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Well that is the end of the Blog .. after 2500 miles on the road the four guys arrived home from San Francisco tired but otherwise entirely unchanged by their experiences...

Delayed.....

After an uneventful flight from San Francisco to Chicago we exited one plane and within 20 minutes we were sitting on the next one bound for Manchester. Everything was going swimmingly and the 'Gate Agent' even said we would be leaving earlier than scheduled...

Then the pilot came on to announce there was a warning light on......

Anyway off the plane again to the waiting area. a new plane was being sourced we were told. ( delay in other words - original departure was 18.10 current best estimate is 22.00 )

Fortunately ( Due to Reg's amex card ) we were able to take comfort in the Executive Lounge where we relaxed. 

Meanwhile outside 'our' plane was being unloaded and the mecanics had arrived.

Eagle Rider Update on Green Transport

We were on our way to the airport in the taxi this morning when spookily we saw the guy from Eaglerider (The Harley Hire Shop) on his way to work.

Of course he had wheels - but not a Harley Davidson ...

No.... he was scooting along nicely on a skate board..

Bizarre..

China Town and Eating Out

On our last night we went out through China town to 'Little Italy' for a change of Menu ( instead of Ribs and Steaks !)

Street Car

After Alcatraz there was one more thing we had on the must do list in San Francisco and that was a ride on one of the cable street cars.

Queueing in line we were entertained 9 (using the word loosely) by a guy with a guitar and amp. Hopefully Bob Dylan wasn't anywhere around to hear what what being done to some of his classics.

The street car was quite a contraption with the driver standing in the aisle operating a huge lever that looked like a hand brake and an over-sized pedal in the floor. He was also keen on the hand rung bell on the roof - at every junction and especially if there was some other traffic in the way he yanked the rope furiously making a noise like an old time fire engine. As well as the seated passengers inside the car others were sitting on the edges or standing outside holding on hand rails as the car rattled up and down the hills. Quite a way to travel!

At the terminus the cars were rotated by two guys on a turntable and for some reason they don't allow solicitors.....

Previous

Nearly finished - A couple of more updates and anyway we'll be home soon - If you missed any previous blog entries scroll down to click on any of the earlier posts ;-)

Alcatraz

So now bikeless we still got up early to grab a taxi and head down to Pier 33 for our pre-booked trip to visit Alcatraz.

Of course it's by boat and the 'cruise' to the island ( as it was termed ) took about 15 minutes.

The views were across the bay to the island ( in sunshine ) and the Bridge ( in Mist - again )

The Last Leg

Our last hotel 'on the road' was the garden inn at Santa Rosa. The rooms there were very spacious and they had two pools....

Evidently there were several other bikers in residence and two particularly nice Harleys parked alongside ours. We talked to the owners as we were about to leave. They were from LA and on a similar odyssey around California and neighbouring states but impressed with our route.

So after loading up the bikes for what would be the final time we headed for the Pacific Coast to drive south.

Now the countryside was very different to the mostly desert we had been in over the past two weeks. This was farming country and in places very like parts of england ( except we were on the other side of the road )

We hit the coastal road and were aiming for a beach and a paddle in the Pacific but we had forgotten the sea mist.  A fairly long excursion down a cul-de-sac road looking for a lighthouse didn't work out as the mist got thicker. We were glad to get back on the main road as the nagging mis-fire/cut out type problem on Alan's bike had re-surfaced and in any case we were all running pretty much on fumes !

The countryside and scenery were great though and the winding road made an interesting ride.

We had to move along though ... the bikes had to be beack by 4pm latest.

We crossed the Golden Gate shrouded in mist but it was still an impressive moment. On the other side we had to pay the lady $6 to get into San Francisco..

Time was getting towards three o'clock so it was Sat Navs on and  through the streets of San Francisco to get back to Eaglerider and sign the bikes in.

After that it was off to the hotel ( by Taxi ) and that evening we found our way to China Town..