Me plus beard
View of the start of the track
View of the harbour
I thought Americans loved to sue each other?
View of the bridge in the rain
Maker and madeI decided - (it must have been in the heat of the moment) to bike the Golden Gate bridge. The bridge is called the golden gate as it was supposed to be painted gold. During the painting an undercoat of international orange was used. The residents apparently fell in love with the undercoat colour and so the bridge stayed orange. That was the story a few of the guides told but it sounds more like they run out of money as the orange colour is pretty foul. The bridge was built with donations and sponsorships from local people as the government was building at the same time the bay bridge, which is on the other side of the city and is double storied and spans at least twice the distance of the golden gate.
Anyways after renting a bike i proceeded to ride from the wharf side through the various parks and trails, past the hostel and onto the golden gate recreational park. The ride was fairly easygoing and as it was a Sunday loads of locals were out walking, running, biking or taking their dogs for a walk in the park. The heavy rain didn't seem to put many people off. I was absolutely soaked after 10 minutes, but because it was pretty warm i didn't feel the cold. Riding along it sort of reminded me of the opening scenes in the film the goonies. The small incline soon got stepper as we got closer to the bridge. I had to walk the bike up the ramps that lead onto the bridge as it was so steep. All the time i was being passed by bikers whizzing past me at a fair speed. Some were okay but other shouted for me to get out the way. After around 15 minutes i made it to the start of the bridge. At this point i saw how narrow the bike path is and how low (relatively to the bike seat the side rails are). Just sitting on the bike was terrifying but riding along in the rain and wind while other bikers were passing you and coming the other way was enough to make me start making quiet noises, not quite shouts or screams but it was very close. Crossing over was pretty hard going as i wanted to stop every so often to take in the views. I got to the end and was definitely rewarded for the effort by the views. I decided to bike it back rather than heading into Sausolito and catching the ferry as a) the ferry was expensive and b) going down the ramps from the bridge looked like vertical drops!!
Going back was a lot more fun as most of it seemed downhill and there was loads of puddles to ride through. I got back to the bike shop four hours later having travelled nearly 18 miles!!! I couldn't believe it when the bike shop assistant told me. Walking to the shop i was drawing a lot of attention and a few people stopped to talk to me. I was walking the bike along the streets from the bike path to the shops and a lot of sand and mud from the bike path was splashed over my face, back and front!!! I didn't know about my back until someone pointed it out and asked me how i got in such a state!!! Even though it was still early i was knackered and retired to the hostel to wash, what seemed to be everything i owned.
Anyways after renting a bike i proceeded to ride from the wharf side through the various parks and trails, past the hostel and onto the golden gate recreational park. The ride was fairly easygoing and as it was a Sunday loads of locals were out walking, running, biking or taking their dogs for a walk in the park. The heavy rain didn't seem to put many people off. I was absolutely soaked after 10 minutes, but because it was pretty warm i didn't feel the cold. Riding along it sort of reminded me of the opening scenes in the film the goonies. The small incline soon got stepper as we got closer to the bridge. I had to walk the bike up the ramps that lead onto the bridge as it was so steep. All the time i was being passed by bikers whizzing past me at a fair speed. Some were okay but other shouted for me to get out the way. After around 15 minutes i made it to the start of the bridge. At this point i saw how narrow the bike path is and how low (relatively to the bike seat the side rails are). Just sitting on the bike was terrifying but riding along in the rain and wind while other bikers were passing you and coming the other way was enough to make me start making quiet noises, not quite shouts or screams but it was very close. Crossing over was pretty hard going as i wanted to stop every so often to take in the views. I got to the end and was definitely rewarded for the effort by the views. I decided to bike it back rather than heading into Sausolito and catching the ferry as a) the ferry was expensive and b) going down the ramps from the bridge looked like vertical drops!!
Going back was a lot more fun as most of it seemed downhill and there was loads of puddles to ride through. I got back to the bike shop four hours later having travelled nearly 18 miles!!! I couldn't believe it when the bike shop assistant told me. Walking to the shop i was drawing a lot of attention and a few people stopped to talk to me. I was walking the bike along the streets from the bike path to the shops and a lot of sand and mud from the bike path was splashed over my face, back and front!!! I didn't know about my back until someone pointed it out and asked me how i got in such a state!!! Even though it was still early i was knackered and retired to the hostel to wash, what seemed to be everything i owned.
1 comment:
Interesting to know.
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