Spills and Thrills Along the Dumpling Road

I bike for dumplings. That should totally be a sticker on my helmet.

It's true, I went for my second long-ish ride and once again the destination was soup dumplings in the Richmond. What can I say? I love soup dumplings. I love the cute little parcels sitting in the steamer waiting for me to attack. I love how carefully you have to bite into them so you don't scald your mouth with the juicy goodness inside. I love that there are so many places to find them in San Francisco :)

The road to Shanghai Dumpling King was a long and bumpy one. I took the same route Jamie and I took last weekend and was doing pretty well until I approached The Wiggle. Wheel got stuck, I toppled over and ta da...first big spill on the new bike. Had to happen some time, right? I just wish it didn't happen while I was all alone :\

Ladies & gentlemen, repeat after me: always wear a helmet.

(source)

Always. I landed knees first, then hands then a little bounce to the front of my helmet. Enough for a wee bump. Now, imagine if I wasn't wearing one.

I was a little freaked out, so I called the friend I was meeting up with (who conveniently happens to be a nurse and brought me stuff to clean up with) and Jamie to make sure I had someone to talk to just in case anything went wrong. I eventually got back on my bike and pedaled my way to the meeting point in Golden Gate Park. Everything felt fine, minus the burning in my knees.

Once I stopped in the park, I lifted up my capris to find out that I had some crazy scrapes on my knees and calves. Thankfully there weren't any major gashes. Hurrah. I biked all the way to the Great Highway while friend ran and since I got to the ocean before she did, I sat and soaked up the amazing weather. Ahhh. Gorgeous!

Everyone was out and about and the waves were huge! Once friend caught up, we sat for a little while longer appreciating the scenery. Hey, it's what weekends are for!

We eventually got going again and trekked another mile to meet another friend at Shanghai Dumpling King. Luckily friend got there early (11:30ish) and snagged us a spot at a shared table. No waiting in line this time! Woohoo!

FINALLY, time to try the famed Shanghai Dumpling King soup dumplings!

We split 2 orders of the soup dumplings and an order of pan fried pork buns. The soup dumplings were good, but not as good as I expected them to be. Honestly, I think I prefer the ones at Shanghai House. The meat and soup are much more flavorful in my opinion...plus there's never really a wait. The pork buns can be skipped - mushy wrapper and not much flavor.

Afterward, friend 2 and I hopped on a bus with the intention to hang out in Alamo Square Park for a bit. I attached my bike on a bus for the first time

The video doesn't lie. It's really only 3 steps and there are labels! I promptly realized I need to work on my upper body strength since I had a rough time lifting my bike high enough.

It took longer than expected to get to the park so we paused at a random cafe for a sweet treat and outdoor seating. It was there that I got my first glimpse at this gem:

O yes. Golf ball sized bruise on the knee. Guess that explains why it hurt a little to jog. Hm. Advil + Ice + Elevation = my afternoon.

Friend split off to head to an appointment and I hung out for a little longer to soak up the sun and think about my route home. I decided to bike the whole way (avoiding the crash scene, of course) and logged in a total of 11 miles for the day. Not too shabby!