Visiting San Francisco
It was a trip that was long overdue. I have family there. I have friends there. Combine that with cycling and coffee, sheesh!
Adam Bavarsad, a good friend of mine since high school, was graduating from Berkeley with a Bachelors in Psychology. He invited me to attend his graduation, and there was no way I was going to miss it. He also happened to invite Ivan, who happens to be my right-hand man when it comes to cycling. Besides, Jon had already been nagging me for months to head north and ride up the hills of Oakland with him.
On Monday, May 19th, 2014, Ivan & I headed north on the 5 freeway.
We arrived in Oakland, and our first stop was to drop off our bikes at Jon's house. Ivan's Cinelli was on the roof rack of my car, and my Cervélo was stuffed in the trunk. Not the greatest possessions to leave unattended while walking around SF.
We crossed the Oakland bridge to San Francisco, and immediately began seeking out food, and coffee. Two things we were in dire need of. We found a cool little place called Woodhouse Fish Co., where we enjoyed $18 crab and lobster sandwiches that had servings the size of a kids' meal. Welcome to San Francisco! Nah, but you know what? It was delicious. Small! But delicious. We walked a few blocks South and found Cafe Sofie, where we weren't disappointed with the marshmallows in our Latte's.
My cousin Ashley lives in the Marina neighborhood of San Francisco and we had made plans to meet with her for dinner. We had some time to kill, so we did what a good tourist would do, and gave the Golden Gate a visit. I haven't seen it in person in years, and it felt good to do so.
Golden Gate Bridge
After dinner, Ashley took us for a stroll around her neighborhood. She lives two blocks away from the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre. No big deal. We shared some laughs, memories, and eventually said our goodbyes and headed back to Jon's place.
In the morning, we got ready for what seemed to be a treacherous, but beautiful and worthwhile climb up the hills of Oakland. Jon chauffeured us to a bike-friendly coffee shop up the street, where once again, we were not disappointed by the quality of the food and drinks. Extra shot, as always.
Though the climb was amazing, I wasn't able to reap the rewards of descending back down because my tire literally exploded due to a shard of carbon sticking out of my rim. Jon's girlfriend Kristin came to my rescue, and the guys finished the ride.
After a goodbye BBQ at Jon's, Ivan and I got all dolled up and headed out to Adam's graduation. We were so preoccupied with our itinerary that it almost slipped us that his graduation was the primary reason we went, haha! It was great to watch a friend close a chapter in life, only to open a bigger and better one. Congratulations friend.
Adam Bavarsad walking across the stage during his graduation. Berkeley, CA.
The next morning, we spent traversing around San Francisco with our friend Eva, who is a local from Downey currently attending SF State. We had a taste of the prolific Trouble Coffee, which I had read about a while back for their delicious toast. Again... Did not disappoint. We stopped at the Mash SF store, and finished off our visit atop the Twin Peaks. Results below.
