Riding San Fransisco

[Brett]

Had an opportunity to explore San Fransisco by bike yesterday. I am
visiting my mother-in-law for a week. She lives in Alameda, CA. SF is
a touristy kind of place, so it was no trouble finding a bike-rental
shop. It is Fall-like weather here. Even though it is August, cloud
cover/fog comes in from the Pacific every afternoon. Temperatures
range from mid 50's and never get out of the 60's. I packed all my
bike clothing in my messenger bag and caught the BART into SF. Got off
at Embarcadero Station and then took the F Line Trolley to get up to
1095 Columbus where there was a bike rental shop. San Fransisco's
transportation system is rather amazing. You have subways, then you
have "muni's," the electrified city bus system, then on top of that
you have trolley cars. Then, of course, if you really want to, you an
bring your 3,000lb automobile into the place. But why would you want
to? Practically every street has bike lanes or sharrows. What's with
Columbus? Why do we remain in the transportation Dark Ages?

Anyway, I rented a very nice aluminum/carbon road bike, a Marin, 20
speed. $48 for a 24hr rental. And I set out, going over the Golden
Gate Bridge, up into Marin County. I had hoped to make it to Muir
Woods. I was all mixed metaphor, mixing urban street clothing with
spandex and arm warmers - but I noticed a lot of people (locals)
outfitted the same way. I did not make good time. I kept stopping to
take photos. And the map they provided really wasn't very clear. I
kept getting lost. And I had no experience with the trail system. But
there were lots of local bikers about and they were friendly and
helpful. I finally made it up to Mill Valley. Then I got good and
lost. But I finally got it straightened out. The road called Morino -
that was a wicked climb. It just never stopped going up. It was not
pleasant. If I had done it at least once before I might have known how
to pace myself. Basically, on the other side of that mountain was Muir
Woods. But I ran out of time and so headed back down - taking Rt 1.
Again, that was not a comfortable situation. Cars kept stacking up
behind me. It made me nervous only because of a lack of familiarity
with the road. Most of the time you just had to be in the drive lane
with a parade behind you. It was all twisty and windy and downhill and
fast. There were places to pull over, wider shoulders and side streets
and the like, but I never knew when one was coming up, and they
evaporated quickly, and you had to get back in the drive lane anyway.
Got back into Saucilito where I met up with my wife and M-I-L and
friends for lunch. They came by ferry, and we took the ferry back to
SF. I only covered 28 miles! What humiliation. Looking forward to
another go at it on a future trip.