Day 7: Olema to the City; 46 miles
 Mt. Tam - A flood of emotions overwhelmed me when I reached the summit of Mt. Tam on Day 7. I swear that for a fleeting moment, I thought about turning around and heaving my bike off the mountain. But then I realized that the bike was worth as much as my Jeep and thought better of it. Regardless, I was glad the Tour was almost over. The ghost of Giovanni Pantani returns! And none too soon. The day started cool and damp, but we lucked out on the weather, with only patchy fog, where often it is dense and enveloping. My stomach was particularly testy as the day started, with pretty severe acid indigestion and one or two other problems that aren't necessary to mention. The last of the Jets started out last, as usual, helping to clean up. I was the last one with my bag on the truck. I started out ahead of Ken, Pete and Roberto. Within a couple miles, Pete and Roberto caught up to me and I jumped on and pace-lined the rest of the way on Highway 1 to our first turn, onto the Fairfax-Bolinas road. We crossed a cattle guard and began the long climb up to the summit of Mt. Tam, where we would all gather for the traditional Greenbelt group shot. I started out slow, riding with Steve, then catching up to Greenbelt staffer Mike Tomlinson, and Andrea, who is Greenbelt's new North Bay field rep. She came in from Wisconsin on the night we arrived in Fairfield and started riding with us on Day 5 to Santa Rosa. She hadn't had much training time up there before starting (since I think it's still winter up in Wisconsin), and she struggled up Spring Mountain. There aren't hills like that in Wisconsin. Anyway, after a short while, I started to groove on the views as we climbed, and some adrenaline started to kick in. I got into a rhythm and started getting stronger on the climb. After a bit, I dropped Mike and Andrea and just kept going. I was in full Pantani mode. I started passing more people once I reached Westridge road, which eventually leads to the summit. I crossed the intersection with the Pantoll Road on a downhill pumping some major adrenaline. Here, the road turns into Eastridge and winds toward the summit. Perhaps a half-mile into this section, the road curved around and offered up the first view of the City I'd seen since leaving the previous Sunday. It was magnificent, bathed in sunlight and glorious. I started to get choked. "Bellisimo! Mi amore." I said to her. I continued on faster toward the summit. There is really only one difficult section on this road, the stretch to the West Peak of Mt. Tam, where there still resides a Nike missile base, which I assume is no longer active, but you never know. After that, there's a series of short climbs and descents, followed by a short, steep ascent into the parking lot below the summit (which is only accessible by hiking, which we don't do). I hammered up the last little climb into the parking lot. Only a handful of riders were there already. I got off my bike and stood there, somewhat in shock, starting at the Bay, the City, the bridges, Oakland and so much more from that high vantage point. The first person I encountered was Matt. He'd opted not to ride after riding with us on Day 6. He said it was either ride or digest his food. I understood where he was coming from. He congratulated me and gave me a hug. I started to get really choked up at this point. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. This has been a very emotional week for me, especially since I crashed on Mt. Hamilton. I was not sure how my body would react to the crash. Even more, I was uncertain how my mind would react. But I wanted to finish what I'd started, not just because of the cause, but because I had to prove something to myself. I struggled quite a bit the last four days, and complained about it more than I probably needed to. But to finally get to that spot on Mt. Tam, where I'd been several times before, yet to see things differently and even through different eyes, was rather overwhelming. After what seemed like an eternity, the rest of the riders finally summited and we gathered for our picture. I couldn't get off the mountain fast enough at this point. The breeze was strong and I was getting chilled. The week was catching up to me: the lack of sleep, the aches and pains, not just from my crash but from riding, at that point, 465 miles in seven days. I was just ready to get it done. I was supremely cautious on the upper part of the descent from Mt. Tam. The road i s a bit chunky, and the wind, especially on the Pantoll Road, was strong and gusty, usually coming as a cross wind, which is particularly hard to deal with. Once I turned onto Highway 1 again, the road smoothed, but the traffic was heavy. I joined up with Roberto, Rick, Doug and Henry, but it was slow going, owing to a bus that was making an overly cautious descent. We finally got away from traffic and onto the bike path toward Sausalito. We navigated the traffic through town, then began the three short climbs to the Golden Gate Bridge. I went across with Doug, fighting a strong crosswind the whole way. We were supposed to stop at the City side of the bridge to wait for everyone to regather so we could essentially parade en masse down along Crissy Field and through the Marina District. Roberto and Henry continued on. Doug and I stopped for a few minutes and decided we didn't want to wait the half-hour it would take everyone to get there, so we rode on, finishing up in Fort Mason a short time later. I was extremely happy to be done and off my bike, though, in retrospect, I think it would have been cool to wait and ride with the group. But I was just tired, chilled and still in a bit of shock from the whole thing. I realize it may sound like this whole week was a painful ordeal. And at times it was, But I wouldn't trade it for anything, and I fully intend to do it again next year, and hopefully for many years to come. I believe wholeheartedly in what this organization is doing, and I want to help preserve this area which I have fallen in love with. Next year, I'll know more of what to expect. And hopefully, I won't crash again. Obviously, had I not done so this year, it would've made this an entirely different experience. But the most important part is that I have started and finished something I believe in. And become a stronger rider, and hopefully stronger person, in the process. I'll continue my training this week, after I get my bike back from the shop tomorrow (it's Sunday night as I write this). It sustained only minor damage but I want to get it taken care of now. I plan on riding Tuesday, Wednesday (with Ken) and Thursday this week, and taking Friday off. Saturday I will ride in the Wine Country Century, and follow that up Sunday with the Grizzly Peak Century. I believe Roberto is riding both of those as well so I'll have someone to ride with. I am his new riding "playmate" as he called me. Speaking of Roberto, he said a couple nice, encouraging things to and about me this week; a couple to the group Friday night during our meeting (tho' not directly using my name, being obvious enough for me to know whom he was talking about), and one thing to me I believe on Day 5. He basically said that he would descend a hill on my wheel any day. I know he wanted to help me get my confidence back on descents, but he's been generally encouraging all week, despite my complaining. He thinks I would be a good racer, if I learned how to ride tactically. I don't really want to race though. I'm concerned that once I get in a large group, I might crash. Ironic, no? So that's it from here. Thanks to all of you for reading along as I rode along. I hope you found this entertaining and informative. I'm not sure I'll do a diary next year, at least not daily. It's a pain dragging my computer around, and finding phone lines is just as bad. I think next year I'll just put pen to pad and to something after the fact. So anyway, take care, and I'll see you somewhere down the road. I'll be the one with shaved legs making a bad attempt to speak Italian. Grazie. Ciao! 
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