Phase I: Mission Accomplished

WE MADE IT. SAN FRANCISCO! On October 13, 2006 at ~Noon, PCT, we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge into the city. It completes this leg of our trip. We've cycled upwards of 4700 miles and my knees are feeling a little creeky.


Do we feel proud of ourselves? Yes of course.

Does it feel good to be done? Yes, of course.

Was it everything you thought it would be? What part?



The final stretch. Was riding into San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge triumphant? Actually, it was slightly anti-climactic. We rode over, I was taking pictures the whole way. We reached the other side and that was that. I tried to get some people to get photo's of us by the bridge, but I felt ackward asking anyone to share in the moment which I felt was pretty personal. Plus, I wanted the photo to be composed just so, and the random tourists I was asking kept placing our figures right in front of the bridge so you couldn't see it. With the onset of digital camera's the new common courtesy after taking a picture for a stranger is to wait until they have viewed it and offer to talk another if they don't like it. But what are you going to say..."You have no sense of composition. Come on, don't place the foreground so it obscures the background, which we want to be a focal point. Get it right with this next shot." No, of course not. I would just smile and say, "looks great, thanks!" I wandered around aimlessly trying to decide what to do, and Ira was getting irritated at me. We had made plans to be at our hosts house in Ashbury Heights at 12:30, we had no idea of how to get there and it looked like we were going to be running late. All of this and I was being wishy-woshy about a picture. Finally we rode away from the bustling crowd along Lincoln Blvd to a better viewpoint to the west of the bridge. We set up our bike-pod (which is how Ira and I shoot almost all of the pics with us together...the bikes are leaned up against each other so they are putting pressure on the other and holding themselves up freestanding) and I was able to set up the shot. I was in a hurry because Ira was feeling antsy and so I couldn't compose a good shot either. Ira's hand is blocking part of the view. Oh well.



How did you celebrate? We toasted on shots of bourbon when we got to our host's house.

That's it? That's it. We have a week to relax in San Fran before we go back to Chicago and that will be celebritory in itself. I guess it hasn't hit in yet, what we have done. The cliche here is true. The journey was the destination. We are done and now the journey of my reminicing over it is about to begin.

BEWARE ALL FRIENDS AND FAMILY: you think you want to see me; you've missed me on this trip. Think hard on whether you really want me back because you know I will be one of those obnoxious people who will turn every single converstation and comment around just so I can get the topic over to our trip again. I will be the old lady telling here grandkids the stories over and over and over about how (in shakey voice) I biked from Chicago to San Francisco in 2006, and bicycles weren't as they are now, you actually had to pedal them yourself." Or whatever. All I am saying is a word of warming, please practice hiding your boredom and yawns because when I get back, you will need this skill after having to listen to me for the 3rd straight hour.

Back on topic. The Circumference of the earth is ~24,902 miles. Therefore, we have ridden ~18% of it so far. Not bad.

Here is a map of our final route
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