Weekend Round-Up: Mini Adventure

Rob and I went on a little bike adventure this weekend. It was a great example of how inexpensively and easily you can plan a getaway from the city.

On Saturday morning, Rob and I packed up the tandem and attached our Burley cart full of camping gear. Rob had booked a free campsite in Marin’s Tennessee Valley a few days ago and our plan was to pedal out there for the night. We rode through the city and had lunch at our favorite cafe.

After a very sunny Friday with temperatures in the 70’s, we were expecting the best weather. But, of course, San Francisco didn’t play along. It was freezing, overcast, windy and with a 20% chance of rain. Summer in the city at its finest! Going over the Golden Gate Bridge was especially brutal. We caught a tiny bit of sun in Sausalito with a view of the city:

We had to make a detour down into Marin Headlands to pick up our backcountry camping permit first. The back, down to the water, along to Mill Valley and then across to the coast again. The fog and mist was really getting heavy as we approached Tennessee Valley. I know you love my sweet neon jacket:

We set up camp tucked away in a little valley with eucalyptus trees, lots of birds and little creek. Pretty sheltered from the wind, a nice perk. A few other bikers from the city were also camping there for the night:

Rob and I didn’t pack much food, so we decided to pedal back to Sausalito for dinner at Tommy’s Wok. We looked a little out of place among the yatchers, socialites and elegant seniors in our camp clothes! Back to the campsite just in time for dusk. We watched a bevy of about 50 quail and a shared a mini bottle of champagne:

When it got dark and the predatory birds started to come out (a shocking amount of hawks and screech-owls), we retreated to the tent for the night. The next morning, we woke to light rain…not what we we had planned for. Eventually, Rob and I packed up the sopping tent, threw on a strange hodgepodge of camping and cycling clothes and hit the road back to the city. Here’s Rob freezing at the Golden Gate Bridge:

Back at home, we took a very long bath with cups of black coffee to warm up. A few errands, some laundry, organized the medicine cabinet, made a batch of oatmeal flax cookies and prepared for the week ahead! You can see more photos from our bike trip to Tennessee Valley here.