San Francisco Day 3

Today was real treat.

5:30 AM - Woke up, packed up, and brought my cycle outside and had a quick breakfast consisting of half a banana, half a bagel and a cup full of cereal.

6:15 AM - We had the first biking experience of the trip : assessment. There was a four part course which we needed to pass. Stage 1, we had to bike in a straight line, clip in and out, and drink from our water bottle and be able to look back...with my practice, it was a piece of cake. Stage 2, obstacle course, weave in and out of the cones and point out the dangers while pedaling. Not as easy as it sound, but I never hit a cone, no problem. Stage 3, paceline training. We basically rode in groups of four, and practice reverse leapfrogging. Since I always road alone, I was most nervous about this but I dominated that. Stage 4, changing a flat tire, my first

time doing this. I never had to do this before and I hope that I never will again this year (pretty improbably but we'll see).

11:00 AM - After the assessment, we went to check out Golden Gate bridge. It's truely remarkable to witness one of America's most majestic works of architecture

.

12:00 PM - Return back to U of SF. We had a quick lunch consisting of a ham sandwich and chips, and explored San Francisco around.

1:00 PM - We explored a little of the Haight-Ashbury area of San Francisco. The area was interesting to say the least. It was a fusion between Berkeley's 60's hippy culture mixed with San Francisco cutting edge. I've never seen a place like it before. One second, you pass a regular bike shop. A few shops later has smoke free blowing out the door and a huge colorful

mural over the bricks of its front wall.

3:30 PM - We were put in vans and took a tour of a different area of San Francisco, Fisherman's Wharf. As we made it there, we took the long and windy road down Lombard Street. I do wish I could bike down Lombard Street (uphill, not so much).

4:00 PM - Fisherman's Wharf was pretty cool. I was looking forward to meeting Chris Sorenson and Jeff Sklarin there but because of miscommunication, I never got a chance to see them. Sorry 'bout that guys...I felt pretty bad about that.
On the plus side, I satisfied my 11 month craving for In n Out burger. Man, I tell you, it just gets better. Double-double with grill unions, and animal style frenchfries. Honestly, thats all I need in this world. The world is definitely a better place because of In n Out. For all those that haven't tried it, thats just sad.

6:15 PM - We returned back to U of SF, and just relaxed for a little bit. A few of us played some ultimate frisbee on U of SF's quad. I was ridiculously quick, no big deal.

9:30 PM - Grabbed some fourth-meal at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant down the street. The place was pretty good, especially with its heated salsa.

10:00 PM - Returned back, and started to get ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow we start the actual biking, with a practice 20 mile bike ride in the suburbs of SF. The adventure begins.