Golden Gate Bridge
MVP:
Blue & Gold Fleet Ferry—For less than $15 bucks, the ferry took me and my bike from Tiburon to San Francisco. What a deal!
Trail Review:
The San Francisco Bay Trail, especially the bit from Sausalito to Tiburon, was just wonderful.
The main elevation gain occurred when I biked from Crissy Field to the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge.
The trail wasn’t too busy, but that’s probably because I went on a weekday morning. I imagine that in the weekends, the trails would be busier. If it was busier than what I experienced, I’m not sure if it would have been enjoyable.
It wasn’t too windy, so I had an enjoyable time throughout my ride.
The west side of the bridge only opens during certain times, so I had to ride the east side, sharing it with pedestrians.
The trails were clean with no objects strewn about as obstacles.
What I Learned:
Parking at the East Beach parking lot at Crissy Field is amazing. It’s free, and there were plenty of spots.
I wasn’t sure how I would do on the uphill segments on my bike, but I performed better than I thought I would. I mean, I still went pretty slow, and I had to use the 1x1 gear during one especially grueling part, but I didn’t have to get off the bike and push.
Sausalito and Tiburon are just delightful waterfront towns. I would like to go back and explore their culinary and cafe offerings.
The Blue & Gold Fleet Ferry was much more stable than the ferry from Ventura to the Santa Cruz Island. It was so stable that I didn’t need Dramamine or had to sit on the back of the boat. I walked around the whole boat and sat in spots that I thought would give me the best photos.
While crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, I stopped for a photo. While stopped, a random passerby mentioned that he had seen seals and even dolphins while watching the water. I did not know you could see dolphins from the Golden Gate!
I was initially thinking that I would listen to an audio book while I biked, but there was enough activity on the trails (other bikes, cars, pedestrians, etc) that I decided not to listen to anything. Biking, I found out, is active and fast moving enough, where I don’t need the additional mental stimulation anyways.
Fears Overcome:
Missing the Boat—I wasn’t sure if I could ride my bike at a 10mph average that Apple Maps was estimating my travel time by. I needed to time my ride such that I arrived on time for the Ferry, and I shouldn’t have worried at all. I ended up averaging around 15mph during most flat segments of the ride, and I actually rode faster once I got used to biking again. I got to the ferry with 25 minutes to spare.
Freezing to Death—I wasn’t sure what to wear for biking. I’m so accustomed to dressing for hiking, but with biking, there’s the constant wind, so I thought that I should dress much warmer than I would for hiking. It ended up working out pretty well! For 55 degree weather, I ended up wearing regular underwear, jeans, long sleeve base layer shirt, and a long sleeve henley. It only got too warm around 65 degrees.
What Happened?
~18.5 miles, 1 hr 45 min, 862 ft of ascent
I rode my bike from Crissy Field to Tiburon on my bike, then took the ferry back to San Francisco. The ride was delightful, the ferry was stable, and my heart sang as I biked.
I was glad I went in the morning, as there weren’t that many people on the trail, which made the biking more peaceful than I thought it would be. I made great time and actually got to the ferry with almost 30 minutes to spare.
I almost forgot. One of my rear disc brake pads came undone, so it kept bouncing around in the back. The rear brake still worked, but I just rode slower on down hills and relied on my front brakes instead.
Because the ferry I took went to Sausalito on the way to SF, the ferry took about an hour to get from Tiburon to SF. It didn’t bother me none, as I just enjoyed my audio book and a fat cup of coke.
Once back in SF, I biked in a blur to Crissy Field and headed back home.