SOMA to South Park

On Sunday, November 5, 2023, I wrote that on the previous Thursday I got home from work and ate. I watched TV and texted with an acquaintance of mine, a doctor from the North Coast, who said he would be visiting in the morning. I woke at a reasonable time and walked to BART to find him as he was getting in. We went to a coffee shop and chatted. I left him with a key to my apartment before I headed to work.

I managed to leave the office by 3 o’clock and at my apartment found my guest had made himself at home. I took the time to unwind from work. We shared a cocktail and did some catching up before getting a meal at the local South Asian restaurant.

When we got back to the apartment, I gave him one of my bikes and we visited Clarion Alley to catch our breath. Then we stopped at the liquor store before heading off to meet up with San Francisco Bike Party at 17th and Harrison – Inchan Kaajal Park.

The ride left a bit after we got there. We went up 15th to the Castro and down 18th which I thought was dumb but my companion was pretty happy with the experience. I sent pictures to our mutual acquaintances. We returned to Valencia and headed east on 26th to Balmy Street.

The first stop was Potrero del Sol. I introduced my companion to a bunch of people I know. However, he was making friends on his own. Later he told me that he remembered the skate park from when he was a kid. Everyone was having fun but the cops showed up so we had to leave a little early for SOMA.

We were a little worried that we were leaving the group behind so hurried up Potrero Street. Cops harassed us as we turned onto 17th but the ride was moving along. I pointed out groups of people I knew as we rode.

We rode through Mission Bay and some of the narrow alleys we passed through made the experience really unique. We passed through Soma to South Park, the second party stop. I reconnected with a bunch of people. One group I was really interested in speaking with was a big crowd. We discovered some new friends.

When people started to leave I said bye to everyone. Then the two of us rode up second street and stopped by the Chieftain. Later at The Tempest I noted that the Karate Kid was playing on the TV. The bartender said she liked to put interesting movies on. I suggested Lost Boys.

We rode through a bunch of alleys then and eventually ended up on Mission Street. Later back at the apartment, I ate ice cream and the bikes ended up left in a corner spot in the hallway.

The next morning, a Saturday, I woke at 9:30 and boiled water until I had everything ready. We had made eggs, toast, sausage and hashbrowns. We chatted for a while and looked through my rock collection.

Later, we got the bikes and rode to Page and Divisadero where we coffee sitting in a parklet. A it later we rode to Steiner and I saw a person I knew who showed us a picture of a toucan from a garage sale. We also bought a few things there.

It was really hot out. We went to Waller skatepark where my companion got some skating in. There were pro-skaters there. I was really impressed with the stones along the edge of the skate park. I noted that there was a lady watching her husband skate while holding their infant. When I spoke with them I learned that they both like to skateboard. I texted pictures of the skate park to our mutual acquaintances.

We rode up Willard to Carl Street and I got us to Carmel Street, which was tedious because the grade is pretty steep. However, once we got to the top, we descended Clayton to Market and across to Grandview where we had sodas at Neighbors Café. It was still pretty hot. The view from up there was really great. I suppose that is why they call it Grandview.

We visited James Lick school, which was the site of a well known skate spot known as the Ripper on Clipper. The professional guys we had seen at Waller Skatepark had recently organized an event there with Thrasher Magazine. I got pictures.

We went to 24th and ate at Barney’s before taking in a few art galleries. The weather changed quickly to mist at this point as the sun was beginning to set. We bought some art and chatted with locals as we made our way through the Mission to Valencia. We looked inside of Boogaloo but they were closed.

As there was some kind of shopping event going on in the neighborhood, we stopped at 826 Valencia, Paxton Gate and City Art before stopping by the apartment to dump all of our loot - records, art and even a jacket. However, we quickly returned to Valencia to visit a skate shop near 14th and a couple of other places.

When we were done, we went to the Latin American Club for cocktails. I was excited because we ended up sitting next to some interesting ladies. We also walked over to The Royal Cuckoo Market which was fantastic.

The night was a bit damp. The people were really nice. We got to know a few people before finishing the night with tacos at 19th and Mission. My companion got packed to head off to the airport when we got back to the apartment.

We both woke at five in the morning but I went back to sleep as soon as he had left. Apparently his flight to the east coast got canceled and he was put on a waitlist. However, the flight attendants ended up giving him better deal and he ended up getting to there before the rest of his party.

I woke up at what I thought was 1030 but it was 930 because of daylight savings time. I went to Mercury and had coffee. Then I went home and I was alone and lazy until I wen to do laundry. When I got back, I started the dryer and started writing.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

I Decided to Go

On October 7 I wrote that the night before, a friday night, I stopped by a taqueria on Polk Street and then rode zigzag to Green and Laguna on the way to Bike Party at Fort Mason. I looked at who was there and saw a few close friends and a couple of others I knew. I also noticed a few new random people.

When the ride left, I had to try hard to find people to interact with and ended up riding close to a couple I knew for a while. Some new people smiled at me and I wanted to chat with them but I had to maneuver to do so. That was when a person from the East Bay caught up with me on his tall bike and interrupted my interactions with them. All of us had a good natured chat as we approached Golden Gate Bridge above Fort Point.

At the visitor center at Golden Gate Bridge I got water and saw others I knew. One person gave me a hug. A short while later I decided to go home as our access to Golden Gate Bridge appeared blocked.

In the morning of the day I wrote this, I had coffee at Mercury Cafe in the sun at 10 but had to move to the shade. I went home to tidy

Later I went to Geary and Masonic to do some shopping. I stopped to have fish and chips on the way back. I also stopped at Target and had a great time watching the sunset from the parking lot on the top floor. I took great photos of the Pacific Ocean in the post sunset view. It had been a very hot day and the sky was brilliant.

Later I went to Minibar and Page where I tried to make friends with a bartender and saw an acquaintance. I got home pretty late.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Inkwells

On September 4, 2023, I wrote that it was my fifth day with my boys camping in West Marin. We were staying in Samuel P. Taylor State Park, rounding out an eventful visit to the coast which included Point Reyes. The state park has two sites for cyclists. Campsite one is designated for hikers and cyclists but was full so we camped in site 62, which serves as an overflow site for cyclists.

We shared the site with a guy who left early that morning. The night before he and I had chatted until late. He was from the East Coast so I had to explain Critical Mass to him. We also discussed cycling in general. When I woke up that morning at 6:30, we made coffee and chatted until he left. I explained the route to the Golden Gate Bridge as he was leaving

I let the boys sleep and when they got up I gave them a couple treats. Then I directed them to self start and make an effort to pack. They stuffed sleeping bags while I set up carrots and apples. A bit later they worked on the tent. Unfortunately the steaks were so deep in the ground I had to ask a ranger to pull it up with a prybar. We decided it was likely an old stump underground.

I sent the boys out with a playmate nearby. I left a battery to charge at the handicapped bathroom and that made me nervous. I got to know the other campers all of whom were packing to go home. When I was done packing, I checked the site and I found the boys playing along the river. The boys needed to keep a bunch of bark for some reason.

After we said bye to everyone, including the boys new found friends from the campsite, we got back on the trail The Cross Marin Trail. I noted as I was riding and taking pictures that I really love this part of the ride and the views are quite phenomenal.

At the Inkwells swimming hole, I had trouble parking but eventually I parked on the trail down in the river. Then, after getting ready to jump in, I used my strategy of getting the boys into the deep pool by getting in and asking them to leave it to me. They both braved the pools and I even shuttled one boy across the pool twice. We left after two quick dips but I noted that there were a lot of kids leaping into the pools from high up. Everyone was visibly enjoying themselves.

When we left, I took the boys for hot cocoa and a yummy scone in Forest Knolls. Then we rode San Geronimo Road to White Hill, where the climb turned out alright despite the traffic. I rode Olema Road into Fairfax town and passed a bunch of people two or three times. We met a guy playing guitar at San Anselmo City Hall.

I discovered that we had to ride to Sausalito for the ferry which made me sad. However, it was best method home given the late departure of the Larkspur Ferry. I took Bike Route 22 through Bonaire. Then we took Route 5 to Horse Hill with no problems.

In Sausalito, I got the boys ice cream and we boarded the 5:15pm ferry. I had a beer on the boat when we got off, there were a lot of bikes. We went to Gott’s for fries.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Up The Cross Marin

On September 3 I wrote that it was my fourth day with my boys camping in West Marin. We were visiting Samuel P. Taylor State Park and Point Reyes National Seashore among other places. That morning we woke around 630 after spending the night sleeping together in a two man tent at Olema Campground.

The boys had set the tent up on their own the night before and had generally slept well. However, I had made the mistake of sleeping in the tent with them because of the my lingering fears stemming from the terrible rains we had had at Wildcat camp. The tent was so small, I had the worst time getting into the tent, fighting my claustrophobia and falling asleep.

Fortunately, I was well rested enough by the time we got up. I scared some crows away from the tent and then got the boys up but later let them nap a bit extra while I did some laundry at the campground offices. I also stopped by Olema’s only coffee shop before returning to the tent.

The boys had gotten up and dressed by then. They had even stuffed their sleeping bags a little. The camp was waking and I noticed the profound diversity of the people around me. It seemed everyone was speaking Korean, Japanese or Spanish. This was something I had noticed the night before but there was much more clarity about it as the day got brighter.

I was moving things around at this point and we went to the laundromat to get the rest of our stuff, charge our batteries and finish packing. Everyone was interested in my e-cargo bike. We left around 11:45am and went to the coffee shop for a snack.

After that we climbed Drake Blvd to Bolinas Ridge Trail on our way to Samuel P. Taylor Park. I am always daunted by this hill since the only two ways to visit the park from the west involve busy roads. However, the climb was easy enough with few cars and I attributed that to the fact that it was morning on a major holiday so all the traffic was headed out to the coast.

Unfortunately, the descent on the east side of Bolina Ridge was scary because the road is a little rough and the slope had us moving pretty fast. I rested my nerves at Tocaloma before we rode swiftly up The Cross Marin to campsite 62 - the hiker/biker overflow site. The boys set up a tent while I retrieved a site tag. On the way back to finish setting up the campsite, I saw quite a few cyclists in the designated hiker/biker also known as site one.

Once we were dine setting up, The three of us rushed off to the swimming hole adjacent to Inkwells Bridge. There were lots of ladies - some of whom I even got to talk to. I drank a beer and encouraged the boys to get in the deeper poot. One of them even got in a second time. Importantly, I discovered, much to my surprise, that the canyon has many fine examples of greenstone!

Once I had had my fill of the afternoon, the boys got on the back of the bike and we returned to the campsite to have dinner. The boys initially tried to find fun nearby in the campground but as we had kept bumping into a camper about my boys’ age, they went looking for and found him. We had seen him around the campground enough at that point that I was rather amused by it. His family goes to the campground every year.

While I was feeding the boys dinner a short while later we got to know a through biker from Seattle who had been assigned to our site. We chatted about cycling and life in the city as we wound down for the night. I have a general policy of feeding the boys on camping trips and simply telling them to go to sleep and they usually do so. However, on this night they kept distracting me because of the visitor who was pretty interesting.

Once the boys had settled down, I focused on cleaning up the site table while chatting with our site mate. Eventually we realized we both had friends in the same communities in Oregon and we looked at the map together. We discussed the Smith complex fire which had been raging only a few weeks previous and I told him an acquaintance had texted to say that the Smith complex had gotten rain.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Olema Campground

On September 2 I wrote that I was pretty bummed out about the rain the night before. I had been traveling through West Marin camping with my boys for a few days. We had arrived at Wildcat Camp a bit late and got rained on most of the night.

While I normally like to sleep under the sky, when the rain had petered out a bit, I reluctantly decided to sleep in the tiny two man tent with my two seven year old boys as a precaution. I fell asleep as it really started raining then. The volume was way more than I had anticipated and much more than earlier in the night. The boys kept kicking me and one spot kept dripping on my face but I just moved and covered up and it was OK. Miraculously, I was neither cold or too wet – I guess the tent was actually waterproof.

I woke up at 5:30 but the three of us just lay there until around seven. Then we got up and looked around. We ate some pretzels and I started taking the camp apart. Getting the sleeping bags done was the most important but the boys started stuffing them immediately. Then we started moving stuff around until things made sense.

Because I noticed the sky clearing up and that the tent was drying out, I set the tarps up in a different spot and got the bike nearly done. Then we changed for sunny weather and walked to the ocean.

I had some beverages ready (chocolate milk and a can of coffee for myself) and we walked to the cliffs above WIldcat. We looked out over the ocean for a while. After that we went to the outlet of Wildcat Creek. I noted that the lagoon had a lot of algae in it. I met a person who had had a hard time camping at Glen Campground in the rain.

I took the boys up back to the trail and we ascended to Wildcat Lake where we had a snack and I drank my second coffee. A bunch of people passed on their way from Palomarin and I realized the trail head is really close.

When we were done, we descended to the bike and got ready to go. Because we were on a bike, we kept pace with a couple of people as they were hiking with us. As we approached Glen Trail, the grade increased so much that I had to make the boys walk.

We passed a few other people on Glenn Trail also. I noted that there was some green stone. But I don’t think that that was a correct assessment. I noted that the rocks that we had been seeing up to this point were mostly sandstone and or slate. I noted that Glenn trail was really pretty and that the creeks on the Glenn side ran north.

Much later we found our way around to the Bear Valley Trail. We rode past some hikers to Divide Meadow and had a snack. I noted that we had debated over the decorative rocks arranged around the facilities there. I thought they look like granite but they could’ve been greenstone.

We rode into the Visitor Center then. The boys had fun looking at the exhibits and I sat for a rest. I saw a few people we had been camping with. I met a couple biking to Glenn Camp.

When we rode to the privately owned Olema campground, I thought I’d just do laundry but they had a site available so we set up our tent and I got a coffee. When I did this one of my boys said “this guy with his coffee.”

At about 5 o’clock, we headed to Point Reyes Station where I found a pizzeria. We put our name in and went to the grocery for food for the next couple of days. Then we sat down to eat. The food was good. After that I treated the boys to ice cream bars and then we headed back to Olema campground.

The boys went to sleep pretty quickly. I went to the laundromat to charge the bike and write.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Wildcat

On September 1, 2023, I wrote that I had spent the night sleeping on a tarp in the hiker biker site at Samuel P. Taylor State Park. However, boys had spent the night in a tent they had set up on their own. I had slept well and when I woke I lay there enjoying the forest.

There were at least four through-packing cyclists from other countries there. One of them went to make coffee away from site so as not to disturb the rest of us. The others got up one by one and packed. Eventually they all departed for their own adventures.

I set up to feed the boys and slowly got them up. I made oatmeal for the boys and fixed myself a can of cold brew coffee. I had made some of the dehydrated stuff too.

A camper, about my boys’ age, who we had seen around the campground passed through looking for us and the three of them went off to play. Apparently his family goes to the campground every year. The boys returned several times as I was breaking down our camp and I had them stuff their sleeping bags and roll up the tent.

Once I had finished packing the GSD, my e-cargo bike, I took the boys over to say hi to their new companion’s family. Then we rode down The Cross Marin Trail past the park offices and made a brief stop in Tocaloma where we looked at the bridge. A bit later, when we rode over Platform Bridge, I saw some interesting geology in the road cut.

On the way to Point Reyes Station, I noted that getting to Highway 1 was a real pain along this section of road because of the slight rise at the highway and the relative amount of traffic for a major holiday. However, once we got to Point Reyes Station things improved.

We went to the Station House for a delicious lunch. On the way to the grocery store we happened upon the boys’ playmate from the campground with his family. I thought it was really funny and wonderful that we kept bumping into him.

A short while later we headed out to Olema where I had some coffee. I was really irritated at the timing, the traffic, managing children and other stuff. However, I was able to manage.

From Olema we headed north on Highway 1 to Five Brooks, which involved a nearly 500 foot climb. It was difficult but the traffic was lighter than expected. I took a short break at the horse staging area and later we spent about 20 minutes at the Five Brooks parking lot. We found an interesting rock there which I suspected was granite but could have been greywacke.

We headed into the forests of Point Reyes then, taking the Stewart Trail through a dense forest of Douglas fir up the side of Inverness Ridge. The start was easy enough – just a Creekside climb – but it switched back a couple of times and morphed into a dense and foggy forest.

When we entered the flat spot on the top of the ridge there was a plaque for the site, known as Fir Top the highest point along that section of the ridge. I noted that the location is less of a mountain and more of a lump. However, at 1,324 feet it was by far the highest point in our trip.

The forest is dense there and the fog was so moist it was practically raining in some places. One of my sons was actually scared because the forest was a little spooky. We took a break, took pictures and had a small picnic

After that, we descended about 1000 feet – it was hard. At the turn off for Glenn Camp, I noted that that path was somewhat level. From there we descended again to the coast. The mist got a little better but sunset was approaching.

When we started heading into the campground, the ocean was spectacular. We saw a skunk and a bunch of elk. I noted that there are eight sites at Wildcat Camp and only six were occupied.

I tried to get us oriented but right as the tent got done it started raining, which cut much of the fun for the evening short.

When the rain started going away, I dried the tarps out and put everything away and got the boys ready for bed. I had set the site up with the picnic table on one side and the bike on the other. The tarps had provided an area with a seating space in front of the tent. After the boys wound down, I spoke to some of the campers.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Climb to Fairfax Falls

On August 31 I wrote that I left that morning for The Embarcadero with my boys to go camping in Marin. When we got to the Ferry Building, I had coffee and I got the boys some pastries. We were admittedly a little late for various reasons, and upon reflection I was a bit sad because we had to board the Sausalito Ferry instead of the one to Larkspur, which was closer to Samuel P. Taylor, our destination.

The ferry attendants were impressed with how we boarded. I thanked them but while the bike is not terribly large, the bags and human cargo make the bike a little bulky. I explained to them that I had done the trip enough times to know how to prepare.

During the trip across the bay, I re-packed the bike right before we rolled off the boat. I remember that I was so concerned with the timing of the trip that we rode directly down Bridgeway and continued onward to Horse Hill nonstop.

As the climb up that section of path tends to be tedious, the boys and I took a break there and we looked at the road cut. I had recently gone to Tiburon and Ring Mountain so explained how the rocks in the area sometimes contain garnet.

A short while later we were making our way through Central Corte Madera and continued on to Ross. We made a brief stop at the bank and I also made sure to stop at the consignment shop in San Anselmo – the owner is rather nice.

We made one more stop at Fairfax Market before braving the climb to Fairfax Falls. I noted that the climb to White Hill, always a major concern for me, turned out perfect. The boys got off twice at the top. I had to change the battery because my extra third battery had not been fully charged.

From the top of White Hill we flew down Drake Boulevard and headed out to Lagunitas where I got the boys snacks at the deli until the Indian restaurant opened. I got us a plate of chana masala and rice with naan. Then I bought some drinks and we headed to The Inkwells. Our late departure had foreclosed upon our swimming at Inkwells and that made me sad but I knew we were going to have a great trip.

At the campsite I got a tag at the kiosk. I’m met the Canadian and German guys camping there while the boys set up the tent. I made a small amount of ramen while chatting with one of the other campers. We had a beer and I wound down for the night.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Coldstream Canyon for Photo Ops

My boys and I had been camping at Donner Lake for a week and my older sister had spent the last night with us. In the morning of August fifth, 2023, I woke up and by 6:15 I got the boys up. I knew the train wasn’t coming until the afternoon so tried to make sure I was thorough. I just went back-and-forth between the bear box and picnic table organizing.

My sister got up a bit after me. We started breaking down the tents while the boys were eating. That was around 830. We were wearing jackets, but it got warm quickly.

I checked the updated departure info for the trip. The boys disappeared into the campground by 10 but not before eating a bunch of marshmallows. We put the tents in the driveway to air out and I basically finished the backpacks after having the boys stuff their sleeping bags.

I managed to figure out the bags and the tent. Eventually, I got it all, but it was really late. My sister did a lot to help and agreed to drive us to the train. There was room for all of us in her pickup. My bag rolled around on Donner Pass Road, but we made it fine. As she got ready to leave, my sister told the boys to call her “Tia.”

After we waved bye to my sister, we had a snack. I gave the boys some box drinks. I told them that we were getting rid of the bag of rocks they had collected, and they refused. Then, not even ten minutes later, they left the bag at the Chamber of Commerce store.

As we were due to wait for a while until our train arrived, we did a lot of sitting around the station. One of the reasons for the wait was the track work. This was confirmed by the parade of rail workers passing the station on the mainline. I noted that when they left the railyard nearby in their individual rail work cars, each one had a siren they ran as they crossed the local streets. I took pictures.

After the rail crew had departed around noon, I took the boys to the local shops and a café. The boys were very well behaved, and I took in the view. A bit later we hung out at the station as the train approached. The boys found their bag of rocks, but I got rid of them as we were touring the station’s different offices and the museum.

The boys were slacking when the train showed up but it took a while so I noted that in retrospect, I overreacted by rushing. Once on board, I let the boys go to the café car, but had to grab a couple of things, so I almost missed Coldstream Canyon for photo ops. However, we had a great time climbing to Donner Pass.

We sat in the observation car almost until we got to the town of Baxter. Some lady from Illinois peppered my boys with questions while we ate sandwiches from the cafe car. Later, we returned to the café car for beef stew since the train was so late. I tried to take a nap then but wasn’t successful. We finished the trip in the café car after the Sacramento break outside. The sunset was amazing over the Vaca mountains.

At Martinez we packed up and at Richmond I took the boys downstairs. The boys were displeased with the Amtrak at this point and boarding our connecting bus and catching the 14 were really hard. Later, I let them play video games as I put stuff away.

 
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.