In The Wind

 

Egret Headwinds, Crissy Lagoon
(Composite Photo)

Looking for a way to bike around in comfort with my Z8 and 180-600mm in tow, I bought a pair of large Ortlieb bike bags and a lens case so I could pack the camera body and lens separately. I finally took the gear for a test ride and found it worked well even in strong crosswinds, bumpy gravel paths, and fast, curvy descents. Getting the gear out of the bags and into action took longer than simply grabbing a compact camera out of the trunk bag, but it was no big deal.

From my first stop at Inspiration Point in the Presidio I descended the dirt Ecology Trail all the way down to Barnard Avenue, then over to MacArthur to reach El Polin Spring. Children enjoying summer recreation programs far outnumbered the bird life, so I continued out to Quartermaster Reach and Crissy Lagoon. After that, my next stop took me along Lincoln Boulevard past the Golden Gate Bridge, then Baker Beach, and finally to the Lobos Creek Valley Trail. There was nothing happening at Lobos Creek, so I cut across the Richmond District on 25th Avenue and worked my way home through Golden Gate Park.

All in all, it was much more comfortable to carry the gear this way than on my back, at least when it comes to longer rides.

Killdeer at Quartermaster Reach

Crissy Lagoon: I think this is a great egret and a pair of snowies.

Sometimes it looked like they'd caught something huge, but it would turn out to be a little minnow stuck in a big glob of algae.

Egret Flyover

A solo long-billed curlew was hanging out near the egrets.

When it finally started hunting, it quickly scored a few small crustaceans.

Stepping Out In Style

* * *