two days down and a great start. as i raced down the embarcadero on my trek folding bike laden with gear as a support team member, i was ready to catch up with the  running team of brian, matt and stephen who were scheduled to board the 6a.m.ferry from oakland to san francisco, my heart sank while i rounded a parking garage only to see a large moving  mass….the ferry… and its top logo of  colorful yellow and blue striping slowly pull away from the dock.  no amount of speed could help now, a chasm of water widened and separated us as pedaling stopped.

i coasted…  crestfallen.  i had missed the boat.

i had missed the sendoff party,  no hurrah, no go team. well,  the journey had begun and it had left on  its own. as my bike came to a slow roll,  a person in the distance called out. it was carol, stephen’s wife. she had ridden with the group from matt’s house in temescal, about an hours walk away and filled in the back story. 

stephanie is also here on her bike.  we had all awoken early , but just not early enough to get me on the boat.  carol informed us how the team also almost missed their own boat due to an impromptu interview with kron 4 ( a local news station) the news team interviewed the runners after carol tipped them off about their “local event” run: OAKLAND TO PORTLAND.   i listened to carol and stephanie talk  as if paralyzed ,

everyone in good spirits, can they get a picture, they looked for us…

i had missed the boat.  you know, that thing that happens that you simply cannot believe has happened. not an accident, not divine intervention, nothing so very spectacular. oh no, just something simple. a few inconsequential events that slowly added together to produce no “perfect storm”, no earthquake, worse…tardiness!

  brian and matt had begun their month-long journey, now in their first day. stephen, carrying their support and camping gear in tow with his folding bike and trailer, would be the sole support member for the initial 5 days.

i had missed the boat.

have you ever experienced the blinding effect of poor timing that results in your own “missing the boat” ?  i was a new member of this group on the morning of july 1st. for a good 1/2 hour i couldnt think too much about what to do after  oh so narrowly missing the team on their sendoff (ferry) voyage.  in the half hour that it took to bike back home i could only think how  much timing is everything. how like

in calvino’s cosmic comics two   characters floating through space can

only have a relationship due to their (absolutely) parallel trajectories, any misalignment and they careen off into their respective distances, never to see each other again.  i had careened off.

stephanie suggested bart. hopping on bart and catching up …. i couldn’t  hear her . after coffee and feeding the cats the blindness turned to a lesser fog. amidst all the various schedules and craziness of city living, i asked what were hers for the day?  accupunture at 8:45. hmmmm,  could you , would you “ferry me” over to saulsalito? it could be construed as a round about way to berkeley via the city/senic three bridges tour. stephanie was graciously game.  after we loaded our loaner car, a zippy honda civic that is on loan from our cool friends stephen and guita we were in a new flow and stephanie was the balm for my temporary blindness.  a bit up the hill from the stinson beach turnoff  at the flats in mill valley, we unloaded and said our farewells , wellwishes and thanks. (stephanie , though 30 minutes late was still able to get needled that morning).

  i was un-tethered.

loaded, on a brisk morning, screaming down to highway 1  , my small run had also begun. phil

First let’s recap a little about Day One.  The boys made it from Oakland to Samuel P. Taylor State Park.  They went approximately 45 miles yesterday.  At this rate they’ll be in Portland with a week to spare.  I hope they haven’t gotten out of the gate too fast.  Brian requested new socks which were brought to him by Phil.  Phil joined them for the evening at the campground where there were hot showers.  However, Matt was adamant about taking a cold shower.  Why?  We may never know.

As of 10 a.m. this morning they had already covered 9 miles and were at Point Reyes Station.  Phil and Stephen are there in support and Matt and Brian chug along.  They are aiming for either Tomales Station or Valley Ford.  Tomales is closer but if they feel up for it they are going to push on to Valley Ford.  A beer break was taken at Lagunitas.  We know they can’t pass up a good beer.  Breakfast was served by a nice woman named Rachel who invited them in.  They met her somewhere on the road. 

We are also updating the sponsors page so check there soon for more information.

So far the boys have made it 25 miles and are heading through Larkspur as I type this. More details will come later once I get a chance to talk to them longer. They are in good spirits and excited about the journey they have begun.

There has been one hitch so far on the trip. Stephen, Brian’s dad, is riding his bike as support. He had some problems with the rim of his back wheel. He suffered an hour delay in Sausalito while waiting for a new wheel to be delivered. However, he is back on track due to Carol’s quick response in bringing a new wheel. The boys walk on with full support.

This morning they were interviewed by KRON 4 News. Once we locate the footage it will be added to the press section of the site as well.

Tomorrow morning at about 6 a.m. Brian and Matt will be putting on their running shoes and beginning the journey from Oakland to Portland.  830 miles lay between them and their destination.  Be sure to check back often to hear about their adventures and find out just how far they have gotten.

This is a challenging event. The runners, each attempting this challenge as a fund raising effort for the charity of their choice (for more on this click the “how to sponsor” link), will depart on the morning of July 1st, and have all 31 days of this long summer month to cover the 830 mile jog between Oakland, CA and Portland, OR. The course winds along the forever undulating pacific coast highways for most of journey, splitting time being shaded under giant redwood trees and exposed along the weather beaten coastal roads that parallel the Pacific Ocean. Finally, the course veers east for the final ninety miles. This section will be the most mountainous, as Portland sits just on the far side of the coastal mountain range. The runners must cover roughly 26 miles (a marathon) each day on average to reach Portland by July 31st.

There is a support team which will carry all of the runners camping gear, first aid, food, water, etc.