Golden Gate Bridge

Day 3 in San Francisco dawned with the decision to bike across Golden Gate Bridge. We'd stopped and gazed our first day as one of the stops on our tour bus, but Matt and I needed to get up close and personal. A coworker of mine had recommended it and after running a 5K the day before, I figured, why not? We got up early, headed to the waterfront to pick up our bikes and set out.

Confession: I wasn't sure I could still ride a bike. I mean, I knew I could ride a bike, but actually, legitimately pedal my way eight miles from Fisherman's Wharf to the Ferry Pier in Sausalito? But Matt was gung-ho and so we set off with only a brief glance at the map in bike rental shop and a few puffs of the inhaler for me.

The route is a combination of bike paths and road sides. Sometimes we were right there next to the cars. Sometimes we were rolling through a national park. The steepest climb was getting up to bridge level - the hardest part of getting over the bridge was actually just dodging the many pedestrians along the sidewalk. The views were always lovely and once more we had clear blue skies. It wasn't even too cold and windy on the bridge, something we had been warned about. Seriously, we got the best weather on this trip.

Helmets on, ready to roll!

I can still ride a bike!

The beautiful path along Crissy Field...notice the bridge in the distance?

Stopping for a photo opp near the Warming Hut

And the approach!

The view going the other way was just as worth it!

Passing through...

Sausalito

We made it!

So long story not too long, we made it across the Golden Gate Bridge! The eight miles took us about an hour and a half of riding. Once we got into Sausalito, we roamed around until Matt's parents joined us via ferry so we could all enjoy lunch. It's a cute little town to see. We had gourmet burgers at the Napa Valley Burger Co, grabbed ice cream cones and pedaled around the pier area until it was time to board our ferry for the return trip. I was surprised that I wasn't sweaty and exhausted - the breeze and downhills kept things relatively easy. I'd definitely recommend the experience!

Meet me by the elephants...

Cute town.

Ice cream!

Waiting to board the ferry.

Matt quickly became obsessed with his bike and tried to convince me to bike back home, but we had evening plans to meet up with friends in San Mateo and I was worried about making the train...

...so we and the entire rest of the city boarded our bikes onto the ferry for the ride back to San Francisco. How we all remembered which bike belonged to who, I'll never know!

Catching a glimpse of everyone's favorite maximum security island prison on the back!

After we returned our bikes, we hoped on the Muni to the train station, then boarded a commuter train with five minutes to spare for our trek to San Mateo to visit with our old neighborhood pals, the Smiths! It was a relaxing way to end our long day - dinner and friends.