How are you all doing with your month - 6 weeks of adventure and enjoying play and leisure activities? I took a break from blogging to travel across the state/country to spend time with friends I have known over half my life and some family. I was able to see some new sites in parts of the country I had already been. The past couple of weeks have given me the chance to confirm that as things change the more I can appreciate the things that tend to stay the same.
And, of course I set up an adventure for myself with a little help from a friend!
I like to bike ride but to me, bike riding in a big city near a tourist trap has always seemed a bit overwhelming. In fact everything about tourist traps in big cities is overwhelming. I haven't been to New York City so therefore I am awarding San Francisco as the most overwhelming city I've ever visited. Fortunately, bike lanes were very well marked. The traffic, people and hills were an adrenaline rush for me. The prettiest thing I remember was looking across the way after we had rode up a hill. The ocean, landscaping and city skyline were just fantastic.
Part of this journey was 1.7 miles going across the Golden Gate Bridge. Without hesitation I knew that this was going to be something that absolutely terrified me!
Currently, due to vision issues and lack of depth perception I'm unable to go down stairs if it's an open stair case. Due to a prism I requested in my glasses I'm sort of able to stand in one spot in the cheap seats at a sports stadium. Last week I described these concerns to the eye doctor and she confirmed that it sounds like I have poor depth perception.
But my motto is "Do one thing a day that scares you!" Would the San Francisco traffic and hills done
the trick? Yes! Probably!
But I wanted to push my boundaries...for myself! It's something I won't ever forget!
The ride across the bridge was 1.7 miles to get across and it felt longer! The hills to the bridge on the San Francisco side (south end) were 2-5 stories high (my estimate). The wind and traffic on the bridge made the entire experience loud. The good news is there was a very large bike/walking lane with large railings on each side. I could see an opening at the bottom of the railing with ocean water underneath...I wasn't a fan. So, I decided to just look forward as much as possible and just keep peddling. Going around each pillar was windy and had a few people standing to look at the sites. I walked my bike around but did not stop or look over the edge. Looking back at the experience now, this maybe the only regret I have.
After I passed the 2nd pillar I almost had tears in my eyes and my stomach was so nervous. I told my friend just to keep on going. Then, I do remember looking forward and seeing the second pillar ahead of me and that was very beautiful. By the time we had gotten around the 2nd pillar, I began to smile! I stood with my bike close to the pillar and had my friend take a picture of me. It is kind of hard to tell that I am on the Golden Gate Bridge but I wasn't in the mood to move. By the time I had gotten off the bridge I had a smile on my face but still a very nervous stomach. I explained to my friend that I seriously did not want to travel across the bridge again to get back to the bike shop. We rode a little under 3 miles a mainly down hill through Sausalito. Then, with hundreds of other
tourists we returned back to San Francisco on a ferry boat.
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