I got to thinking, here I’ve got this relatively expensive bicycle that’s built to fold up and go with me on trips and I wasn’t planning on taking it. The problems with taking it were fairly simple…
- Cost to and from HNL. It’s about $30 each way to the airport in a cab. Without the bike I can go on my moped and park for free.
- Getting the bike from SFO to the Oakland Marriot. True the BART goes almost exactly where I want, but could I take my F’lite case?
- The F’lite case was slightly damaged and was has been a bit of a pain – the sliding handle didn’t slide.
Anyway I got to thinking just how cool it might be to ride across the Golden Gate and…well…problems got solved.
- I’ve got a ride to the airport. I’ll have to pay to come back from HNL, but it’s a lot easier to pay after payday than it is before. No, I’m not rich – and after Mexico a couple of months ago I’m on a budget.
- BART apparently has no real rules. I checked with the peeps on the Bike Friday mail list and it seems that several folks were encouraging. So that’s not a problem.
- The case itself. Well it’s not fixed, but it’s a bit better. I went and bought a Torx (star) screwdriver, pulled off the slide, and banged it a bit till the slide moved a bit easier. Much nicer, still not great. Still it’s likely to keep the slide in place which means it’s less likely to get damaged.
And that leaves…the weather. There’s not much I can do about that, but there ought to be at least one day I can ride a bit. I’m hoping for more.
Blazing Saddles Bike Rental and Tours has this great map…
I’d rent a bike from them, but…well you get the idea. If you want to rent a bike and come along with me, I’d suggest them though. 🙂
So the new plan is…
- Get to SFO and take the BART to Oakland
- Go to my hotel and check my stuff since I probably won’t be able to get my room at that time of day.
- Assemble my bike and head out to Walnut Creek on the BART. Why Walnut Creek? Why because of Rivendell Bicycle Works of course.
- The next day I’ll take my bike on the ferry SF, then ride around and across the bridge to Sausalito. See the map. 🙂
After that it’ll be riding catch as catch can, but I should have at least a bit of time on Friday and Sunday, Monday morning even! Cool.
Yeah Bike Friday!
Aloha