Half way through the ride and I wanted to reflect a little about my thoughts so far.
First though, Happy Mothers day to all the moms out there. I was lucky enough to have my wife and son meet me in San Luis Obispo for the weekend. They arrived in town shortly after I had. SLO was where I met Monique while attending Cal Poly. So it was a very nice reunion, so to speak.
the town has changed quite a bit, there are a lot of new shopping centers and housing now, it was amazing to see. Cal Poly was changing too, growing with many new buildings and improvements. We reflected that it seems that all the best changes come after you have left. Of course this is not true, but it sure seems the case.
I was asked what was the best part of the ride so far, and initially I did not have an answer, however, thinking about it a little more, I find that that first day on the road was truly the best. exploring San Francisco was really awesome (with the exception of the seriously steep hills). I just loved riding through the Presido.
it was interesting that when I reached the summit of Twin Peaks, I realized that I was going to be racing the sun to reach my days final destination. I did not want to cut short the ride for the day so continued with my planned route. when heading down from Twin Peaks and back into the Presido to cover the western part of the park, the clouds moved in and it turned cold!
Never the less, I continued on, knowing I still had 45 miles to go and had not yet left the city.
Heading into Pigeon Point, the sun was almost completely set, and by now it was really cold. but it was my favorite part because I felt such joy when I finally saw that lighthouse and walking into the office it was so nice and warm and the people were so friendly, it was just the best.
later in the evening when I was unpacked, I was able to go back outside and watch the lighthouse shoot into the night sky.
pigeon point lighthouse at night
Other things that I have enjoyed so far include:
Having my room upgraded when I arrived in San Francisco.
the view of the stars from Big Sur
finally making it up the final peak in Big Sur and coming down the other side.
finding that everyone I am meeting is so nice. Truly, this is amazing, lots of people just wanting to talk and hear where I am going, where I started, etc. I’ve met people from Scotland, Brazil, Netherlands, and a few other places (that I can’t remember now…oops)
and finally, seeing Monique and Neil in SLO, and having time with them.
Well, I will leave it here on a happy note, tomorrow, I will talk about the… less appealing aspects of the ride so far
till then
Cheers
Russ
You amaze me.
xoxoxo