Hung Out at Boat Playground

On January 5 I told an acquaintance of mine that I would go on his bike ride later. I went home got my bike and some warm clothes and took BART to Glenn Park. Then I climbed Monterey and Hearst to City College. My host, the birthday boy, was with his girlfriend and neighbors. We rode Phelan and Holloway to SF State and then over to 45th avenue. I tried to stop by my father’s house but his light was off so I grabbed a beer at Gus‘s and the seven of us hung out at Boat Playground. We also went up MLK and hung out at Sunset Boulevard and later at the bleachers at Big Rec.

I left with a couple of other riders and we said said when we got to Laguna. I was alone until 11 and watched castle of Cagliostro until late after eating a frozen pizza.

 
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.

Route 20 to Larkspur

On December 10, 2023, I finished up the winter trip I had made to Marin County with my boys.

We got up at 8:30 at the Inn, went downstairs and ate the food in the dining room. We saw the host. The boys were really animated and I had to tell them to sit still several times. When we returned to the room they watched TV.

We were packed by 11 and went to the coffee shop to listen to live jazz. Later we explored San Anselmo Creek before we rode route 20 to Larkspur. We made a brief stop at Niven playground. After that we boarded a ferry to SF. I got the boys clippers.

I got coffee at the ferry building and we slow rolled home and the boys played video games.

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.

Onward to Phoenix Lake

On December 9 I was in Marin County with my boys for a winter trip. I had packed my cargo bike before work so when I picked them up from school the day before we went straight to the Ferry Building. We had caught a ferry to Larkspur and rode to San Anselmo for had pizza and gelato.

When we got up that morning at The San Anselmo Inn, we went downstairs and had breakfast. Then we put on warm cloths and after a brief stop for hot cocoa, headed to Ross Creek and onward to Phoenix Lake. We looked at rocks in both places. I explained the landscape at Shaver Grade and the pipeline trail.

I had to take some time to think about what to do at the five corners trail intersection then but settled on climbing to Bon Tempe Lake. After a couple of stops, we made it all the way to Lagunitas Lake. We looked at the dam and had a snack in the picnic area.

A short while later we rode back to Shaver Grade but continued on the paved road to the Meadow Club. Some of the Cyclists in the area told us how to get through the Meadow Club. I was surprised when we got there that it was possible given the fact that it is closed to the public. We saw deer at Bolinas Road. We also saw a cat.

From there the descent to Fairfax was quick. Upon our arrival, we walked around and I settled on the Roastery. I bought us a bunch of moon pies. Later we went to Fairfax Market and returned to San Anselmo.

That evening we went to Jane‘s Taco shop which is a favorite of mine. I ordered a bit too much to eat but it was good. When we left, we noted that an old movie – The Three Stooges – was being projected onto the wall of the building across the way. I recalled then that this is an annual tradition there for the Christmas season. We also got some gelato before bedtime.

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.

Catch San Francisco Bike Party

On December second, 2023 I wrote that the night before I went home from work and I had just enough time to ride to Kearney Street on my cross check.

I saw some people riding market street along the way and they led me up Columbus to catch San Francisco Bike Party at Beach Street. We paused at Ghirardelli and then we went up Polk Street. People greeted me along the way.. The ride went up Broadway before heading to Japantown for the first stop. I saw people I had met on Butter Lap and the Mystery Ride. I also met the ride leaders. An acquaintance of mine, who I had hoped to see had a flat so went hom.

When the first party stop ended, we headed up Steiner to McAllister and then over to Baker and Fell where we made a mess of traffic. At Conservatory of Flowers we hung out in the middle of JFK Drive, which I thought was novel. I introduced new people to everyone. I handed out beers and reconnected with people.

A lot of people from the east bay were there and I was impressed with how they all knew the SF people. The ride headed to Union Square but I noticed a lot of people stayed behind. Union Square was really great because of the Christmas carols and the tree. I chatted with people I wanted to talk to and headed home after saying bye.

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.