15th July, 2002.

	On the morning on 14th, the people in sacramento were so serious about
getting out at 7 AM that I thought they really had something important to do.
Later on it turned out that they were going to attend some company picnic! 
	Woke up at 7AM on 14th. Got on the road by 8 (of course still mountain 
time!) after a cup of milk and some cereal. Right from start I had a headwind.
It hurt my speed and soon I was calling people in the Bay and giving them 
revised estimates of my arrival. While passing through Davis, I saw quite a few
cyclists, and one chinese man came with me all through the campus and showed me
the way out. Just outside Davis, the road immidiately started showing 
undulations. These weren't like the huge ones on Mormon trail. these were very
small humps, barely 12-15 ft tall. but there were so many of them, that 
combined with the heat at sea level, the head wind, the effect was quite 
tiring. None of this was shown on the map, and I wasn't mentally prepared for 
it. I was drnking a lot more water than usual, and there wasn't much 
civilization around the road. I was under the impression that there will be a 
lot of towns on either side of the road, and getting food wouldn't be a 
problem. I saw only one Burger king, but by that time I was already getting too
late, so I skipped lunch. Someplace near FairField, I stopped by a busy farm
store to buy some apples and grapes, but the crowd was too much. I asked a 
punjabi woman where I could get some water. she thought I was a beggar, and so 
offered to buy me some. She also told me that there is a gurudrawa in FairField
and I can get free food there. I tried to explain the situation to her, but she
didn't see the light. I gave up and moved on. I emptied a 1 Ltr bottle of 
gatorade at a gas station in Richfield. 
	Now the wind increased so much that a howling could be heard. The hills
also got a lot steeper. Twice I lost my way. Once someone misdirected me, and
once I misinterpreted the map. I saw tons of cyclists on the road, some would 
wave at me, some would help me find the way, but an overwhelming majority 
didn't even bat an eye. That is something I've never experienced. Usually when 
a cyclist goes by, we wave at each other. The most funny thing was a woman, who
when asked "excuse me, can you help me with the map?" replied with "how ya 
doing" and moved on!
	When I saw the ships and the bay for the first time, I did feel all the
joy I should have felt. But the next moment I realized that I wwas still 
climbing on lake Herman Road.
	Later on, the amplitude of the hills shot up, and just before Vallejo,
was a proper big hill. My road was passing right alongside I-680 or something.
It was frustrating to see that road go on at a level, and my road go up and 
down every small hump. Someone had told me that Columbus Parkway is all 
downhill, and Georgia Street is flat. Well, both had uphill parts, and Gerogia
Street has those typical SF style steep climbs.
	The last day was like a small recap of the whole ride. I started on a 
cool morning, later on the sun bore down. There were headwinds, there was a 
short spell of rains, I was misdirected, I myself went wrong a couple of times,
I hit the bonk  because of missing the lunch.  I also had a flat tire just a
Km before I reached the Ferry Terminal.
	The landing point at SF end had created a lot of discussion. some 
people in the welcome party didn't know the aquatic centre, and some didn't know the ferry terminal. I wanted to ride all the way to the Golden Gate, but these
people said they won't get any decent parking spot there. Vineet, who had 
created a nice welcome banner, didn't get the message, and spent 4 hrs waiting 
at the aquatic centre. poor chap!
	First ones to greet me were Hema, praveen, and their family. soon my
brother and his family turned up. Shilpa and Kiran Torvi also arrived soon,
and we took a bunch of pictures.
	Now the ride is done, and I'm realizing how tired I am. I slept a lot
yesterday, and have been taking naps all day today. I've lost 21 lbs, and my
ribs are showing. No more early morning wake ups, no outside food, no camping,
nothing... I've never felt so rpoud about something I've done....
	I've left the real world behind, and am about to enter the so called
"real" world soon....

Credit: 140.00 Km, 8:18Hrs, 16.8Km/Hr
Debit: 6$

The TRIP2 counter shows I've done 4556Km since Duluth.