Did I mention the private garden behind my room in Pt. Reyes Station?
13 October 2011
The hotel served a continental breakfast with an impressive spread for such a small place.
Today would be a low-key ride. I headed inland along Platform Bridge Rd, then cut through Samuel P. Taylor State Park along a trail.
From there, returning to the road, I followed Sir Francis Drake Rd to Fairfax. I ate lunch there, then headed towards San Francisco. Past Fairfax, however, I had to make my way through relatively dense residential areas. What was really annoying was the couple of places where the city planners had decided to put stop signs about every 25 yards.
In Mill Valley, I picked up a bayshore bike trail that would take me to Sausalito.
And then, San Francisco, beautiful San Francisco! I stopped at the vista points to admire the city and the Golden Gate Bridge.
After crossing the bridge, I followed the waterfront for as long as I could, then headed up Polk Street to get to near Union Square. These two miles of riding in an urban environment were, I think, scarier than the 1,235 miles or so that preceded them.
I checked into the USA Hostels San Francisco, which seemed pretty popular with backpackers. I think that if I had had the misfortune to arrive here on a Friday night, they would probably have filled up by this time of day.
The hostel has power outlets inside the lockers in each room, so you can charge your things and keep them safe. A nice touch.
There was lots of signage inside the hostel, ranging from useful and understandable (The thermostat is in such and such a place, or Please, no sex of any kind in the rooms, even with yourself) to rather puzzling (Please do not put ice in the fridge, it will just melt, or If your pancakes are still gooey, they are undercooked; if they are black, they are burnt).
I had dinner with Kalvin on Market St; I was then advised to take the long way back to the hostel to avoid walking through the Tenderloin at night.
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