack of coyotes came into the campground and howled for a while. Owls also hooted the whole night, which is a really nice sound. With all of these sounds mixed together, it was quite the symphony of nature. But the symphony kept me up a lot of the night and we were excited to get to San Francisco, so we left the campground at o' dark thirty (before 6AM).

Riding in the early morning dark is a lot different from riding at night. There is something very calming about the air and light at dawn. It also helps to know that you will soon be riding in the light. There was a nice breeze and the road looks like one soft gray path in front of us. The meadows quiet and still to each side of us, with the occasional cow. There were barely any cars on the road. We also had the pleasure of riding on a bike path through Samuel P. Taylor State Park.

We were very hungry when we got to San Anselmo and promptly found a cafe. I had a stack of blueberry pancakes and Greg had an omelet. If you can't already tell, food is a big deal to us. I guess when you are living simply, only having the goal of riding to a campground each day, and using so much energy, what you eat becomes very important.

We rode around the neighborhoods of Ross, San Anselmo, Kentfield and Larkspur and looked for wireless internet. After working on the blog we called my Aunt Sue and got directions to her home. It was a neat feeling to have ridden this whole way to my family's home with my own legs. It felt good to relax and spend time chatting and having a snack with her. I am really looking forward to the next couple of days with my aunt, uncle and cousins. After we had some food and talked, Sue took us to her friend Jeanne's condo. Jeanne doesn't live here full time and had offered her home to us while we were in town. I cannot thank her enough for her generosity in having us stay here. The condo is a beautiful space for us to get some good rest and reorganize ourselves.

Tonight we had dinner at Sue and Eric's (my Uncle) house. Chris (my cousin) and Eric were home from school and work and I was excited to see them both. Dinner was great and the company of my family was wonderful. I am so happy to be here, as I have never been to their home before. I can't wait for Claire to get back from her camp on Friday. Thanks Gunthers!

Other business we had to attend to this evening was to find a wheelbuilder as soon as possible in order to be able to get one built for Greg's bicycle before we left town. Greg had called many different shops, but everyone said they wouldn't be able to get one done until sometime next week, assuming they had the right parts. Greg decided to call a wheelbuilder he was familiar with who runs his own wheel building business and builds wheels for Rivendell Bicycle Works.

Dani

Rich, the owner of Hands on Wheels was hugely accommodating. I told him about the issues I was having and he helped me spec out a new wheel. He dropped everything he was doing and an hour later he had hand built me a brand new wheel. I am very happy to have a new rear wheel built by Rich because he is a great wheel builder. I doubt I will be having rear wheel problems now unless I really mess up.

Greg