San Francisco Black and Whites

When I got to Alcatraz Island, I figured to capture the mood I should try a little Nostalgic photography.  Funny story, as it turns out it's WAY harder to get tickets if you're only in town for a couple days.  When I first went down to ask about a ticket, there was a sign that told me there was a 1 week wait...WHAT!?  So I went up and asked the guy if they ever have cancellation tickets, etc.  As I found out they do sell same day tickets for the first 2 sailings of the day (9:00, 9:30) but you have to get there early to get in line.  So the next day I was in line with my coffee at 7:00am...after a 30 minute bus ride from where I was staying.  Luckily I managed to get a ticket and it was totally worth it!

Also, turns out there are 3 companies that sail to/around the island but only one that actually drops you off.  This was the view from the boat on the way to the prison.  The other companies come from the other side which I think is the better view.

Broadway

View from 'the hole'.

View from the Warden's office...not bad.

1962 escape attempt....also featured in the movie 'Escape from Alcatraz' with Clint Eastwood.

The 'playground'

View from just below the yard...must've been rough looking out onto those hills.

Heading back towards civilization.

Other shots from around the city:

Ferry Building Marketplace.  3 farmers markets a week!  Great food shops inside!

Musee Mechanique.  This is an old penny arcade (which is false advertising cause it costs at least a quarter to play anything).  BUT the games there are super fun.  I especially liked these two games...

All of the games were cased in wood, really beautiful stuff!

After I got my Alcatraz ticket, I headed back to get another coffee and chill out in the harbour for the NEXT 3 HOURS!

Russian District...just around the corner from where I was staying.

Fog City...

Luckily the first few days in town were BEAUTIFUL with no fog in sight.  Lots of people on the way down the coast had said that the city can be really foggy, so I guess I lucked out.  So needless to say my first few days were filled with sunshine, lollipops and rainbows!  Well not so much lollipops and rainbows but lots of good coffee, beer, baked goods, bike shops and ice cream.

Box Dog Bikes, one of the great shops in the city!  This guy had an inner tube chew toy...

Walking around the districts was incredible.  Turns out, due to the many hills in the city, most of the districts have their own micro-climate!  I was staying in the Richmond/Russian district which was usually always foggier than the neighbouring areas.  

Coit Tower, that street was WAY steeper than it looks here.  Not sure if I would be able to take ginger up that hill.

Chinatown.  Gotta say that the Victoria's was more impressive!

This was the top of the steepest walk of the day, Lombard St...it goes straight down and switchbacks the entire way.

One of the nicer parks in town, Dolores Park.  Bi-Rite Creamery is right around the corner, so the best way to enjoy this park is bringing a cone with you and listening to some sweet tunes.

This is Sausalito, right across the Golden Gate Bridge...and much less foggy than the city.  Beautiful little town, and luckily the bike shop had what I had been looking for my whole trip...

Sausalito is the gateway for lots of great riding just outside San Francisco.  One of these spots is the Marin Headlands...INCREDIBLE RIDING!!  Plus there's lots of great camp spots around that area as well.  So thank you A Bicycle Odyssey for having a wool jersey to remember my trip by!

Once back on the other side of the bridge...what else...fog.  

This was hilarious, there's a bike path called 'The Wiggle'!  It's a path that takes you from the SOMA district (near downtown) all the way through the city to Ocean Beach bypassing all of the major hills along the way...hence the name.  Plus it takes you through Golden Gate Park which is about 250 acres larger than Central Park!  It's huge and incredibly beautiful with tons of stuff to do inside.

And now for some treats I've sampled while in town:

Totally worth it...and it turns out they've got a 'secret menu' you can order from...but you have to know someone that can tell you what's on it.  Luckily Noah, who's a vegetarian, came along and told me to order the cheesburger 'animal style' which was SOOOOO good!

Could have had seconds...but I also just finished an ice cream.

Tartine bakery...realllyyyyyy tasty.  Éclair filled with vanilla custard instead of whipped cream

Mixed fruit tart from Frog Hollow Farm at the Ferry Building Marketplace.

21st Amendment Brewing...pretty good beers and right next to the ball park.  Tried to go to Anchor Brewing right after but it turns out they don't have a tasting room!  So we hit up another one just down the street.  Turns out the city has 10 breweries.

Ahhhh fish tacos in Sausalito.

3rd St Aleworks (Santa Rosa), Anchor Brewing (SF) and Speakeasy Brewing (SF)

My host Lizzie and her dog Milkshake

Last night in the house. Could not have imagined a better place to stay while I was in the city!

...and there was a kitten.

Rivendell arrival!!!

My 2 days in Santa Rosa were filled with lots of great beer and a discovery of the best grocery store chain...Trader Joes.  $2.99 Chardonnay...and it was great!  My host Annie and I had a great dinner where we swapped biking stories and I gave her some tips on places to check out on her upcoming trip to Montreal.

Then it was off to wine country, Sonoma and Napa Valleys.  Great riding, was able to get a free bike map from a company that does bike wine tours and that way I avoided the somewhat busy Hwy.  AND got to sample a few grapes along the way since the wine route was dotted with vineyards right next to the road.  After my one night in wine country, the day had finally arrived where I would reach Rivendell Bike Works...hard to describe 3 years of waiting to get down there and ride around the area that I had only seen photos of.  If you check out there website, you'll see what I mean.  I had emailed them in advance cause I needed a campsite for the night.  Once I got there, Grant Petersen drew me a couple maps to his favourite spots...COME ON!  These guys could not have been nicer!  Hung out at the shop for a few hours before heading to Whole Foods to splurge on what would be my official last night of the tour.  Couple nice beers, salad with mango, and eggs/bacon for breakfast.  Regretted the decision almost immediately once I got to Shell Ridge open area where the trails started...way more pushing the bike uphill than I was planning.  BUT, once I got to the spot I was gonna camp (for free) it all melted away.  By far the best site of the entire tour, and with Mt Diablo in the background...I was feeling pretty good!

On the way to Trader Joe's in Santa Rosa I passed by this obelisk...and as it turns out it is made entirely out of bike parts and frames...see below.

Aahhhh Russian River Brewing...Happy hour was totally worth it.  Luckily I wasn't too far from the place I was staying at.  Because of the proximity I justified 5 beers.

$2.99 Chardonnay with a cute girl on it...come on.  Plus Trader Joe's own dark chocolate was great as well!

Annie and I's last night filled with wine, chocolate and veggie tacos.

On the way through wine country...

Wanted to go taste some...but the cheapest tasting I could find was $7 for 2 glasses??!!  No way, had a nice bottle when I got to my campsite that night (coincidently called the Pacific Coast Highway Pinot Grigio)

Downtown Sonoman, pretty nice but also very 'fake' except for the original theatre.

Leaving Sonoma, entering Napa County.

Fuckin rrriiiIIIGGGHHHT!!  

The shop is so small, yet perfectly laid out with great photos!

After getting a map from Rivendell, I headed towards the hills.  I HAVE ARRIVED!!

...and then had to get off my bike and start pushing up some of those hills.

But with Mt. Diablo in the background, my night was looking up.

Free camping with an incredible view!

Totally worth the extra effort up those hills.

First bacon/cheesy eggs since Portland.  I didn't really want to leave, but San Francisco was calling...