Day 27 – San Francisco. Rest Day.
Today is our first rest day since crossing the Columbia River into Astoria, Oregon. We really needed this day. I’m debating taking a second rest day here tomorrow. But that kind of thing is a slippery slope. Next you know we could be hitching rides. We were offered a ride by someone with a pick-up truck the other day. It was only a few miles, but my immediate response was “No, that would be cheating.” Seriously. We’ve never discussed this, but it’s absolutely implicit between us. We go the whole way under our own power. For most people in our coastal cycling fraternity I’m sure the same code applies. We did meet one young woman from Boston who admitted to taking a ride or two – she mentioned extenuating circumstances – and to make it up she planned to ride past her destination so she could clock 1,000 miles (Seattle to San Francisco). But she’s the only one we’ve heard admitting to this. So she’s not officially part of our fraternity. The rules committee would have to consider her case.
Last night was my first night in a hostel since I was 20 and traveling through Europe. Although exhausted, I couldn’t sleep. At midnight my two (as yet unmet) roommates arrived and climbed into their bunks. This caused me to become more awake than ever. Sleeping in a small room with strangers you’ve not even seen is unsettling. I couldn’t have got more than five hours sleep by the time I got up at 8. By comparison, when we’re camping Sophie and I are in the habit or going to bed by 8:30 – it’s dark by 7:45 – and getting 10 hours of sleep every night.
I met one of my roommates in the morning. Thomas, 26, from Belfast. He’s doing a trip across the US between a working stint in Toronto for seven months, and his next situation, probably in Calgary. Talking with him I realized I felt no age difference. I have no idea what he thought about me – probably humoured me as an old guy. But the shared experience of budget travelling has a way of erasing differences between people. This is what I like and is much of the reason for why I’m doing this trip.