Santa Cruz (you're not that far)
The bike arrived in SF, but unpacking was an eye opener. Angel had taken every single piece of the bike apart..all lovingly packaged and protected. I had no clue how to reassemble it, but I had my first taste of FireFlies communal spirit, as our mechanic Adam came straight up to my room after dinner and put the whole thing together with a small park tool hex set and a wrench borrowed from the front desk. Dinner was a lot of introductions and plenty of humbling reasons as to why people were riding. Everyone had a story and they were all worth hearing.
We set off the next morning from Goodby Silverstein (the ad agency) They had a great coffee bar and breakfast for us. Judging by the state of the bathrooms I think there were some nerves about the first days ride. Before leaving I popped into the janitors office of Goodby and wished him "Bonne Chance" with airing out the washrooms. He looked confused.
The first day was' fricking awesome' as they say. I had been told to be "the best version of myself" out on the road and I liked to think I was: charming, witty and modest. All of this and I was riding my bike. San Fran was misty and damp and we rolled past the Golden Gate bridge..we hit route 1
As the miles unrolled the personnel would change constantly. It was ill judged to try to keep up with the 2 guys in their 20's as we hit the first big climb of the day. I found a couple of old London friends and some new friends who, like me, liked to think they were still in their 20's and we got through the day perfectly well. The strawberries had been hyped en route, but when I passed them I just wanted to keep riding..The sea stayed to our right and on certain turns we'd see miles of pristine rugged California coastline receding into the mist. Epic sh*t.
My plan had been to take it easy, and instead I pushed the biggest gear I could and rode myself into the ground. Everyone dipped their feet in the kidney shaped pool and drunk chocolate milk. I know I am about to pay, and I also have a case of the sniffles. This is a prelude for a very self pitying post I predict I will write tomorrow....For now, we're settled in Santa Cruz. Bike clothes hopefully dry by the AM...
We set off the next morning from Goodby Silverstein (the ad agency) They had a great coffee bar and breakfast for us. Judging by the state of the bathrooms I think there were some nerves about the first days ride. Before leaving I popped into the janitors office of Goodby and wished him "Bonne Chance" with airing out the washrooms. He looked confused.
The first day was' fricking awesome' as they say. I had been told to be "the best version of myself" out on the road and I liked to think I was: charming, witty and modest. All of this and I was riding my bike. San Fran was misty and damp and we rolled past the Golden Gate bridge..we hit route 1
 |
| Lots of Fireflies taking pictures of kites. |
My plan had been to take it easy, and instead I pushed the biggest gear I could and rode myself into the ground. Everyone dipped their feet in the kidney shaped pool and drunk chocolate milk. I know I am about to pay, and I also have a case of the sniffles. This is a prelude for a very self pitying post I predict I will write tomorrow....For now, we're settled in Santa Cruz. Bike clothes hopefully dry by the AM...
.JPG)
Comments
Post a Comment