Day 1: San Francisco to Fairfield

Time Zone : Pacific (GMT -8)
Todays Distance 84 miles
Cycling time 6hrs 43 mins

Today’s cumulative ascent 4029 ft
Average speed 12.1 mph
Average Heart rate 118 bpm
Distance so far: 84 miles

Ascent so far: 4029 ft.

Today's profile

Dedication: Today is for all the children and all the teachers who have been in Providence School since 1999.

A 6 a.m. early breakfast and all were ready at 6.45 to set off. The morning was cold and all had extra layers on to cope with the typical low temperatures of a San Francisco morning. There was a relief when the word was given to go. The whole group was to stay together for the first 24 miles. Shortly after starting we hit a 1.5 mile steep hill....just the thing to settle down the breakfast or otherwise. On Skyline Boulavard as we travelled northwards into the wind, another organised cycle came against us...... they were going from san Francisco to Los Angeles over 5 days ... the A-Drive. There must have been 4000 cyclists in it with many in fancy dress. They were of a younger age profile and the wind in their backs....life just isn't fair.

After 17 miles we dropped down to the Pacific for the wheel-dipping ceremony.... the back wheel in the Pacific and at the end in 7 weeks time we'll dip the front wheel in the Atlantic. Just the location for an official group photo with everyone wearing the 'America by Bicycle' shirt.

Next a spin on the San Francisco hilly streets as we made our way towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Being Sunday morning it was crowded with pedestrians and with cyclists but we got a clear run across on the west path after passing under the carriageway. It was a memorable spin across the 2 mile bridge and over 200 feet above the water. There was a SAG stop (Support and Gear) at the far end and a chance for a few photos.

At this point the group broke up into smaller sections for the rest of the day. I cycled in a group with Sue from Golden as we dropped down into the beautiful town of Sausalito by the waters edge. Still there were cyclists everywhere going in all directions.... it's big in this area.

By this stage there was great heat and the jackets and leggings were off. I was now in the Providence shirt and before the end of the day 2 of our group said they'd cycle from New Hampshire to Providence with me. (We'll check that out again after another 51 days.).

The 20 miles on Highway 37 (Sonoma and Napa counties) was almost like Holland in that it was so flat and through reclaimed land (from the northern part of the Bay).... but at least the wind was helping us a little and we were at over 20 mph at times. Again at the end of the day there was a stiff 2 mile climb to a point where we crossed over Interstate-80. On some of the roads today there were long cracks along the length of the road - up to 2 inches wide and 6 inches deep- caused by the earthquakes of a number of years ago. It wouldn't do a bicycle wheel any good to drop into one. One of the roads on the route was blocked off and it meant crawling under the fence to proceed.

It was a glorious day's cycle and I'm thrilled that we are finally on the way. Over the next few days I'll develop a routine for each evening so as to get to bed early and recharge the batteries.

I arrived in the hotel in Fairfield at 4 p.m. and had a great appetite for dinner in Applebee's Restaurant nearby.

Our full group: