Chapter 28

Chapter 28

 

 

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2008

 

Olema to San Francisco 34 miles 28th September 2008

 

My Canadian friends are also in the Olema campground when I arrive.(The CCCTS) In the morning the group agrees to meet at the start of Golden Gate bridge to travel over and find the hotel we are staying in. Sounds like a good plan. I have the details of our destination if we get separated. I’m leaving at 8 am to get ahead of the posse because I’m carrying all my stuff while they are baggage free and they will soon catch up with me.

I head out after coffee and bagels and cheese at 7.45am. Out on the road it’s the now almost predictable leg ripper of a climb and there is also a heavy fog. Visibility is down to thirty yards and it’s freezing cold. So, take it slowly up the climb. Over the top the sun comes out and it’s warming up. I am soon overtaken by the fast men and women of the group and on I go at a steady pace. 

It’s a short ride today, so there is no pressure and I have the couple of cycle free days to look forward to. Heading into Fairfax, a quite built-up town and I see what I have been missing for a while. Town Cycling! Riding in a town requires different skills, with cars coming from all directions and I have to watch for changes in the route through towns. It’s nice to travel through the towns you recognize from the movies, Fairfax, Larkspur, Sausalito, The Bay area. 

Larkspur, specifically Mount Tamalpais, is the actual birthplace of Mountain Biking. This is where the mountain bike craze first began back in the day. And you wouldn't half know. There are 100's of mountain bikers in car parks getting ready to cycle out. It’s like a convention or a pilgrimage. 

Ive hooked up with four of my friends now and we are getting through together. One of the guys seems to know the way through the town. Outside of that town we meet a dedicated cycle track to take us all the way into Sausalito. Away from all roads. It’s used by bikers, walkers, and joggers and it’s full of  them. All doing their own thing. Cycling along at leisure is pleasant with the company. I Sausalito we stop for an ice cream before making the final assault on the bridge. Did I say assault? It was more like Iwo Jima. The hills were so steep I had to fight for every yard. I think if I was on my own trying to get through this it would have been a nightmare because we are cycling through neighbourhoods and housing estates. Finally, it looms ahead.! WOW. 

O Connell bridge is a bridge! The M50 toll is a bridge. This is not a bridge. It’s a magnificent structural steel edifice. It’s a monument. And when you get on it, apart from the fact that there is an awareness of being in one of those places that you have heard about all through your life. It’s a joy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The brdge has its own weather! Sausalito was sunny and warm - this is foggy, cold and windswept. The wind is howling across the bridge. I see a couple up ahead stopped, taking photos and I ask them to take one of me on the bridge. Turns out they are from Cork, on holiday. It’s too cold to stop and talk so we just exchange pleasantries, take the photos and off we go in opposite directions. Pity! It is a very exhilarating cycle across. It’s so busy at the weekends that the path set aside for cyclists and pedestrians is divided up. Bikers on the right side of the bridge, pedestrians on the other. There are 1000's of bikers here. I have never seen so many road bikers all kitted out in matching gear. Testosterone bubbling over! All muscle and shaved legs! 

Friendly too, I stop on the other side wondering which way to go and a biker stops to offer help. He was able to give me direction straight to the hotel. It’s not far and I get checked in, get settled and showered. All the group have arrived safely and have dispersed to all points of the city. I change my gear and head out to see this city. I get the bus to Fisherman's Wharf Pier 39 and enjoy the stroll and some nice sea food. All human life is here. What a bubbling city! It’s great to get here, great to be here...

 

 

Alcatraz in the background

 Haight-Ashbury birth of the counter-culture of the 60’s

 

 

                  Cars parked on the side of a road Description automatically generated with medium confidence

Bendy Street                                     Steep Street

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