San Francisco is not only one of the most beautiful cities in the whole world, it is also bike-friendly. What to do in San Francisco? Ride a bicycle to the Golden Gate Bridge! That famous bridge in San Francisco was the highlight of the trip for me. That big red bridge.
Talks about this ride started way before the trip. Silly me didnt realised that it was 13km which include multiples of "push your bike up the hill when you cant peddle" and "watch your speed or prepare to roll down the hill". Almost did. My dear friend Aisha had a nervous laughter about this.
The trip was made fabulous by awesome friends.
Zaime: Only guy on the trip. The one who is always looking out for us. Spouse to Norah
Norah: The one who always had the funniest thing to say. Always looking out for us too.
Together, they were a super upsize combo of Caring + Kind + Super funny
#blessed
Shah Rizzan: The one who takes the best photos whenever on a trip and videos too!
Aisha: The one who made this trip possible and always make me feel special (anywhere in the world)
#blessed
Missing on the trip was Faridah (the real biker): Our favourite nyah*
*nyah is a term we address each other with plenty of affection
Hard to recall the last time i was on a bicycle. Minus the ones in the gym lol. It was quite an adventure i must say. For me at least.
This ride was all about pushing myself to my limits. This was one epic moment in my life which i really did. There were too many times i wonder what the odds are just to quit halfway and have the bicycle company come and collect the bike. Boohoo me.
Taken from http://www.blazingsaddles.com/
The ride started from the gorgeous Pier 39. Known for its spectacular view of San Francisco Bay which includes the Golden Gate Bridge, Bay Bridge and Alcatraz. Also home to the California sea lions.
Along the ride, we were greeted by amazing views and accompanied by the seagulls flying above. It was really exciting as the journey gets closer and closer to the bridge. The other thing on our mind was to catch the last ferry back to pier to where we started from. Or swim back with our bikes. Lol
There were plenty of pit stops and photo opportunity with amazing views. Always an excuse to do a jumpshot. Not that you need one. I could barely feel my feet after all that cycling but had to make the jumpshot look real.
Thanks Shah Rizzan! For capturing a shot of me in mid air (sorta) ! Look at her shots. She probably has some pumped up kicks or something.
There was another pit stop that i was looking forward too. Toilet break.
You never know when or where the next one is.
We bought identical t-shirts for the ride. Thank goodness for this cos i was stuck at one point when i fell of my bike. Everyone else was so far ahead. One guy rode past me. He warned about the sharp bent ahead. He said "I need to quickly exit or get whipped by the oncoming traffic". Not helping dude. I find out later that the same guy told my friends that i got stuck and left behind. He noticed that all of us wore the same shirt. Money well spent. Lol
Everyone had to stop and wait for me as i was pushing my bike down the sharp bent on the pavement which feels like forever.
Poor Zaime had to walk back and look for me. It was quite a distant. When i was reunited with the gang, everyone was concerned and never once that i felt i was out of place. #blessed Love you peeps!
That feeling when you got to the bridge was indescribable. That winner kinda feeling lol.
Seen the bridge too many times in a movie. Stoked :)
Its quite massive too and the ride on the bridge seemed endless at one point.
Many, many shots and selfies later and we are on our way back to catch the ferry to the starting point. Had a blast making a video on the top of a hill too with a cameo appearance of a Brazillian dude who jump off his bike to join us. His wife said he was crazy to do that. She was right, lol, it was crazy fun.
I have never been so happy to arrive the ferry terminal for our final leg of our cycling expedition. By then, i have probably shed a couple of pounds from all that hours of cycling. I discovered later that many San Francisco peeps cycle about their daily lives. That's probably how they keep in shape considering all their beautiful houses on steep hills.
By the time, the ferry arrived, the sun was setting on the horizon. It has been such a fulfilling day. We started around 3pm in the afternoon and caught the last ferry at 8pm. Huge ferry with plenty of space for bikes and peeps alike.
The most painful part of the whole thing was probably when we had to return the bikes. The returning point was quite a distant from the pier. We met other bikers too and soon we are on another expedition. To locate the bike shop.
Most of us had difficulty locating the bike store. It didnt help that we had to push up the bike up and down steeps slopes most of the way. Some came in taxis with their bike in tow. Lol.
A quick shoutout to my lovely friends again for helping me with my bike. It would help if the bike company had one big signage that says "BIKE RENTAL RETURN" in front of the store. They left welcome back greetings for us inside though.
Tips for a great ride:
- wear shoes ( i was wearing Birkenstocks )
- a good sleep the night before ( had none as we had an early flight from Vegas)
For real tips lol , use the links below
- http://www.smithankyou.com/2014/01/ocbc-cycle-malaysia-2014.html
- http://isaacloo.wordpress.com/2013/07/17/bicycle-safety-hand-signal/
- http://www.thedadtographer.com/2014/08/fenix-bc30-led-bike-light-review.html
Thank you for dropping by xoxo
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