Day 15, San Francisco, CA to Santa Cruz, CA.  91 miles and 4900 feet of climbing.  This may have been one of my most challenging days of the ride.  Woke up in the morning and was sore from doing all that walking/exploring around San Francisco yesterday.  Walking up and down all of those hills utilized a whole different muscle set than riding a bike.  About a mile out of town I discovered that my left pedal cleat was damaged and would not securely engage into the pedal.  This really cut into my pedaling efficiency and was just plain frustrating!!  At the SAG stop/28 miles I was able to get it fixed.  A mile down the road I was thinking, "OK, I have a new wheel on the bike, new cleats and the bike is feeling great.  I  am going to cruise thru to the end of this trip with no more mechanical problems."  Then my rear tire went flat.  Fixed it and headed on down the road.  The next SAG stop was at 58 miles.  At 64 miles I figured out I had somehow missed it along the way.  I was out of water, had no food on me and it was getting hot. Came to a town 10 miles up the road and got something to eat. Of course by that time I was famished and proceeded to eat far too much food which made the remainder of the ride uncomfortable.. Oh well, I made it thru the day.

The weather was quite foggy when we left. This was quite a disappointment because there were some incredible views leaving town and further North. We were on the coast the whole day and had to imagine/fantasize about what I was missing. Around 1 p.m. the sun came out, it warmed up and we were treated to a steady wind out of the North. The ride into Santa Cruz was beautiful, with high cliffs and a bike path that hugged the coast. Being a Sunday there were lots of people at the beaches.

I now have a new roommate. 3 new guys (a father/son and a friend) joined our tour for the final leg. I had been rooming with Jim, our mechanic. I overheard him telling his boss that he would take a cut in pay if only he could have a room to himself. I thought we were getting along ok. Apparently he really values his privacy and as a result I am now rooming with Shorty.

 

I loved San Francisco!!  Saw this bus while waiting to load luggage.

 

Preparing to leave from the hotel in downtown San Francisco.

 

The fog was rolling in.

 

Looking back down the road, it appears as if we are riding out of the fog.

 

We went thru this mile long tunnel and on the other side  the fog was thick and it was 10 degrees cooler.

 

Pigeon Point Light house.  Would have been a great pic had it been sunny.

 

The sun came out and it got hot.

 

This is a hang glider.  I watched him fly for a long time he is landing in this pic.

 

 

 

Lots of cliffs today, with warning signs of "danger, stay back, unstable cliffs."  I can see how an earth quake would wipe out a lot of real estate out here.

 

 

I always figured that Frank had roots on the "Left Coast"

 

Lots of farm land and much of it was right on the coast stetching from the road to the beach.  I think this is brussel sprouts.

 

Surfers off Santa Cruz.

 

Espresso and the Davenport Cafe