Day 34 (San Francisco - Montara 47km)

I felt pretty terrible the whole day. Drained and lethargic and barely able to think. I think the antibiotics I was on were the reason for my weakened condition, and all I really wanted to do was sit or sleep. However, the hostel had no spots for me to stay in so I was stuck having to leave. I couldn't be bothered to check the other hostels in SF for spaces and figured that I had spent enough time in the city so I booked a bed at the Montara lighthouse hostel supposedly 20 miles down the coast. I lost track of time running errands and eating some Afghan food and ended up leaving on the bike at around 5pm.
It was foggy with a wicked headwind and I was not feeling good to begin with. The roads were ugly and highly congested and I recall not having even one enjoyable moment during the entire ride.
Getting out of SF was a nightmare as I unluckily (stupidly) chose what I am sure were the steepest streets in the whole city. One of them must have been 45 degrees because I nearly threw up and had a heart attack on the way up, stopping every five steps to catch my breath.
After some boring and windy suburban and freeway riding I stopped for a snack and realized it was almost 8pm and that it would soon be getting dark so I put away my food and rode as hard as I could despite my hand and feeling of fatigue.
I had to climb the steep, twisty, shoulderless and insanely busy (and aptly named) Devil's Slide hill right when it getting dark and broke into a cold sweat on the way up. It was close to pitch black on the descent and the crosswinds were blowing me all over the place and the traffic had no patience for my antics. I was feeling hopeless at this point since I had hit the 20 mile mark about 10km back.
Finally I saw the beacon from the lighthouse where the hostel was located and could breath a sigh of relief that I was almost at my destination.
It was so dark at this point that I had to use my GPS device to figure out where the turnoff to the hostel was and after turning around a few times in confusion I finally found it. Inside were Dave and Margie who thought I would have been long gone but didn't anticipate my clumsy accident. I cooked up some soba noodles for a late supper and went to bed in a room full of jetlagged Brits.