Day 2-San Francisco to Santa Clara to San Jose

It was a cold and overcast day where Tony Bennett left his heart.  I started out early on my way to Santa Clara and San Jose.  (Did I know the way to San Jose?  Apparently not!)

One of the "smaller" hills in San Francisco
I conquered.

Within 10 miles I was totally lost... again.  You have to remember that the streets of San Francisco do not run parallel, their names change as they turn or curve (which they do a lot), and the numbered streets don't make any sense at all!  Tell me, how can 3rd Street cross 25th street?  But that's where I was, and that's ALL I knew.  My cell phone hadn't charged all the way the night before (that's another disaster story), so I used my one phone call to see if Carolyn's GPS could help.  I had ridden through a lot of the industrial section of the city along the bay, and some not-so-upscale neighborhoods to the south. Because the sun was not shining, I had lost my bearings, and didn't even know which way I was heading.  Garmin couldn't find me, and Mapquest couldn't find me.  Several locals couldn't even tell me what city I was in.  Finally, I stopped a female jogger who seemed knowledgable of the area, and informed me I was heading in the opposite direction of Santa Clara.  She pointed me in the right direction, and I found out that I had ridden in one big square!  Still, I wasn't sure I was on track, but finally found the main drag I was looking for. 



Finally arrived at Santa Clara

The day was all a "typical" urban bike ride.  Sixty one miles and six hours later, with the sun finally shining, I pulled into Santa Clara University and spied my wife once again waiting patiently for me, with a Quizno's sandwich for me!

Mission Santa Clara is located at the heart of Santa Clara University.  We both reveled in the pristinely manicured landscape of the campus and the mission.  Carolyn noted that it really displayed the pride and care of the University, carried out for a higher calling.  The mission was founded by Father Serra in 1777, and was the first named for a female patron saint, Clare of Assis.  The Ohlone natives were receptive to the efforts of the missionaries.  But a great earthquake in 1812 (which severely or totally destroyed many California missions) and secularization took their tolls, until the mission was turned over to the Jesuits in 1851, when they started the first college in California, Santa Clara College (later Santa Clara University).  It was graduation weekend, so we were able to view the excitement of students' faces as they strutted their colorful caps and gowns, showing off the campus for their parents.

Mission Santa Clara de Asis

Mission San Jose was a mere 17 miles from Santa Clara.  Carolyn had asked me the day before why I was riding from north to south rather than south to north (San Diego being mission #1 and Sonoma mission being #21).  Today was a perfectly good example.  This leg is the only route on my trip where I was heading north-right into a significant

Coyote Creek Trail in Milpitas

headwind coming off the bay.  The trip that would usually take just a bit over an hour took over an hour and a half.  I calculated the wind took 6 miles per hour off my cruising speed.  I did, however, find some respite from the wind and a wonderful place to ride on the Coyote Creek Trail, which runs part way up the east side of the San Francisco Bay. 

The mission at San Jose is located on the side of  hills overlooking the bay.  By all accounts, it was never as magnificent or as large as other missions, but at one time had nearly 2,000 Indians under its care.  During the 1849 California Gold Rush, after the mission had been secularized, the mission was turned into a trading post for the miners.  The state of California returned 28 acres to the Catholic Church.


Mission San Jose

I remember visiting this mission as a young teenager, probably in the mid 1960s.  At that time it was pretty much just ruins.  The mission church was reconstructed in 1985, and now stands with the other four missions in the Bay area commemorating the work of the Franciscans.

Mission Dolores (San Francisco) to Mission Santa Clara:  61 miles
Mission Santa Clara to Mission San Jose:  17 miles
Today's Total:  77 miles
Missions Visited to Date:  4
Trip Total to Date:  135 miles