6

Tuesday, 6-10-08, Motel 6, Vallejo, CA
Today was the day to pedal through San Francisco and take the ferry to Vallejo. It was a beautiful day, warm and not too windy. We had a tough climb through Daly City, but we made it. Once we made it to the Presidio, it was a level, easy, enjoyable ride through the Fisherman’s Wharf area to the piers. On the way a father and son, Peterson and Peterson cycled up and befriended us and guided us through the crowds to the correct pier and invited us to eat with them once we arrived. When we arrived at the pier, we saw their bus and support van they were using for their step-son/step-brother, Aaron Baker, who was also cycling across America by the same route we were. He was followed by a camera crew who would be making a documentary when he finished. We also met Aaron’s mother Laquita and his sister Arielle and had a great time talking about the trip. We said we would keep in touch and hoped to cross paths in Nevada and across the Rockys. As we were leaving to the ferry, Laquita says, “Wait here a minute.” She had something for us. When she returns, she has a box of “Fox Racing” jerseys for all nine of us and riding shorts for us along with some riding gloves and reflective stickers for the bikes. Aaron had used them last year when he went across on the Southern Tier route. How generous and thoughtful. What nice people! The ride across the ferry was smooth and fun with a great view of San Francisco fading away in the distance. We arrived in Vallejo at 8:05 pm and the sun had almost set, so we wouldn’t have time to find a campground; we would have to stay in a motel. Since we didn’t know the area, we asked directions to the nearest motel. Fortunately, another cyclist, Brett, heard us and told us he would escort us to one in a better part of town. He winded us through different streets. We had to put our tail lights on because it was starting to get dark. Finally he told us to wait because we were by his house and he wanted to give us a map. He came back with a detailed bike route map of the Yolo County trails. What a blessing. It came in very handy. He then showed us where to go to a motel, which was only a couple of blocks away. We ended up getting two rooms, one for the bikes and the other for us, too expensive, but we had no choice. Overall, we were blessed and thankful for how God had supplied our needs and taken care of us. 41 miles.