Oakland II

I lined up with Ian, a high school friend, and his wife Heather.  They live just a few steps from a really nice lake downtown with a 3-mile walkway around the perimiter.  Traffic wasn't bad, but man are some of those hills tough with a heavy bike.

In the morning I was originally planning on heading to Sacramento to visit a railroad museum.  I got about 8 miles up the highway (out of 115), and realized that would be a long ride up and back to make the Giants game later in the evening.  I turned around and found Skyline Drive with some amazing views.  This is just 4 miles outside of Oakland, and what a wonderful contrast to city life.  I did lots of hiking, and rode some fantastic curvy roads through redwoods.

Next I found Albany Bulb, which is a peninsula made from dismantled buuilding.  Past engineers just threw out old structures into the bay hoping no one would notice.  They stopped in 1984, and nature started growing around it.  Now there are walking paths, but chunks of concrete and rebar still poke through here and there.  Also, Spongebob's gang had a hangout here.