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:

Day 0: Assembly Evening

Well, the show is finally on the road. We gathered at Holiday Inn Express just beside San Francisco Airport in mid afternoon.....windy and a cool 60 degrees. In the lobby I look around and think 'These are to be my close companions for the next 2 months as we slowly move across this country'. Glancing about I think that they are not all young flyers and that I'll fit in and hold my own. The bike and helmet are given a safety-check by Gerard, the tour mechanic and gets the A-OK. Michelle helps me through the registration process and furnishes me with further documentation.
At this stage, it was time to say goodbye to Margaret, Sinead, Barrie and our grand-daughter Saoirse....they all have been so supportive of me in the long preparation for this venture.

At the orientation session the tour staff, Andy, Michelle, Christine and Gerard cover all areas especially safety and typical daily routine before and after cycling. We all introduce ourselves, where we're from and why we undertake this challenge. There are 35 going the whole way and 19 more who will drop in and drop out for various stages. (6 stages in all). Most are American, with 2 from Netherlands, 1 from England, 1 from Wales, 2 from Germany, 2 from Australia, 1 from New Zeland, 1 from Trinidad, myself from Ireland and interestingly enough a lady from Golden. One American doing the first 2 stages is called Charles Higgins ..... haven't been chatting to him yet. So many of them have recently retired (early) and in my introduction I proudly stated how I was doing this cycle for Providence School, Shillong and that I would be going on that bit extra to Providence RI.
Familiarisation continued afterwards during dinner and I met quite a few who had been to Ireland cycling in Kerry and Conemara and who had enjoyed the scenery and the people so much.
Route Rap after dinner covered the details of tomorrows route ... one of the most demanding from a navigation aspect. Cue sheets with distances, turns, stops, etc were given to all. I have every confidence in our staff...they have years of experience behind each one of them and very concerned for the safety of all while insisting that we have an enjoyable trip.
At this stage everyone is just so keen to get on the road....it's likely that adrenaline will make sleep difficult tonight.

No pictures today......one hotel is just like the other.

2 days to go.

Have finally arrived in San Francisco and the bike also arrived safely. Temperatures not as high as they were last week. They are in the high 60's with a fresh breeze. The body-clock is gradually acclimatising and all should be fine for the 'off' on Sunday morning. Re-assembled the bike yesterday and took it for a 26 mile spin this morning just south of San Jose into the hills just to loosen out the legs. Am feeling great with an appetite now for the open road.

On Wednesday I made a presentation on the Abbey India Project and the Providence Cycle to the staff of Xilinx (the world's leading supplier of programmable logic solutions) and it was well received and appreciated.

The nerves and apprehension that I experienced over the last few weeks are all gone now and feeling more relaxed.....no muscular strains or tensions.