I broke my rules

I’ll explain.

Let me get there first.

I did not sleep well last night. I get serious constipation sometimes (too much info, I know). And inevitably it happens at night. So I woke up this morning at 5:30 in serious pain. I had to pull myself out of my warm sleeping bag, into the cold morning air, get dressed, and drag myself about 300 yards to a bathroom. Once that was done, I made my way back, laid down and tried to get warm. And the pain returned. I got to do it all over again.

Finally I was able to lay back down to try to sleep. Nightmares. A lot of them. I finally woke up exhausted and not feeling rested at all. It was 8:30. Geez.

What a great way to start the day.

I grabbed breakfast at a decent little cafe but they definitely put the grease in greasy spoon. I felt that one in my gut for awhile. Or maybe my guts were just torn up anyway.

Today was an amazing ride. I wound down 101, taking several back roads, including Avenue of the Giants.

Pictures never do them justice.

I really enjoyed the Redwoods. As I’ve said, trees are my favorite thing. After this loop, I feel like I’ve been through every type of forest in the US.

Now is where the fun began. I turned off onto highway 1. Wow. The twists and turns began immediately. All day I’d been fighting the weather. I was dressed for cold and as I climbed up and over the hills on 1, it hit 100 degrees. Off came the leathers and the wool undershirt. 30 minutes later I was back by the ocean and the fog and it was 57 degrees. I can’t win. After lunch I put it all back on again. And on it would stay. Highway 1 has got to be the most interesting road I’ve been on this entire. I can see why this is a bucket list ride for most people.

I was making good time until genius me decided any trip around the US isn’t complete without a stop at the Golden Gate Bridge.

Riding through downtown San Francisco, even at 8:30pm, is not a good idea.

I’m so tired right now as I’m trying to write this. I did make it to my in-laws and I’ll take tomorrow off the bike.

So here’s the part where I broke my rules.

Today I had an agenda. I wanted to get to my in-laws tonight. When I plugged all of the waypoints into my bike, and it said I’d arrive at 9pm, I should have known better. I even called my wife and told her I probably wouldn’t make it.

I pushed through today and made it.

And in doing so I broke another rule. I rode in the dark. I’ve ridden in the dark before but not going from A to B. Fortunately it was just highway which is pretty easy.

The other rule I broke today was lane splitting. I swore I’d never do it. Getting through the traffic in downtown San Francisco was insane. After sitting at an intersection for 7 cycles of a light and not moving an inch, I decided to go for it. Less than 30 minutes later, I was out of the city. It wasn’t so bad. I was worried about the width of my bike and it was definitely tight. I took it easy and surprisingly, most people actually moved over to make a wider path.

So I’m mentally and physically exhausted.

I’m out.