After leaving Bodega Bay, I rode down to the Samuel Taylor State Park campground; this State Park is a beautiful redwood park with a very nice hiker/biker area. Because I was early getting to San Francisco, I decided to spend a couple of nights at the campground.
Met groups of riders both nights that had been traveling down the coast, but pretty much following me by a day or two. Interesting groups ... interesting conversations.
I rode across the Golden Gate Bridge on Thursday, which turned out to be much more work than I had anticipated. The first "work" was getting from sea level up to bridge level ... very steep. The second "work" takes some explaining.
Prior to 3:30 PM, pedestrians and cyclist cross the bridge on the east sidewalk; after 3:30 PM on the west side. The climb from sea level to bridge level brings one to the west side of the bridge. I arrived at around 2:30 PM. To get to the east sidewalk, you go down about 30 steps, under the bridge, then up 30 steps. Easy to do if you are walking or riding a non-tour-loaded bike ... not so easy for me.
The third "work" was completely unexpected. About half way across the bridge, I was confronted by about 2,000 protesters marching in the opposite direction I was headed. These people (apparently a national nursing convention), were protesting the XL Pipeline that will be carrying shale oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico ports. I am not at all sure how effective a San Francisco protest aimed at Washington D.C. politicians concerning a pipeline in the Midwest will be, but these folks were making a lot of noise and seemed to think their efforts were making a difference. As for me, it made my journey across the bridge very difficult.
Spent Friday and Saturday enjoying San Francisco ... did quite a bit of biking around the city on Friday, then went to the DeYoung Art Museum Saturday morning and the Giants baseball game in the afternoon with my son Chris (who lives in San Francisco). Great time.
This morning Chris rode with me, from his place in Noe Valley, out through the Golden Gate Park to the Pacific Ocean. It was a joy to share the bike ride with him. He took the photo included in this post on his ride back to his home ... bike racks at the amphitheater in the park.
San Francisco is quite bicycle friendly ... lots of cyclist and lots of amenities for cyclist.
Today's ride to Half Moon Bay was 30 miles of fog and drizzle ... not much fun. I decided to follow the age-old touring adage (which I made up today) ... "If the weather ain't right, it's a hotel night.
Warm and dry is good.
Thanks Randy
ReplyDelete"If the read was dandy, it was written by Randy."
Chris has a creative eye. Good photo. Another old adage: "If the bridge is high, pass it by."
ReplyDeleteLarry