The Long Way Home

It's hot.  

We're in the middle of a heat wave, and temperatures were in the nineties yesterday and today.  While the afternoons are pretty merciless, the evenings bring a bit of a breeze, and a nice reprieve can be found along the bay.

Very few other riders were out braving the heat.

So, despite the heat, I took the long way home along the bay trail.  I kept a slow pace, chugged a lot of water, and stopped to take photos and admire the view here and there.

One of the many sloughs.

I realized that I miss a lot when I'm speeding to work along this trail in the morning.  Maybe it's a combination of the lack of sleep and the rush to get to work, but there were a bunch of little surprises that I hadn't noticed before.  

Artichokes, for instance.

Wait, are those...

Right before the Bridge to Nowhere (that's actually its name) I found what had to be at least a hundred wild artichokes growing.  None of them had flowered yet, and they were smaller and slightly different than what you'd find in the supermarket.  Maybe they're not proper artichokes, but they're definitely in the same family. 

I wonder how they'd taste!

Leaving behind the little artichoke patch, I continued my jaunt.  Lots of other people were out walking, riding, roller blading, and it seemed like more than anything there were quite a few kids learning to ride.

Once I got a little ways past the crowds, I stopped by the San Mateo Bridge to enjoy the few and take some photos.  

If only it had a bike lane...

I continued home, slow and steady, just enjoying the ride.  Despite the heat, it was more than worth it!

Of course, now there's some sort of creaking noise that is either coming from my headset or my bottom bracket.  Looks like I know what I'm doing this weekend...