The day dawned
foggy, with promise a fine day. Breakfast was a few minutes’ walk away at the
MyMy Coffee Shop. It had good reviews and they were accurate. There was a wait
here sign outside, but no line which was a relief. Many popular places in San
Francisco require a wait to get in. David had French toast, Aimee two eggs and
Lynda the dish of the day pancakes with blue berries and roasted walnuts. It
looked yummy and it was.
A quick trip to Trader Joes for some fruit and breakfast supplies for the next few days and then on the bus back to the Fisherman's wharf area.
We hired our bikes from Basically Free Bikes. They were Cannondale comfort bikes and as the name suggests they were comfortable to ride. The basically free name refers to the credit equivalent to the hire price which you get at the companies sports shop. When biking the bridge the most obvious aspect are the numbers of people who are biking. Literally hundreds. The first hill is near the beginning, and it is the steepest. This was the only one where Aimee had to walk. The wind was in our faces and was cold. The fog was also covering the bridge even though it was now after 11-30am.
We stopped at the sports store. Lynda and Aimee couldn't find anything they wanted so David was instructed to get any bike stuff he wanted. So he did. The good news when we came out of the shop the bridge was mostly visible, with high fog blocking view of the towers as the wind blew the fog in from the sea.
After several stops for photographs and another steep hill from sea level to the bridge we joined the stream of walkers and cyclists who were making their way across the bridge. By this time the visibility was pretty good, although looking back to San Francisco it was still covered with fog. The bridge slopes gently up for most of the journey to Marin County and is easy, especially as the volume of people makes it impossible to go much faster than walking pace.
We stopped at the view point at the end for a banana and more photographs before we zoomed, well almost, our way down the hill into Sausaleto. The last part is a bit tricky as the road is very narrow. In the village itself there are bikes everywhere. The bike park cost $3 per bike. Yes bikes are good business. We wandered to the other end of the village for lunch to the bakery and cafe. Pasta Salad with prawns and a BLT hit the spot.
We briefly explored the village again before we lined up with hundreds of others to catch the ferry back across the bay. We had to wait about an hour and got the third boat. All the bikes are stacked against each other on the bottom level. It was easy to put bikes on the boat, but chaos at the other end to get them off. More about that later. The bridge was now covered by fog at San Francisco end. The wind was very cold. It had been warm at Sausalito as it is sheltered from the wind off the sea. The ferry slows as it passes Alcatraz which is great as it allows a better view. The journey across the bays takes about 20 minutes.
When we arrived at the ferry building the challenge was getting the bikes off. Not only was it like a giant game of pick up sticks, the bikes had to go up a flight of stairs. At the beginning it was a crush of people trying to get bikes from the bottom of a pile, and then almost miraculously the mess resolves itself. The ride along the waterfront was easy and uneventful.
It had been a good day. It took longer than we thought, but we had seen much of the city and got some exercise. We took refuge in Starbucks for a welcome drink and then wandered over the road to The World Store and Ross Dress for Less. The first shop is where we bought the mugs with animals inside and the second a remainder store with lots of bargains. Aimee grabbed a few.
Going back on the bus to the hotel there was a minor hiccup. The zip on David's trousers had broken and he could not get the bus tickets out so we had to pay cash. For dinner we went to Modern Thai for very tasty dishes. A good day, with the verdict that the biking was not as hard as was expected.
A quick trip to Trader Joes for some fruit and breakfast supplies for the next few days and then on the bus back to the Fisherman's wharf area.
We hired our bikes from Basically Free Bikes. They were Cannondale comfort bikes and as the name suggests they were comfortable to ride. The basically free name refers to the credit equivalent to the hire price which you get at the companies sports shop. When biking the bridge the most obvious aspect are the numbers of people who are biking. Literally hundreds. The first hill is near the beginning, and it is the steepest. This was the only one where Aimee had to walk. The wind was in our faces and was cold. The fog was also covering the bridge even though it was now after 11-30am.
We stopped at the sports store. Lynda and Aimee couldn't find anything they wanted so David was instructed to get any bike stuff he wanted. So he did. The good news when we came out of the shop the bridge was mostly visible, with high fog blocking view of the towers as the wind blew the fog in from the sea.
After several stops for photographs and another steep hill from sea level to the bridge we joined the stream of walkers and cyclists who were making their way across the bridge. By this time the visibility was pretty good, although looking back to San Francisco it was still covered with fog. The bridge slopes gently up for most of the journey to Marin County and is easy, especially as the volume of people makes it impossible to go much faster than walking pace.
We stopped at the view point at the end for a banana and more photographs before we zoomed, well almost, our way down the hill into Sausaleto. The last part is a bit tricky as the road is very narrow. In the village itself there are bikes everywhere. The bike park cost $3 per bike. Yes bikes are good business. We wandered to the other end of the village for lunch to the bakery and cafe. Pasta Salad with prawns and a BLT hit the spot.
We briefly explored the village again before we lined up with hundreds of others to catch the ferry back across the bay. We had to wait about an hour and got the third boat. All the bikes are stacked against each other on the bottom level. It was easy to put bikes on the boat, but chaos at the other end to get them off. More about that later. The bridge was now covered by fog at San Francisco end. The wind was very cold. It had been warm at Sausalito as it is sheltered from the wind off the sea. The ferry slows as it passes Alcatraz which is great as it allows a better view. The journey across the bays takes about 20 minutes.
When we arrived at the ferry building the challenge was getting the bikes off. Not only was it like a giant game of pick up sticks, the bikes had to go up a flight of stairs. At the beginning it was a crush of people trying to get bikes from the bottom of a pile, and then almost miraculously the mess resolves itself. The ride along the waterfront was easy and uneventful.
It had been a good day. It took longer than we thought, but we had seen much of the city and got some exercise. We took refuge in Starbucks for a welcome drink and then wandered over the road to The World Store and Ross Dress for Less. The first shop is where we bought the mugs with animals inside and the second a remainder store with lots of bargains. Aimee grabbed a few.
Going back on the bus to the hotel there was a minor hiccup. The zip on David's trousers had broken and he could not get the bus tickets out so we had to pay cash. For dinner we went to Modern Thai for very tasty dishes. A good day, with the verdict that the biking was not as hard as was expected.
Where is the photo of Lynda and Aimee on their bikes!!!!
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