Man, was it foggy out this evening. So crazy. I haven't seen fog this thick ever since we moved here. It's a good thing I brought along my tail light, which I immediately turned on before setting out on my adventure through the park, up to and over the Presidio, looping around the Headlands and back. It felt great to shake out stress from work and pound on the pedals through the fog. It was like riding through a thick white cloud. Unfortunately I couldn't hammer the whole way through as one of my cleats worked its way loose, but not completely coming off.
A friend of mine from work has been having bad braking issues. I didn't quite understand why he wasn't getting enough power from his brakes, which were cantilevered cross brakes. He lives out in the Sunset neighborhood and I suspect it's quite a bit more foggy than where I live/commute. Coming down the backside of Hawk Hill, with its 18% downhill grade I experienced that same loss of power. I think it has something to do with riding through thick fog, the moisture acting as a constant lubricant between the brake pads and rim. That's my only explanation. Anyways, it can be frightening going down something so incredibly steep and not having complete control.
As the days get darker and darker I'm sad to see less and less riders out on the road. I saw a fair amount going up Hawk Hill as I was descending, which I found surprising, but in general the roads felt lonely.