Jul 27

Jul 27 Biking the Golden Gate Bridge | San Francisco

"Heads up! Heads up!" a cyclist clad in full spandex yelled as he zoomed past us. I could only assume he was barking at the people behind us because we were in a single file line hugging the right side of the bike lane as close as we could without blowing over into oncoming traffic. I couldn't confirm for fear of veering left if I turned my head to look.

A man had warned us that it would be windy and busy crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, but we had yet to bike across after living in San Francisco for a year and a half, so it had to be done. We started from Golden Gate Park, taking quiet (and mostly downhill) 15th Avenue North towards Presidio. 15th Avenue dead ends at the Presidio Landmark, so we turned left on Wedemeyer Street which turns into Battery Caulfield Road - a road that is almost exclusively uphill. When Battery Caulfield Road ended at a "T", we went left again on Washington Boulevard until veering right on Lincoln along the coast. We look a left at Merchant Road, stopped at Golden Gate Bridge Toll Plaza, and then continued to the Golden Gate Bridge. You can follow our route here.

Coming from San Francisco, the left side of the bridge is reserved for cyclists and the right side for pedestrians. This didn't stop one drunk pedestrian from walking on the bike side, but he looked in pretty rough shape, so no one gave him a hard time about it. It seemed quite San Franciscan to be honest. The separation of cyclists and walkers made crossing the bridge less scary - no need to worry about looping around pedestrians as another cyclist barrels towards you from the opposite direction. If you suffer from vertigo, however, this isn't the route for you. The railing between me and the water didn't seem like much as I was cycling along.

Once we braved the winds and intense cyclists on the bridge, a peaceful two mile ride brought us to our destination: Sausalito. More on that later!