After finishing the Bay to Breakers, my spouse and I were good little citizens and walked to the MUNI buses that were lined up to take us back toward downtown. We had paid $7.00 for this service, and we used it without trouble last year. Everything seemed normal when we boarded. And then, as our double-length bus wound its way through Golden Gate Park, one rider noted, "Uh, I think we're going the wrong way."

It's probably hard to drive through the park, especially with a long bus, so I ignored him, but I became suspicious when it took us about 20 minutes to get out of the park. Several restless riders noted the presence of a gas station on the edge of the park, at Lincoln, and we told the driver that he should ask for directions. The driver stubbornly followed the driver in front of him, who was also lost. The notes on the Bay to Breakers website say, "The Express buses run back to the start area with intermediate stops ..." However, I don't think returning to the start area included a long trip down Lincoln toward the Ocean. The despair rose along with the avenue numbers, and one of the runners in the back of the bus became so queasy from all the twisting and turning that she vomited all over the bus floor.