After I found out I was the victim of credit card fraud, a construction worker dropped a paint scraper on my head.

You heard right, folks. Two days ago, my card was deactivated at one of the worst possible times. I didn't have any cash on me (spent my last few dollars on an apple fritter at Starbucks). That meant that, not only did I not have access to any money to fly home, I didn't have money to eat or wastefully spend on $7 chocolate (which I did later).

Thankfully, it wasn't Sunday. The stars usually align to screw me at the one time when it's most inconvenient. But this was not one of those times. The local Chase branch in San Francisco was open and, after a few minutes of explaining my situation, they got approval from management to give me emergency cash. Like any responsible teenager, I set enough aside for cab fare to the airport and money to check in my bike. Then I spent way too much on novelty items from around SF.

The downside is that this situation was so distracting that I forgot to photograph the Golden Gate Bridge. I rode across it, and meant to take a picture from a bit further away, but forgot to when I saw an In-N-Out Burger. That was grand.

In San Francisco, I stayed with Brendan, who Jen from Seattle set me up with. Brendan's done some touring in New Zealand and lives in an awesome apartment right outside of the Castro. But, in order to get there, I had to ride from the Golden Gate Bridge. If you haven't seen a picture of Mecca, Saudi Arabia during Hajj, Google it. It was like riding through that. On top of that, the hills in SF were basically a condensed version of the Rockies. I did feel really badass weaving through all those crowds though. San Francisco is a nice place to end an adventure.

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