San Fran to Point Bonita!

Today was an eye opening experience as some of our riders found themselves part of their first large group ride through the city of San Francisco. We woke to a light rain, but didn't let it dampen our spirits. We packed the bus and geared up for a short ride through the mission district to the Sports Basement. Past murals and cafes, cars and weekend walkers, we shook the dust off our helmets, or for some- made our debut to the streets.

At the Basement (a giant warehouse that sells quality sporting goods at outlet prices), a charismatic mechanic named Jeff gave us an abridged, yet entertaining and informative Bike 101 class. He spent several hours going over road safety, adjusting your bike, how to fix flats, true your wheels and perform other road side repairs. We left feeling prepared and ready to ride! Big thanks to Jeff and the Sport's Basement crew!

From there, we enjoyed a beautiful ride over the Golden Gate Bridge to the Point Bonita YMCA where we are staying the night. The contrast of wild, gorgeous coastline and dramatic city skyline was a symbolic view for our first day of riding. After a delicious meal we divided into small groups to go over curriculum for our first school visit at Claire Lilienthal in the Marina neighborhood. Suddenly the lights dimmed and in came a flaming cake to celebrate the birthday of Kamron, one of our beloved riders and first season CELP instructor. We indulged in decadent, organic, vegan carrot cake, and got ready for tomorrow's ride and school visit. We are looking forward to seeing students who attended CELP earlier this season and working with them in their home environment. We are curious to see if and how they have integrated what they learned at CELP into their school and home communities.

It's been a great first day and everyone is settling down to get some rest before our early departure.
Day 1 miles rode: 16
Flats: Kyla, 1
Written by: Danny, Kyla, and Abigail