After yesterdays winds it was a relief to wake up and find all was calm and still. There was a very heavy mist giving a lovely grey colour to everything!

A brief farwell to the other 3 cyclists on the campground and we joined a nice cyclepath following the coast. Suddenly we came to a grinding halt, Janet had another puncture, this time a large piece of glass had wedged itself in the rear tyre (tire), an easy fix later and we were rolling along (and singing a song).

The cycle path quickly ended and it was on to the highway (1) again. A mere 15 minutes later and we felt the first spots of rain. Donning our waterproofs we carried on, the rain getting increasingly heavy. This is the wettest we have been on our entire trip!

Yes it was grey, no we could not see nothing (english teachers now all cringe together) and slowly even our waterproofs let in water (cycling waterproofs are a double edged sword, yes they keep the rain out but they keep the heat in and you broil yourself, getting just as wet from your own sweat, eeeewww!).

The first long climb up took us through a tunnel, there was a scenic bypass which goes around the headland with lovely views. Due to the poor visibility and the fact it was nice to cycle in the dry of a tunnel for a while we chose this.

Dropping down to Pacifica, where you could see lovely beaches somewhere in the mist! After this we turned off the highway onto small side roads and the biggest climb of the day, coincidentally this was the heaviest rain of the day as well. It proved to be very steep in places but once at the top the rain slowed and eventually stopped.

It was down through Daly and back to the coast where we very quickly passed San Francisco Zoo. We turned off our route along Taraval Street starting to climb slowly and around 4 miles later we arrived at Tim’s apartment.

One very warm welcome later, our bikes stored away, our bodies showered and some food eaten (thank you Tim) it was time for a brief tour of the area.

Tim gave us Clipper cards (the Oyster card in London would be the equivalent) and we had a short walk to the Castro district of town (the oldest gay district anywhere in the USA), where we caught a tram to Market Street, the trams are old and all different, brought in from all over the US then reconditioned to run on the San Francisco lines. In Market Street there are cable driven trams built in 1873 and still running.

We also got a tour of TechShop where for $150 a month you get full access to a superb workshop with lazer cutters, water jet cutters, 3D printing, metalwork shop, etc etc. As you can guess this is Tim’s thing, and I was mightily impressed as well.

We returned via the underground train and a walk up the hill. After much chatting Tim offered to let us stop in his apartment for the rest of this week, as he is spending thanksgiving with family. A huge thank you, it is a lovely apartment right in the middle of the city.

Thanksgiving is the fourth thursday in November and a national holiday, turkey and pumpkin pie are eaten. The closest we have back home would probably be our harvest festivals.

We spoke to Robin who we spent time with on the Great Divide part of our trip, she is currently here in San Francisco as well and we are looking forward to seeing her again.