I hadn't owned a pedal bike in ages. But the last time I rode a cycle before I bought my Townie was in November 2007 when we chose to escape the dread of winter in Calgary by spending a long weekend in San Francisco. The weather was gorgeous, and we rented a couple of bikes from Blazing Saddles at Pier 41 just to get around a bit. Somewhat unexpected, we found ourselves riding over Golden Gate Bridge. In quest of lunch we proceeded pedalling into Sausalito. Then we went on further towards Tiburon in order to take the ferry back to the pier. Oh my, did our legs and bums hurt after...
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| A 20mls (32km) trip and a ferry ride |
This trip didn't really inspire me to buy my own and pursue a newfound or revived hobby. All I could think about is what an exhausting way it had been to get around. Now I think differently, I guess I still don't like hills, though...
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Fahrradfahren in San Francisco
Wir machen eine Zeitreise zurück in das Jahr 2007. Im November war es sch...kalt in Calgary und so beschlossen wir, uns eine Portion Sonne & Wärme in San Francisco zu geben. War es herrlich, so im T-Shirt herum zu laufen. Wir kamen auf die glorreiche Idee, uns Fahrräder zu leihen. Das ging anfangs auch ganz gut. Wir überquerten die Golden Gate Brücke, machten ein Mittagspäuschen in Sausalito und trampelten dann weiter bis Tiburon, wo wir die Fähre zurück zum Pier nahmen. Mann, taten mir inzwischen vielleicht Beine und Hintern weh. Es war zwar ganz nett, aber keine Inspiration, sich ein eigenes Fahrrad zuzulegen, dafür war es einfach zu schmerzhaft und anstrengend. Heute sehe ich das etwas anders. Aber Bergauffahren... das mag ich immer noch nicht.
That's a long ride without any training and I can understand why it may have soured you on bicycling for a while. Beautiful photos of SF!
ReplyDeleteRichard, it was indeed an exercise I wasn't used to in a long time. But my energy levels are different now thanks to the different diet, and I can cope much better with it.
DeleteBicycling still seems like too much work to my now lazy self....did see cyclists huffing and puffing their way thru the same trails we covered on Ural's though.
ReplyDeleteDom, it is work indeed. But like with runners I envy cyclists for their vast depot of energy. I will never become a mountain biker but what I do now is exercise alright, and one can cover more distance than with walking and hiking alone.
DeleteThink hills think gasoline!
ReplyDeleteI am with you on this, Nikos.
DeleteThat reminds me how long it's been since I've seen big water!
ReplyDeleteThe time I lived in Colorado I got to be quite good at riding hills (and would have done even better with more oxygen in the air!), but now I'm very flatlanded and wince at the sight of hills. But a new bike in my near future might encourage me to try harder. And, of course, lack of snow helps, too...
Really like your photos...what a pretty day.
Thanks Martha. I have never excelled at cycling but I am working on it because it is a fairly easy way to get fit and get around, too.
DeleteNice retro photos of you. Cycling in SF is not for the faint of heart. Kudos to you two for even doing it.
ReplyDeleteI bet your Townie and riding where you are now is a much more pleasant ride.
Brandy, if we would have known... but at least we can say we cycled the Golden Gate Bridge, eh?
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