This is the longest time I've gone without updating my blog.  My apologies to all my readers; I really intended to make this a daily affair, and so far I've done well but the last few days threw me off my game.  Which is not to say that they were bad days at all.  The first two days were riding days, and the weather was somewhat wet and uninspired.  I ride well in weather like that but I find it kind of unpoetic.  Then we showed up in San Francisco.  There's a lot I could say about the first day in SF.  I volunteered to take the whole crew on a guided bike tour of the city.  It was really fun but definitely exhausting; 14 egos on 14 bikes!  But everybody was cool about it.  I got them to explore some of the sights that people don't usually see, like the Sutro Bath ruins.  Then yesterday was a day off, so I got to see Star Trek with my brother at the new Alamo (it's really nice but the food is expensive).  I wish I could remember more details about the ride but it's all a bit foggy (get it?).  

One thing that's been really nice is discovering/re-discovering how much I genuinely enjoy helping people.  I've had a few opportunities over the last few days to really get to help folks in small ways on the trip, and it's fun to find that you're a good person and that you enjoy it.  It makes me feel really good about myself.  One day we had a minor issue while I was riding and I ended up having to man the rest stop and make cocoa for people and boost their spirits.  I've never thought of myself as much of a cheerleader but I really enjoyed it.  And taking people through the city was fun; I liked the responsibility, I enjoyed being the leader, and I really liked having people say how much they enjoyed it.