Greg, Jim G and I started riding from the Golden Gate Bridge a little latter than planed, somewhere past 8:15 am. Our route, proposed by Greg, used roads that I am familiar with but rarely ride, quite nice for cycling, with very low car traffic and great scenery.. This is the way we took to Bodega Dunes.

For me both Randonneuring and bicycle touring are very similar activities. Last year I played randonneuring mentor by encouraging some friends to test the waters of brevet riding, they liked it. Recently I've been doing the same with bicycle touring. Today two of my cycling friends will be joining me on their first bicycle camping overnighter. I hope they enjoy it the same way I do. I did give them some tips but hope they discover the important details and joys of touring on their own.

The other day I finally packed away the folding bikes, they've been parked in the living room since we came back from our last tour more than a month ago. For that tour I'd bought a Carradice Trax SQR (Seat Post Quick Release) bag and the hardware was still mounted to the seatpost of my folding bike so I removed it with the idea of using it on another frame. I installed the SQR on my "road bike, my early 90's MTB Miyata, the bike I use for most of my road riding and even in town from time to time.

Once the bag went on the bike the next thing in my head was "I need to put some stuff in that bag". Yeah an overnight bike camping load would take care of that. As in the past, I selected Bodega Dunes, a camping park with hiker/biker sites (no reservation needed for us and only $3.00!) that is about 75 miles from my door. The wife was going to be out of town for a week so that was a perfect opportunity to go. I woke up very early on Saturday, maybe to early and felt tired from a bad night sleep. Stayed in bed until 8:30 when I decided it was enough, I had to take a shower and go, the bike was packed and ready and calling my name...