I walked to work on Monday and had a great walk through the Mission and over Potrero Hill and then through Mission Bay to SOMA.  I dropped Mr. Poe off at Castro Muni and headed over to Dolores Park.  I love the new playground they’ve put in at Dolores Park.  It’s so nice!  It’s so pretty it seems almost like a mirage:

 

 

These pretty homes are on 20th between Dolores and Guerrero.  It’s in the Liberty Hill Historic District:

 

 

I headed through the Mission and then up Potrero Hill.  It’s a little sketchy in the Mission early in the morning.  This is not a walk I’d want to do in the winter when the sun doesn’t rise until late.  But there’s a lovely view from the top of Potrero Hill:

 

 

This is is the pretty firehouse on Wisconsin at 22nd:

 

 

Glorious views of the bay:

 

 

I headed over to Mission Bay which is still a little creepy and empty in the mornings but it’s getting there:

 

 

There’s a lot of construction going on in Mission Bay.  It’s crazy:

 

 

This is formerly awful now pretty Mission Creek:

 

 

South Beach:

 

 

I stopped at the Whole Foods on Harrison for donuts and had a hard time finding them and I was starting to think they didn’t have them but luckily they do.  I got a chocolate and a crumb donut and I enjoyed them both very much.  I headed into work.  I went home for lunch and then took a spin class after work that properly kicked my ass.  Well done.  Then I headed home where Mr. Poe had dinner a’waitin’.  After dinner I got cleaned up and continued my work on my music collection.

Sunday I led a Different Spokes ride out to Marshall.  We had a great group and I think it went really well.  I felt pretty strong all day.  It makes such a big difference when I’ve been off the bike for a couple of days.   I thought we made fantastic time.  Here’s the group in Fairfax on the way out:

 

 

We stopped for pics at the top of Marshall wall:

 

 

I made it home sixish and got cleaned up for dinner.  After dinner I worked on my music library for a while and then I went to bed.  Fantastic day!

 

Bike Mileage:

Today 104.0 Week to date 181.1 Month to date 730.5 Year to date 4,692.9 To Goal 3,307.1 Over (Under) plan 966.9 YTD Mileage vs Last Year (94.4) Rolling Year 9,480.2 Since Inception 10/1/07 45,160.6

I had lots and lots of fun on Saturday.  I got up early and took the dogs for a walk.  I would have walked them quite a bit farther than I did but Ashley Jr. was completely uncooperative.  He’s a lazy, entitled little dog who doesn’t enjoy being told what to do.  I headed home and Mr. Poe and I went to Trader Joe, then Costco, then Safeway and we were home by 11AM.  I had lunch and started cooking.  My attempt was to make some lime curd out of some limes we’ve had and I wanted to make some vegetarian onion soup out of the leftover beer that we had.  Mixed results.  Late in the afternoon I headed downtown.  I stopped by my office and then headed to the ferry building for a donut from Pepples.  Yes, Pepples the legendary donut that I’d failed to acquire on my previous three attempts.  In Pepples’ defense, I was reading the hours for their oakland store and not the ferry location.  I got a chocolate donut with coconut.  Witness the goods:

 

 

How do these donuts compare to the Whole Foods ones that I’ve been happily stuffing down my throat the last couple of months?  Mixed.  The pepples offering are a bit more complex than Whole Foods but it was a little dry in comparison.  Also they cost twice what the Whole Foods one.  Add in the vast availability difference I’m thinking that Whole Foods one are the definite winners…..

 

I headed home and surveyed the food that I’d made earlier in the day.  The curd I made didn’t set and the soup was incredibly bitter and pretty much inedible.  Developing.  I watched some TV and went to bed.

Friday I came into work on Muni with Mr. Poe and then went to the gym.  I headed to my spin class mid day and thankfully there was no drama and the instructor happily ignored me the whole time.  Do you remember the crazy guy who screamed ‘Don’t come back!’ and ‘You’re not wanted here’?  Well he inexplicably said ‘I want to thank you for bringing it’ to me in the locker room after class.  What the hell is that supposed to mean?  I snarled a response ‘I bring it every week’ and made a beeline for my locker.

 

After work I went for a fantastic walk in the Sunset.  I took the N train into Cole Valley and then headed into Golden Gate Park.  I made my way over to the inner sunset and stopped at 9th and Judah for a pic of this cool building:

 

 

I headed over to pretty St. Ann’s which is sadly not open on Friday evenings:

 

 

Then I made my way over to the Moraga steps.  There was some kind of event going on and the place was crawling with children:  It’s got this phenomenal mosaic staircase.  It’s gorgeous:

 

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The views from the Moraga steps:

 

 

Then I made my way up to Grand View Park which has the most amazing views when the weather is holding up:

 

 

 

I headed down to Forest Hill:

 

 

I was walking by Laguna Honda when it occurred to me that I’d never been on the grounds.  So I did:

 

 

The view:

 

 

I love this sculpture of Florence Nightingale.  I love how minimal it all is yet at the same time incredibly evocative–  I had the ‘Florence Nightingale’ in my head before I even finished processing what I was looking at:

 

 

A view of some of the wings:

 

 

The view:

 

 

I headed home over Burnett and made dinner for the dogs and I.  After dinner I got cleaned up and ready for bed.  Fabulous day!

Thursday I came into work early and went to the gym.  I headed home for lunch and then went for a nice ride after work.  I headed off 2nd to Howard to 11th to Bryant and stopped at Sports Basement to donate some horrible shoes I found in a drawer at work where I ran into my friends Mark and Thomas who were there separately and surprised to see how many people they know were hanging out at Sports Basement:

 

 

I continued on Bryant to 20th to Valencia.  These pretty Victorians are on Valencia at Liberty:

 

 

I continued on Valencia to 22nd to San Jose.  San Jose between 22nd and 26th is very interesting.  It defies the grid system that the rest of the Mission and likely predates it.  I saw this technicolor house on San Jose at 24th:

 

 

This is the entrance to Juri Commons that sits on the site of old San Francisco San Jose railroad:

 

 

I continued on San Jose to 26th to Valencia to Tiffany to 29th to San Jose to Monterey to Ridgecrest to Flood to Hazelwood to Greenwood to Plymouth to Wildwood.  This is the view at Wildwood and Mirimar in the heart of Westwood Park:

 

 

I continued on Wildwood to Faxon to De Montefort.  This is Saint Emydius, named after the patron saint of earthquakes.  It was built after the 1906 earthquake to service a population that had started with refugee camps that were located at the old Ingleside Racetrack next door:

 

 

I took De Montefort to Ashton to Pico to Urbano.  I’ve taken pics of this spot a zillion time.  I love the palm tree and the gorgeous bungalows and the El Rey theater (now a church) rising behind it:

 

 

I continued on Urbano to Moncada to Winston.  This is the view looking at the entrance to Ingleside Terraces:

 

 

I continued on Winston to 20th to Eucalyptus to Clearfield into 24th to Yorba to Crestlake which has this interesting assortment of mid century homes surrounding Pine Lake Park:

 

 

I continued on Crestlake to 33rd to Vicente to 16th to Taravel to Merced to Hernandez to Laguna Honda to Portola to Corbett.  I almost got hit by a car turning onto Ord from Corbett.  There was a lot going on and I just didn’t see it.  Eek!  I continued on Ord home for dinner.  After dinner I got cleaned up and went to bed.  It had been a very long day.

 

Bike Mileage:

Today 25.8 Week to date 77.1 Month to date 626.5 Year to date 4,588.9 To Goal 3,411.1 Over (Under) plan 928.6 YTD Mileage vs Last Year (191.4) Rolling Year 9,369.2 Since Inception 10/1/07 45,056.6

Wednesday morning I managed to get out of the house a few minutes early and headed up Corbett where I was passed by my pal Ben in his car on his way to work.  I continued to Portola to Fowler to Teresita to Isola to Rockdale to Omar to Sequoia to Bella Vista to Burlwood to Los Palmos to Hazelwood to Yerba Buena to St Elmo.  I always seem to miss pretty St Elmo St when I’m in the neighborhood.  It’s a little tucked away but well worth a look because of its pretty homes and fantastic views.  This massive home is a Chinese consulate.  It’s gorgeous:

 

 

Some of the other homes on the street.  Comparatively modest but still super fantastic:

 

 

The gorgeous view:

 

 

I continued on St Elmo to Monterey to San Jose to Duncan to Valencia to 14th to Folsom to 2nd and into work. 

 

I headed home for lunch but had to find an alternate route when they closed Market St, sidewalks and all(!), from 5th to 6th because a street car hit a 12 bus.  Nobody was killed thankfully but what a mess!  I took Turk to Laguna to Market to 17th to Ord home for lunch.  It was all cleaned up by the time I was heading back so I came down Market. 

 

After work I went for a nice ride.  I headed off Columbus to Stockton to North Point to Van Ness to Francisco to Gough to Greenwich to Lyon and into the Presidio.  I headed over to the parade grounds and got a nice pic of the restored buildings:

 

 

I continued on Lincoln and headed over to the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped for a pic:

 

 

I continued on Lincoln over to a little west of the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped for pics:

 

 

I continued on Lincoln to Camino Del Mar to Lake to Arguello to Washington.  This super fantastic home is on Washington and Cherry.

 

 

I continued on Washington to Divisadero to Jackson to Scott to Pacific to Taylor.  I stopped for pics of Huntington Park on Nob Hill:

 

 

Grace Cathedral:

 

 

The taller one is called ‘The Nob Hill’.  It’s a super fantastic international style tower and I love it long time.  It totally gives me and architecturegasm:

 

 

I continued on Taylor to California to Polk to McAllister to Laguna to Market to 17th to Ord.  Mr. Poe had to work late so I had to sort my own dinner which meant hummus on toast and french fries.  After he got home I got cleaned up and then we went to bed.

 

Bike Mileage:

Today 34.3 Week to date 51.3 Month to date 600.7 Year to date 4,563.1 To Goal 3,436.9 Over (Under) plan 924.7 YTD Mileage vs Last Year (217.2) Rolling Year 9,343.4 Since Inception 10/1/07 45,030.8

Tuesday I got up early and walked to work.  I had intended to go to Potrero Hill but I realized I’d forgotten stuff by Dolores Park and had to go home to fetch.  By then it was a little late for Potrero so I headed over to the Haight instead.  I love this home on Haight at Baker.  It’s super fantastic:

 

 

This recentish-mural is on McAllister at Divisadero.  It isn’t incredible but it’s very pretty.  Isn’t that enough?:

 

 

I made my way over to Japantown and bravely walked over a homeless encampment to get the view from the bridge over Steiner:

 

 

Then I headed into Japantown Center which was completely empty yet open.  It’s super spooky in there when nobody is around.  I got a couple pics:

 

 

Buchanan between Post and Sutter:

 

 

I headed over to Whole Foods for some donuts which I liked quite a bit better than the ones I had on Sunday.  I had a chocolate one with peanuts on it and a vanilla one with coconut.  They were very, very good.

 

I headed home for lunch and hosed off my backpack and sleeping pad from the Lifecycle.  Once they are dried, packed and stowed then I will be completely finished cleaning up after the ride.  Which is more than a little bit atypical for me but Mr. Poe is delighted not to have to put up with the mess.  After work I got my hair cut and then Miss Smith collected me and we went for a walk.  I said goodbye to him at Van Ness and Polk and walked home as quickly as possible for dinner.  Which I at a huge quantity of.  Then I got cleaned up and went to bed.  I walked in total around eleven miles.

Sunday I was wide awake at 4am and starving so I got up and watched a movie and waited for an hour when decent people woke up.  We got out of the house early and stopped by my friend Larry’s house on the way to go drop off the rental car.  I never know how long things are going to take when traveling in a car in San Francisco and we’d given ourselves a lot of time to the car back.  We were done ridiculously early so we wandered around Union Square for a while and then met Nathan and Daniel who were miraculously free for brunch.  Mr. Poe had the best burger he’d ever had at the Chambers, the restaurant at the Phoenix hotel.  After, we headed to the Haight so I could score some vegan donuts and then we headed home and I took a nap.  I spent the rest of the day doing very little.  I was exhausted.

 

Monday I came into work Market to Laguna to Post to Kearny to Clay to Sansome.  I headed home Market to McAllister to Baker to the Panhandle to Cole to Haight to Stanyan to Waller to Cole to Carmel to Clayton to Corbett to Ord.  I headed back to work down Market and then headed headed back the same way after a spin class Monday night which was distinguished by the lack of people yelling at me.  I got a pic of the Gay and Lesbian Center on my home:

 

 

I had dinner and then finished up my Lifecycle laundry and then got ready for bed.  It’s good to have a bit of my life back.

 

Bike Mileage:

Today 17.0 Week to date 17.0 Month to date 566.4 Year to date 4,528.8 To Goal 3,471.2 Over (Under) plan 934.3 YTD Mileage vs Last Year (251.5) Rolling Year 9,309.1 Since Inception 10/1/07 44,996.5

I didn’t sleep very well Friday night but it’s pretty much adrenaline on Day 7 so it didn’t really matter.  We got packed up and out of the hotel room early and I was delighted to enjoy my last bowl of Lifecycle oatmeal.  The route opened at 6am and I was ready.  Here’s everybody ready to go:

 

 

I rode as hard as I could and stopped only once and finished at 9:45.  I was pretty pleased with my performance but I could definitely tell that it was day 7 as pretty much everything was getting sore.  I gave myself a whore’s bath using cleansing towlettes behind the booth where they were handing out victory t shirts and then rode my bike to go pick up the rental car.  Then I headed into Beverly Hills and went for lunch at Chipotle where my burrito was free because I was the first customer of the day.  Score!  Then I went shopping.  It’s fun shopping in Beverly Hills.  It’s super fantastic:

 

 

What wasn’t super fantastic was the labor action that was going on outside Hermes.  Complete with a tacky sign.

 

 

I headed to Barney first for some beaute where some lady chatted my up while they guy who was helping me went to go see if they had what I wanted in stock.  I was pretty horrified when she asked me flat out ‘So you haven’t bathed yet?’.  I wasn’t going to relate my moist towlette rubdown at the VA park so my sheepish response was ‘I’m only gonna try on shoes!’.  Not cute.  I picked up a new fragrance at Serge Lutens and then headed over to Saint Laurent to look at shoes.  Amazingly I wasn’t given the ‘Pretty Woman’ treatment despite the fact that I looked like a homeless person.  They had the shoes I wanted and I was out of there pretty quickly.  Even when I’m planning on buying things in store I shop online so all I had to do was try them on and I was done.  By then, Wanderson had finished and so I went back to the VA and collected him and our luggage and then stopped to say hi to Larry and we were on the road by 2:30.  Driving from Los Angeles to San Francisco is very boring once past the grapevine and also incredibly hot.  It was 111 at one point!  My advice is to make sure that you aren’t driving past a stock yard before opening the window because that stank lingers.  Wanderson drove after the first couple of hours and before I knew it we were heading onto the San Mateo bridge.  I’d never been happier to see the bay:

 

 

I dropped Wanderson off and then made it home by 8:30.  Mr. Poe helped me unpack and then fed me dinner and I checked my emails and went to bed.  I think driving home on day 7 is absolutely the way to go in terms of economy and convenience.  It was cheaper than flying and there was no risk of being stuck at LAX until midnight because of fog at SFO.  I approve.  It was a phenomenal week and I’m already looking forward to next year!

 

Bike Mileage:

Today 60.7 Week to date 460.6 Month to date 549.4 Year to date 4,511.8 To Goal 3,488.2 Over (Under) plan 961.1 YTD Mileage vs Last Year (208.5) Rolling Year 9,232.1 Since Inception 10/1/07 44,979.5

Day 6 is both my favorite and least favorite day.  I love the route.  A nice climb up to the top of coastal mountains followed by a crazy fast drop to Gaviota beach and then a ride down the coast into Ventura.  What I don’t like is rest stop 2 where we are corralled until Caltrans opens the route up for us.  The result is a huge mass of riders leaving at the same time and sorting all that is a shit show until lunch.   I ran into Jeff and Wanderson while I was waiting:

 

 

Assembled riders:

 

 

I was all set to be one of the first riders to go when I looked down at my bike an d realized my front tire was flat.  Fuck!  Bike tech helped me change it and I wasn’t so terribly delayed but the damage was done.  I was stuck passing slower riders on the 101 all the way down to Goleta and some of them were seven man pacelines that were a nightmare to get around.  It was very frustrating but thankfully I ride harder on frustration so I was soon done with all that and heading down the coast.  I got in around 12:45 and was the third rider.  I got checked into the hotel and headed over to Dukes for lunch.  They make a passable burrito and their french fries are good so I think they’re a better choice than psalm laden In and Out.  Here I am midway through lunch:

 

 

I headed back to camp after lunch and saw Ms. Gaus:

 

 

Girlfriend is ridiculously cantilevered:

 

 

Ventura beach:

 

 

I went to bed early again.  My allergies were driving me nuts and I was exhausted.  Sorrry, Larry!

 

Bike Mileage:

Today 84.3 Week to date 399.9 Month to date 488.7 Year to date 4,451.1 To Goal 3,548.9 Over (Under) plan 922.3 YTD Mileage vs Last Year (185.9) Rolling Year 9,088.1 Since Inception 10/1/07 44,918.8