Emily and I had been trying to connect for a ride this week and could make it happen but very happy we were able to ride today. She was going to visit a friend who became a park ranger at Muir Woods but also had to be home by 3p. What was originally going to be a simple road ride to Muir and back, turned into an adventure when Emily suggested going further north and taking the ferry back. It's been a very long time since I've taken the ferry so I was so down for that. Compared to our last ride in the city a couple of weeks ago that was freezing, it was so perfect today. No fog or clouds and it was perfectly pleasant and at times a little too warm. It was NBD for Emily so we had to do a little bit of shoe/cleat setup before we met Lukas on the way. While we were doing that we got a Daylen flyby. The bridge was pretty quiet and not too windy. Pretty nice all the way until we got to Tennessee Valley in which Emily had routed Miwok. It's been years since I've done it. Miwok was quite overgrown. I forgot how steep it gets. I was gassed by the time I got to the steps. Once again, I did not clear them. Emily and I shared a nice bro moment when Miwok intersects the road at Shoreline Hwy. I confided in her the runner we passed was cute and she agreed. So we high-fived and laughed about it. At the start of the road descent down to Muir Woods there were these two really slow cars. Luckily slow enough that Emily and I were able to pass them. Emily's friend Jason took us on a mini tour in Muir Woods and talked about the redwoods and plants (California spikenard, anyone?) and ecosystem which was a treat. After the treat was the climb up Deer Park Fire Road. Not one of my favorites. It's steep and it was hot in the exposed parts. I started to get a headache even though I was doing a decent job staying hydrated. When we got to Pantoll Station, we ran into Maya and Mike and chatted for a bit but we had to catch our ferry so we had to cut it short. Old Railroad Grade was a much nicer climb even if it was more exposed, at least the grade was shallower. I was loving the descent on the Epic EVO. I got far enough ahead that I could stop to take photos, get back on, and pass them again, and repeat. At one point I stopped and waited while I was being buzzed by bugs. I heard Emily yell out, "Rider up!", somewhere above me but then nothing. I guess she got distracted by the other rider and must have hit something and had a slow speed crash. She had a pretty big, deep, wound on her elbow and baptized her new bike. Hoo Koo E Koo ended up being even rockier which wasn't great for her hands that were also hurting from the crash. On our last ride, I talked Emily out of climbing that little steep bit on Blithedale Ridge Fire Rd. between Hoo Koo E Koo and Indian Fire Rd. because in the past it was so rutted. Combined with how steep it is, I didn't think it would be climbable. Well it was a lot smoother than before and I was able to climb it. We thought we were done with all the climbing and home-free after that. When we decided we were going to take the ferry, I was stoked because I've always been curious about doing the Indian Fire Rd. descent north into Kentfield. Well, it turned out to be very steep and rutted with loose gravel over hardpack. Did I mention that it was steep? I was okay on my MTB but there was a lot of walking for the gravel bikes unfortunately. And there were steep but short climbs on the way down. I'm glad we did it because we never have to do it again. I would also not advise anyone to ride it up it and if you're going to go down it you probably want to do it on a MTB. We had been attacked by horseflies throughout the day in the woods and just before descending Indian Fire Rd. Emily told me there was one on my. As I was riding away I was moving all around to try and make it take off but she kept saying it was still on me. Finally I saw that it was on my leg and I managed to get it. I actually managed to get a couple of them which was surprising. Maybe they weren't horseflies but something else. I even found one stuck to my fork when I went to put my bike in the car. The road descent after Indian Fire Rd. was very nice and we managed to make it to the ferry just in time but not quite enough time to spare to grab food. We had missed the ferry that would've gotten Emily home on time. The one we caught arrived back in SF at 3p. Oh well. She was just going to be a bit late. Amazingly, we ran into Joe when we got in line. It was nice reunion. On the ferry Lukas bought all the sugary snacks. I got some chips and a Gatorade. It helped but wasn't enough. When the ferry got going, it was hauling. Emily was able to lean backwards into the wind and it held her up. At the ferry building they got some ice cream at Humphry Slocombe and I got a hot dog at Gott's Roadside (which took forever). We were already running late for Emily's return and I almost asked for a refund. Glad I got it though as I needed food. The ride up Market St. was quite chaotic compared to the peacefulness of our ride up until that point. Despite some blood being shed and our legs getting thrashed it was a great day.