Today has been a long but enjoyable day, filled with classic travel stories of how not to get around.
We started our morning, with more rain around, just wandering around the local streets near our hotel, and grabbing a bight to eat before talking to the concienge about what to do on a rainy day. When we were talking, he said the rain would clear and recommended a bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge to fill in the afternoon. Other people had recommended it too, so we caught the F Tram down to Fisherman's Wharf and then walked a block to the Blazzing Saddles bike rental shop that the conciege had told us to use.
Signing our lives away to some waiver that said god knows what, we were on our way pretty quickly. The rain had cleared, the skies were blue and we had our cameras ready. The trip started near the marina, and we rode all the way to the base of the Bridge. Along the way we stopped for some great photo opps, and watched the wildlife in the reserves. The ride so far was flat, with only one hill, so we were not struggling at all. At this point, we then had to make our way up one hill on a road to the bike track the went under then up onto the Golden Gate. It was a little tough, but we got through with no problems. Arriving on the bridge was the best feeling.. it was huge, and we were about to ride across something so recognisable and so cherished by the locals in San Francisco. The bridge is long, and obviously flat, so we just cruised along and took in the views going across the ocean side of the bridge. It was pretty windy up there, with it whipping across our faces, but we got to the otherside and smiled knowing we had just completed something so cool.
After this, the trek was down and under the bridge, along to a town called Sausalito. Here, a ferry was going to pick us up and take us back to the Pier near where we started. This part was a bit tougher, with hills up and down, and narrow roads to share with cars. The weather was also starting to get a bit damp, with drizzle starting to develop.
Next.. with a few KM to go, Steph's chain came off the bike, and we couldn't get it back on. We had to walk. Eventually, we got to the pier at Sausalito, and onto the Ferry. As we boarded with our bikes, and took off, we got into the ocean before we realised.. we had gotten the wrong ferry! Instead of going to Pier 41.. it was going to the Ferry Building! This added a couple of K's to our trip.. with a bike we were going to have to walk. Our good day was getting a bit rough.
After about a 40 minute walk, we got back in record time to the bike shop to take our bikes back. We had made it 15 minutes before they closed, and also before the weather set in. We got into a cab to get back home, and just as we did... it started to pour. The weather there is like home! 4 seasons in a day.
After arriving home, we had showers to feel human again, and got our things organised as we are leaving tomorrow. An interesting, but enjoyable day was had - and we are excited for our next stop in Las Vegas.
Ben and Steph
