Honestly, I wish I could stay in San Francisco for a bit longer to enjoy more the great city has to offer. But I want a refund from Lonely Planet - it recommend this bike tour that goes to Golden Gate Bridge from Fisherman's Wharf - no no I havent finished yet, and then over the bridge, to Sausalito (all downhills from here), and take the ferry back - 8 miles (13km) of easy biking and beautiful scenery and million dollar photo opportunites. Piece of Cake! Right? Wrong.
This is one of those 'conditions apply' great tours. To be fair, the scenery is more than a million dollars, not to mention you can stop any time you want for photos, unlike when you drive (and I stopped for more than 'any time I want'). It is probably more my own problem as I am so unfit but I am saying that I am not going on a bike for at least one year.
First couple of miles doesnt come with any clear instructions. So we kept on going into weird little marinas and coming out and 'share the road' with huge american cars. I will probably be more sensitive to cyclists next time back in Sydney cos if they are like me -they have no idea where they are going.
Next one mile is truly rewarding - there were a bit of going uphill but nothing I couldnt manage (although struggling) and you could see both the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance and San Francisco downtown in the background. It was great.
Then came the really interesting part. There was this at least 2 miles of next-to-the beach bike tracks. It is all flat, FLAT. However what they dont tell you in Lonely Planet is that when it is westerly wind the wind can be so strong that it actually pushes your bike backwards. Honestly if I didnt move I would have been back in Fishermans Wharf in 15 minutes. I paddled against the wind, cursing under my breathe, tried to take in the million dollar ocean view and did my best not to 'lose' Nelson (he was paddling like a mile in front of me probably whistling at the same time).
Just when I was sighing with relief finding out that the beach part was over - bam the track started going uphill, steep uphill, to, I dont know, you can imagine how high up Golden Gate Bridge would have been. Part of it I actually had to get off the bike and walk and dragged my damn bike with me. I told myself that I was working out some different muscle groups but I really wished I just walked this 8 mile not trying to be cool and ride a bike.
Okay - now we were on the mighty Golden Gate Bridge. Nelson and I even high-fived each other but the wind was so strong I soon found myself struggling against the wind again. There were also these showy 'real' cyclists kept by-passing me and giving me a heart attack at the same time (I couldnt hear them as I was wearing a beanie with ear flaps - I would rather stay warm than alive you know!). Again the scenery from the bridge is breath-taking - not that I had much to be taken away though.
Finally, we got off the bridge and according to the book - now it is all 'downhill' to Sausalito. True or False? True. However again what the book doesnt tell you is that it is so downhill that you go down in like 80km per hour speed not being able to control your bike while sharing the road with huge american cars and if you wear a beanie with ear flaps you cant even hear the huge american cars. At this time my bums hurt so much they are killing me and I was clutching both my brakes real tight and screaming inside and I almost 'jumped' for joy when I saw the ferry but oh on - it looks like it is about to leave! So Nelson at the front (to his credit he always stopped to wait for me after a while otherwise I would probably still be riding the damn bike trying to come back to Fisherman's Wharf right now) and me at the back we raced to the ferry and just made it.
That's it, right? Wrong again! What Lonely Planet also doesnt tell you, is that the ferry does not always go to Pier 41 (we are suppose to return the bike somewhere near Pier 43). It dropped us off at, okay, guess, no really, guess - Pier Number 1!!!!! So with the concern that my bums are actually falling off my hips we marched on our little bikes (oh - I forget to note that the chain fell off after the 1st mile and I had to put it back in) and we had 15 minutes to make it to the shop before it closed at 7pm.
At the end of the day - we made it and my bums are still intact (probably got a bit flatter though) and I would actually recommend the tour to my friends. But hey if you want to do it give yourself a WHOLE day okay!
So last night we went to the famous 'Crab House' for dinner as a reward. We had mussels for entree and crabs for main. Wow -it was really really yummy, not your usual tourist food, I even had some beer. But my legs were so sore I almost didnt make it to the restaurant.
Today we went to Monterey Bay Aquarium - it is two hours drive from San Francisco but really worth the trip. The sea otters are sooooo cute. I wish I could give them a pat and give them some love but they are just pretty faces - if I really reach my hand out they wouldnt hesitate biting my fingers off! I also saw sunfish for the first time in my life. Man they are the ugliest fish I have ever seen. And they are really huge - like those American cars but I just couldnt take my eyes off them! They are just amazingly ugly but extremely graceful in a way - definitely not self-conscious these fish you know?
For a late dinner we went to Chinatown and had congee. I was a little bit concerned cos we were driving a very flashy car. Avis has run out of their 'normal' cars so they gave us this unbelievably big navy blue Lincoln Town Car. It is really long and has a booth that makes you feel like it used to carry dead bodies. And I felt like a first lady sitting in there! Okay - the truth is - we look really weird in that car but oh it is so comfy! My friend Han and Paul are going to be shocked when we pick them up at Fresno Airport tomorrow! Well everyone deserves to feel a million dollars from time to time isnt it.
ps. I am all chowdered out - no more chowder for me.
This is one of those 'conditions apply' great tours. To be fair, the scenery is more than a million dollars, not to mention you can stop any time you want for photos, unlike when you drive (and I stopped for more than 'any time I want'). It is probably more my own problem as I am so unfit but I am saying that I am not going on a bike for at least one year.
First couple of miles doesnt come with any clear instructions. So we kept on going into weird little marinas and coming out and 'share the road' with huge american cars. I will probably be more sensitive to cyclists next time back in Sydney cos if they are like me -they have no idea where they are going.
Next one mile is truly rewarding - there were a bit of going uphill but nothing I couldnt manage (although struggling) and you could see both the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance and San Francisco downtown in the background. It was great.
Then came the really interesting part. There was this at least 2 miles of next-to-the beach bike tracks. It is all flat, FLAT. However what they dont tell you in Lonely Planet is that when it is westerly wind the wind can be so strong that it actually pushes your bike backwards. Honestly if I didnt move I would have been back in Fishermans Wharf in 15 minutes. I paddled against the wind, cursing under my breathe, tried to take in the million dollar ocean view and did my best not to 'lose' Nelson (he was paddling like a mile in front of me probably whistling at the same time).
Just when I was sighing with relief finding out that the beach part was over - bam the track started going uphill, steep uphill, to, I dont know, you can imagine how high up Golden Gate Bridge would have been. Part of it I actually had to get off the bike and walk and dragged my damn bike with me. I told myself that I was working out some different muscle groups but I really wished I just walked this 8 mile not trying to be cool and ride a bike.
Okay - now we were on the mighty Golden Gate Bridge. Nelson and I even high-fived each other but the wind was so strong I soon found myself struggling against the wind again. There were also these showy 'real' cyclists kept by-passing me and giving me a heart attack at the same time (I couldnt hear them as I was wearing a beanie with ear flaps - I would rather stay warm than alive you know!). Again the scenery from the bridge is breath-taking - not that I had much to be taken away though.
Finally, we got off the bridge and according to the book - now it is all 'downhill' to Sausalito. True or False? True. However again what the book doesnt tell you is that it is so downhill that you go down in like 80km per hour speed not being able to control your bike while sharing the road with huge american cars and if you wear a beanie with ear flaps you cant even hear the huge american cars. At this time my bums hurt so much they are killing me and I was clutching both my brakes real tight and screaming inside and I almost 'jumped' for joy when I saw the ferry but oh on - it looks like it is about to leave! So Nelson at the front (to his credit he always stopped to wait for me after a while otherwise I would probably still be riding the damn bike trying to come back to Fisherman's Wharf right now) and me at the back we raced to the ferry and just made it.
That's it, right? Wrong again! What Lonely Planet also doesnt tell you, is that the ferry does not always go to Pier 41 (we are suppose to return the bike somewhere near Pier 43). It dropped us off at, okay, guess, no really, guess - Pier Number 1!!!!! So with the concern that my bums are actually falling off my hips we marched on our little bikes (oh - I forget to note that the chain fell off after the 1st mile and I had to put it back in) and we had 15 minutes to make it to the shop before it closed at 7pm.
At the end of the day - we made it and my bums are still intact (probably got a bit flatter though) and I would actually recommend the tour to my friends. But hey if you want to do it give yourself a WHOLE day okay!
So last night we went to the famous 'Crab House' for dinner as a reward. We had mussels for entree and crabs for main. Wow -it was really really yummy, not your usual tourist food, I even had some beer. But my legs were so sore I almost didnt make it to the restaurant.
Today we went to Monterey Bay Aquarium - it is two hours drive from San Francisco but really worth the trip. The sea otters are sooooo cute. I wish I could give them a pat and give them some love but they are just pretty faces - if I really reach my hand out they wouldnt hesitate biting my fingers off! I also saw sunfish for the first time in my life. Man they are the ugliest fish I have ever seen. And they are really huge - like those American cars but I just couldnt take my eyes off them! They are just amazingly ugly but extremely graceful in a way - definitely not self-conscious these fish you know?
For a late dinner we went to Chinatown and had congee. I was a little bit concerned cos we were driving a very flashy car. Avis has run out of their 'normal' cars so they gave us this unbelievably big navy blue Lincoln Town Car. It is really long and has a booth that makes you feel like it used to carry dead bodies. And I felt like a first lady sitting in there! Okay - the truth is - we look really weird in that car but oh it is so comfy! My friend Han and Paul are going to be shocked when we pick them up at Fresno Airport tomorrow! Well everyone deserves to feel a million dollars from time to time isnt it.
ps. I am all chowdered out - no more chowder for me.
3 comments:
You are too funny! Although no photos yet but I can just see you paddling against the wind and cursing at the same time. Look, I am not laughing at you, I cannot even ride a bike.
Btw, did you end up having chowder?
missing you xxx
Sorry didn't see the ps. chowder out comment. So obviously you are.
looking foward to the next blog.
Yeah, Han and Paul almost didn't recognize you in that big Lincoln. Well, actually I did! Coz I saw this bizzarely out of proportion tiny female in that passenger seat, but then Paul quickly corrected me and said "No, it can't be them coz it's a Lincoln!!!"
You didn't think you would get back on a bike just one day later at Yosemite eh?
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