San Francisco -- Biking through Fisherman's Wharf

A big storm was forecast for today, February 22, 2008, our second day in San Francisco. But we were lucky -- both during our local culinary tour of North Beach and our explorations of the Coit Tower and Pier 39 the weather held up. Now in the late afternoon our biggest adventure was yet to come: a bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Now in the Fisherman's Wharf area, we headed to Bay City Bikes, where we took out two comfortable touring bikes in order to explore the northern waterfront. After 4 pm we started riding westwards into the sunshine, past Fort Mason, the Marina District and the wide outdoor expanses of Crissy Field. Just past the Warming Hut pier, we had to turn left and climb up a steep hill on Lincoln Boulevard to reach the Fort Point Lookout and the southern terminus of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The bridge, painted in the famous International Orange colour, was starting to take on golden hues in the late afternoon sun. I had a chance to film the entire northwards trip, crossing the world's most famous bridge. Cycling across this beautiful, world-renowned miracle of engineering was an almost spiritual experience. I can truly only describe it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

When it was completed in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge had the longest suspension bridge span in the world, and even today it is still the second longest suspension bridge main span in the United States. With its two cantilever design, the bridge spans the 6,700 ft (2042 long) treacherous opening of San Francisco Bay and represents one of the Modern Wonders of the World. Many people said at the time that a bridge could not be built, given the ferocious ocean currents and the almost constant 60 mph winds.

The sun was starting to set as we started to cycle back from the Marine Headlands, and the westwards view over the Marin County coastline and the Pacific Ocean was simply breathtaking. We raced back to Bay City Bikes to return our two-wheeled vehicles just around 6 pm when the store was closing.

For dinner we headed to another San Francisco institution: McCormick and Kuletos -- a seafood restaurant located in the former Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory. Mia Harriman, the General Manager, sat down with us and gave us a great overview of this restaurant and the San Francisco lifestyle.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• San
• Francisco
• California
• Golden
• Gate
• Bridge
• Bay
• City
• Bike

[TOMATNOSCE]

I love this route. I used to do this route often. The dead-end pier prior to your assent with the green gates is an enjoyable wide place to ride. Course you must turn around, for you might end up in the bay!

On the opposite side to the view of the Precidio where you paused to catch your breath is a youth hostile.

Anyway, thanks for the memories. 14 degrees is quite cold! 

[travelandtransitions]

@TOMATNOSCE: Thank you for sharing your comments and additional details about this route!

[SFGG2009]

I crossed the bridge last year. Were you able to ride to the top of that hill with one hand? I couldn't make it with both!!! I've never made a video; could you give a teensy hint on what type of camera you used? I find your narration intelligent, informative and endearing, with just a hint of Canadian accent...

[travelandtransitions]

Thank you for your nice comments about my narration - I try to convey interesting and useful information in a personal way. As a one-person travel video production crew I take all my own videos, with my simple Canon Powershot SX100 camera. When I cycle I always hold the camera in my left hand close to my mouth so you can hear the narration while I am cycling. This way I can tackle modest hills and descents, but sometimes it does get hairy.

[yevgene]

I can't believe you did that hill with a camera in one hand! Oof. It beat me by about 20 meters today.

[travelandtransitions]

I do all my bicycling videos with camera in hand - maybe I should start looking into a helmet cam....

[brandeezy108]

1:03 i can see my mom's condo! i take this route more often now that i got a new road bike for christmas, start at south city take great highway, geary, under golden gate bridge, then crissy field, then the warf, then embarcadero, take market to partola, then partola to junipero serra, then back at south city. i used to bike with a little mountain bike that got me nowhere and people on road bikes would be passing me up. now that i have a road bike, the city is my playground :) beats the park.

[jaarmen3]

Beautiful Video.

[sanfranciscochirop]

@joseotero82



[joseotero82]

Nice video!

I am planning to go to SFO in a few months and i'd like so much to rent a bike and make it to Sausalito from Fisherman's Wharf. I'd like to know if is it dangerous, i mean, if is there a lot of traffic in the way there...

Thanksss