Track Town USA

So this was the final stop on the tour...and one I had been looking forward for quite a while!  I don't think my time in San Francisco would have been as enjoyable had it not been for the tips I got from the Archival Clothing crew!  Most of my eating stops were thanks to them...and eating tends to be the main thing I look forward to when I get to go touring.

Another great thing I love about touring is the connections you make on the road.  I met John on the road in California and after chatting for a while it came up that I was heading to Eugene for a couple days (which is where he lives).  One week later he's picking me up from the train station and taking me to his beautiful house...with a beautiful garden...just in time for the first Oregon Ducks College Football game.  John and his wife Patti couldn't have been more generous.  John and I went out for a couple of rides to explore the town, and the breweries, and I can't tell you how great this town is!  Next time anyone is in Portland, consider driving another 2 hours south to Eugene, you won't regret it.

And then the highlight of my trip to Eugene, getting to meet the Archival crew.  If you haven't already visited their website, check it out now you will not be disappointed.  Getting to share some of your hobbys and passions with a stranger is a great feeling! Lesli was super nice and showed me around the Archival space, PLUS...they threw in one of their musette bags as a reward for getting to Eugene...come on, so generous!  I'm happy to report that it will be replacing my Filson Field bag as it is WAAAY more comfortable to ride and walk around with!  So thanks again to the AC crew for all their tips and especially to Lesli for showing me around.  I had been looking forward to that for a long time! 

Turns out Amtrack has the best bike boxes I've ever used!   Yes they're $15, but all you have to do is twist your handlebars and take of your pedals and wheeeeeeeel your bike in!  Way easier than last year's trip in Europe.

View of the Cascade's from the lounge car on the Amtrack.  I found out 10 hours later that the Amtrack also has unlimited WIFI on board...great!

Right after dropping my gear off at John and Patti's house...first stop was Ninkasi brewery!

...and so it starts!

Getting to check out some of AC's prototypes.  Pretty cool stuff.

Leslie's Velo Orange mixte with some pretty, pretty, pretty custom parts....

...as I said.

This was pretty funny, both Leslie and I were both admiring each other's bikes at the same time...I think she took a photo of me at this exact moment.

The lady herself, thanks again!

Hayward Field at the Univeristy of Oregon....Pre's backyard.

John and I went riding on the many trails around Eugene, and he told me that Prefontaine was responsible for most of the chip-trail system in an around Eugene.  He had apparently been to some races in Scandinavia where they had lots of Birch Bark trails which were nice and soft to run on.  After much advocacy, he got an amazing system built around the University.

Patti's amazing garden...with boxes built by John.

HOW DO WE NOT HAVE THESE BACK IN BC???  Thornless blackberries...

Can't remember what the name of this particular apple tree was, BUT it's a varietal that doesn't get much bigger than what you see, and still fruits around 10 apples!  

Last bluebird morning of the trip with the moon in the background.  Thanks for a great time Eugene.

uhhhh.....

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.