The Prologue

We are readers in my family. My daughter (the girl) is the voracious one. She reads one to two books daily and can smell a book store from miles away! Books/stories usually have a prologue. It is an opening of a story that establishes the setting and gives background details. It can also be an introductory act or event like in the Tour de France. So…fittingly, today was my prologue.

The big adventure began today. Baker Beach in San Francisco to Napa. 72.8 miles in the bag! Only 3500 more to go. Plymouth, here we come. Look out America!

The plan was changed too, of course. Most cycling mapping aps navigate from San Fran to Napa via Vallejo. To get to Vallejo, you have to take a ferry across the bay. I decided that I just couldn’t take the ferry. I had to ride! Therefore, new route.

Most of the route was new to me as you’ll see from the quick little backtracks at times but it was really nice when I hit Sonoma and the roads were the ones I ride all the time. I usually try to stay away from Sonoma, though, because the roads feel like you are riding the Paris-Roubaix.

The ride:

I even got a welcome home from Aaron Comfort Dog and Team Aaron!

Song of the day:

I grew up, musically speaking, in the 70’s and 80’s. My favorite band was Journey. I knew they were from San Francisco, but I didn’t know anything about that city by the bay. When I first got to California (1990), I even met Neal Schon (lead guitar)! He was just hanging out at the Sweetwater Saloon in Mill Valley. Some friends and I had gone there to listen to some local band. He chatted with us for over an hour. Cool guy!

So when I was dropped off at Baker Beach to begin the ride across America, Journey songs started going through my head. Journey. How appropriate!

Ride on!