May 30, day 27 Samuel P. Taylor State Park to San Francisco

May 30, day 27 Samuel P. Taylor State Park to San Francisco

Starting odo 7375

I am only a little late breaking camp and we start out in search of
breakfast.  Only a couple of miles from the park is a nice store that
serves breakfast,and we sit down, eat, recharge devices and check
email since there is wifi there.

After a very leisurely breakfast, we leave and continue on, thru a
series of bike lanes and routes and paths.  It is a bit slow since we
are tired and I tend to go slow when looking for turns and etc.

We pass several bike shops and go into a few.  I am looking for new
tights (never take bib tights on a tour!), and Shyam needs another
pair of bike shorts, having somehow lost a pair, although I secretly
suspect they are just lurking somewhere in his huge panniers!

We pass a brewpub so we stop and we have appetizers and I have a beer.
 This brewpub has a lot of bicycles parked outside it, and there are
lots of cyclists in full gear eating there.  It is the first
restaurant I've seen where cycling clothing fits right in!

We continue, and pass yet more bike shops, and more, and more.  Marin
seems to have a very high density of bike shops!

Eventually, after several more stops, we find ourselves climbing up a
deserted road, deserted because it is only for pedestrians and
bicyclists, that leads up to the Golden Gate bridge.  We ride across
on the west pedestrian path, which is only for bikes, but not without
taking the requisite touristy photos!

Having decided to try a hostel, we spend a bit of time trying to find
it, and then checkin.  The hostel is in an old army barracks at Ft.
Mason, right on the water.  Its kind of like living in a commune, only
less privacy, but they have a room to store the bikes in, and a locker
under the bunk beds to store our panniers in. The room we stay in is
holding about 9 guys.  There is quite a spectrum of ages for the
people here. There are  some kids (I saw a sign welcoming a girl
scout troop) and there are young and old people here. You get a chit
for continental breakfast, and a men's bathroom across the hall, wifi,
tv room, and a large kitchen in the basement if you want to cook your
own food, and a small restaurant.  All for only $30/night.  I'm not
sure if this is a good deal or not.  The nearby motels are about
$100/night, and split in half that's $50/night.  In any case its a new
experience for me!