Left my helmet and pants holders on campus--so improvise. I start the ride wearing my old helmet (above) and rubber bands (below).
First day back in Iowa: Although I go to bed early last night, I slept as if I was still on West Coast time, arising promptly at the early hour of 9 a.m. (which would have been 7 in San Francisco).
Unfortunately, nobody brought me a warm and cute baby to snuggle with for a while in the morning, nor did they make coffee for me, so I had to make my own coffee and skip the snuggles. Miss you, Jon Coffee Maker, Lucas Snuggler (and you too, Nalena Kind Mother and Maker of Delicious Breakfasts). Both Jon and Nalena had turns as the Giver of the Baby, but the baby was always Lucas, who was a sweet little cutie. As a grandfather, of course, I’m a totally unbiased source.
Anyway, this morning I worked for several hours, had lunch, worked some more, and decided, around 2, to take a break. To nap or to ride? It was windy and in the 30s.
I decided, despite the wind, to ride. Lets just say, thanks to my son's and daughter-in-law's and wife's cooking abilities, on display during the West Coast trip, that my weight didn't drop in the past week and leave my motivations at that. It would be too warm with long underwear, but too cold without it, so I compromised by wearing PJ pants under my blue jeans, and two pairs of socks. (I hope that is not TMI, and yes, I was wearing other stuff, too).
I left my hybrid bike on campus during my recent trip to the Bay Area, so I got the road bike out and headed over to the Cedar River Trail.
I circled Cedar Lake, and felt pretty lucky. I saw two young eagles hanging out. Siblings? Teens on a first date? I don’t know, but it was cool to see two such birds.
A bunch of eagle pictures and some others down at the lake. Why not?
When I got to campus, I went to the library to get my bike shoes. I worried, a bit, because I know from experience that the bike shoes are not very warm, but I figured, what the heck? And I took my other shoes with me on the rack of the bike, so if the toes got too cold, I could swap back.
If you saw a crazy old man laying in the wet grass near Basile Hall this afternoon at MMU (and you probably did not, it was pretty quiet on campus although two random pedestrians did pass by), it was me, making images of these flowers between Basile Hall and Warde Hall. Legit to put on bike blog--I had ridden to this site and bike was parked on sidewalk.
On the way back home, I went north to South Troy Park in Robins. My feet were getting pretty cold, but I still was enjoying the ride. I had not planned to use up the bulk of the afternoon in a bike ride, but it was my first time on a bike seat in a week.
It felt good to be riding again. Not as good as a morning baby snuggle nor as warm, but good.
Headed north on trail, cardinal and robin in same frame by the side of the trail.
Traffic was lighter in Iowa, but lock down not as tight as West Coast yet--and Iowans are more dependent on their cars than mid-city dwellers. Traffic at 42nd Street on trail.
A bush buds by the trail in woodsy area of Hiawatha.
Change of fashion. New helmet, bike vest, picked up at newspaper office at MMU. Bike still parked there, since I could not ride two home.
Ride summary on computer.
It's after 5 and the weekend--trail is pretty empty, It's cold, but still it felt like lots less people were out, which is a good thing, I suppose.
Normally quite creek in Robins has some extra water in it.
Another view in Robins. Gray day, but it was still good to be out.
Across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco there are tall hills, including one prominent one that offers a panoramic view of the bridge: Hawk Hill.
There is a road that goes up Hawk Hill, and you can ride your bicycle up that road—if you dare. It is quite a climb.
Wednesday, May 29, 2019, was cool and a little breezy, but also mostly sunny. My son and I walked down to The Bike Shed, a bicycle rental place run as a fundraiser by a nonprofit that benefits children, arriving just before 10 a.m. The man running the hut was a few minutes late, and another customer—a woman waiting to purchase a lock and bell for her bicycle—was also waiting.
Once he arrived, the hut man said there were very few bikes in my size, but I rented one of the few: an orange Fuji that was a “gravel” bike—mostly a road bike, but with wider tyres more typical of a hybrid bike. Speaking for myself, if I had much gravel to ride on, I would have rather have a mountain bike—but no matter, today’s ride was totally pavement. Perhaps I got a bit too acquainted with pavement, as you will read.
We went back to my son’s apartment to get his bicycle and, about 11 a.m., we were off.
My son noted there would be a few climbs to get to the Golden Gate Bridge, and at one point, at the top of one, told me that was “the little hill.” It didn’t seem all that little to me, but I guess that was in comparison to what was coming.
The transit of the Golden Gate Bridge was pretty, although very slow. On weekdays, they close one side of the bridge and mix bikers and pedestrians—who use separate sides of the bridge on weekends.
No matter, my one biking super power is an ability to balance while moving very slowly, although as you will read, that ability traumatically failed me once on this ride.
After the bridge we had a decision point. We could ride directly to Salsalito, or tackle Hawk Hill. Well, how often will I be biking in the Bay Area? I told Jon that if we rested for a minute and had a snack, I would be ready to try Hawk Hill.
And so we did. The hill began with a steep ascent that leveled off for a while, but then got steep again. Wikipedia says the hill is 923 feet, although that may be from sea level, which we don’t start at, and the road doesn’t go all the way to the summit—still, we climbed hundreds of feet in one intense hill climb that seems bigger than any Iowa river valley climb I’ve encountered on RAGBRAI. And I made it—slowly. Jon even came back at one point to check on me and passed me again headed uphill—but I rode up Hawk Hill.
CR Biker and son at top of Hawk Hill, cell phone selfie.
The view was quite nice.
However, that also meant I had to ride down Hawk Hill. Much as some ascents are a pain, heading down a steep hill can be a dicey proposition, too. I tested the drum brakes of my rental bike a lot on the twisty back side of Hawk Hill. Along the way, it was interesting to see some old coastal defenses, crumbling bunkers and emplacements for shore guns.
Then we were riding in rural California—dry hills and horse barns. It was a little weird to be in open countryside just a few minutes away from San Francisco, but nice, too. The climate was suddenly warm, with the afternoon sun heating us up. It never got hot, but what had been a cool day in San Francisco was a warm early summer day in the countryside north of the city.
Waiting for ferry (above) on the bike trail (below).
We stopped for lunch at a taco place in Salsalito, and then rode over to Tiburon, where we caught a ferry to cross the bay.
We hadn’t done a 10-mile loop on the northern peninsula because I was a little worn by the hill climb and ride, but the ferry ride rested me, and I told Jon we could ride a bit more in San Francisco. Sadly, that was my undoing.
It was late afternoon by now, rush hour traffic was getting heavy. We turned down Market Street. The breezy cool day was back. It was both exhilarating and a bit frightening to be riding through that windy canyon between tall buildings. There was lots of traffic of every type—cars, busses, trucks, bicycles, pedestrians.
I tried to make some images while we were stopped at intersections, but quickly decided one does not take photos while one bicycles in downtown San Francisco at rush hour. Nonetheless, I was putting my camera away at one corner when the light turned green. I’m not sure exactly what happened next—was I starting with just one hand on the handlebars? Did I strike an unseen rock? In any case, on my first push, I somehow overbalanced and tumbled to the street.
Ouch. California bikers turned out to be a caring lot, and I was met with a chorus of “are you OK?” In the scheme of things, I suppose I was. I was lucky to fall while I had not really been moving, but I still hit the street pretty hard.
I quickly pulled off to the side. The handlebars of the rental bike had been turned so they didn’t match the front wheel any more. Still, the bike seemed otherwise undamaged and it was easy to twist the handlebar back into place.
Traffic at the corner where I fell.
I, however, was a bit dinged up. I have collected numerous minor injuries—a large bruise on my upper right arm, a sore left ear and mark on my face, a bit of road rash on my left knee. Biggest of all, my torso must have hit the bike, because my upper stomach has a very tender, very large red mark.
Still, I was lucky. No bleeding, no bad joint sprains and no broken bones. I didn’t jar my teeth on the way down. As falls and injuries go, it was not among the bad ones.
It makes a lot of sense to me now, however, that my sister bought herself a tricycle. They are hard to fall off of, although I don’t think I would have ridden one on Market Street at rush hour.
I’ll have to be a bit more careful. Of course, I was on an unfamiliar bike in a strange place in a crowd of traffic at the end of a bit of a ride—all of those are factors. But the spill was nonetheless something I would prefer to avoid.
Despite the ding near the end, we rode a pleasant 35 miles. Not quite as many miles as I had hoped to—my goal was 40—but it did include Hawk Hill, so I think I can note it as a decent RAGBRAI training day.
And if you get the chance, do ride a bike across the Golden Gate Bridge, it is very nice. If it’s a good enough bike with the right gear, go ahead, ride up Hawk Hill. It’s a challenge, but even an old man can do it.
But when you get back to the city, please take care.
Traffic on Market Street 1906. Not all that different, but more bicycle and less horses now.
My former student Bob Jameson posted a link to this video on Facebook. It’s a movie shot as a street car moves down Market Street in San Francisco in 1906 before the city is devastated by an earthquake.
I found it mesmerizing. Can you imagine a street in America today with such an eclectic crush of pedestrians, street cars, horses, carts, cars and bicycles? Yep, watch for it, an intrepid rider on a bike shows up in mid-clip. Watch as he has to zig and zag around cars, horses and walkers.
I note, as Bob did on Facebook, that drivers don’t seem more polite in 1906—rude drivers still cut you off even then. I guess, based on the pedestrian speed, that the advantage is that it’s all happening in slow motion.
Some other points I note:
Some of the zigging and zagging must be caused by all those horses. They don’t wear diapers.
It’s amazing how well people are dressed for everyday life—men in suits and hats, women in full dresses.
There are some crazy kids who play street car dodge or who hang on cars. Young people of 1906: What will the world come to?
Note that although horses are far more common, cars are common, too. And the steering wheel apparently can be anywhere in 1906. I wonder when the left side became “the” side for steering wheels? (You people in the UK who are raising your hands, pipe down. I’m talking about good old American streets, not some freaky streets on small islands, so there.)
It’s also interesting how busy and vibrant an American city downtown circa 1906 is. Of course, this is a very large city, but still. In Cedar Rapids today, you would be much safer biking downtown than in many other places because the traffic is typically so light. And no horses.
Well, CR biker is glad to be living in 2013 without horse manure, communicable diseases and other attributes of life in 1906. But I would like to go back in time just to see this scene in person. And yes, maybe to ride a bike through it, although that looks like it would be pretty exciting …
