Another ride to Rodeo, but this time I had company. First off, I had Liz: bicycling champion and love supreme! And then there were more...
Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, we noticed a large pack of bikers (a team? a race?) dressed-up (in formal office-attire? in costumes?). Luckily, Liz knew one of the riders and asked him what was up. He said they were all riding to a wedding on Rodeo Beach and that we should crash it!!! Crash it we did not (is nothing sacred?), but considering we were headed for the wedding location anyway, we trailed along with them!
Just after the bridge, there is a tunnel that spills bikers out into the Marin Headlands for a glorious downhill ride. After the hectic jaunt over the bridge where spandex and tourists collide, it's a well-deserved and cleansing cruise. And I really wanted to catch them pile out of it. So we sped ahead of the wedding mass while they re-grouped after the bridge. Heading towards the beach, the ride through the tunnel is a slight incline and, with only 5 minutes to get through before on-coming traffic heads your way, it's a little bit of a heart-pounder, a teeth-clencher. A dark tunnel, dripping from the roof with condensation and desolation? It's like you're running for your life...and with a pack of jolly wedding cyclists on your tail, with howls and cackles echoing from their hearts, you want out and fast!
But everything was perfect! We made it through the tunnel before they did and with enough time to get out the camera and document. My bike did fall in a pile of dirt, but it's a small sacrifice to pay in order to see so many happy people on a Saturday in such a beautiful setting. Once we all made it to the beach, they trudged through the sand (bikes in hand) to watch the happy couple get hitched on Rodeo...whoever they may be! We watched for a minute or two before heading home, through the headlands with happy hearts.
Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, we noticed a large pack of bikers (a team? a race?) dressed-up (in formal office-attire? in costumes?). Luckily, Liz knew one of the riders and asked him what was up. He said they were all riding to a wedding on Rodeo Beach and that we should crash it!!! Crash it we did not (is nothing sacred?), but considering we were headed for the wedding location anyway, we trailed along with them!
Just after the bridge, there is a tunnel that spills bikers out into the Marin Headlands for a glorious downhill ride. After the hectic jaunt over the bridge where spandex and tourists collide, it's a well-deserved and cleansing cruise. And I really wanted to catch them pile out of it. So we sped ahead of the wedding mass while they re-grouped after the bridge. Heading towards the beach, the ride through the tunnel is a slight incline and, with only 5 minutes to get through before on-coming traffic heads your way, it's a little bit of a heart-pounder, a teeth-clencher. A dark tunnel, dripping from the roof with condensation and desolation? It's like you're running for your life...and with a pack of jolly wedding cyclists on your tail, with howls and cackles echoing from their hearts, you want out and fast!
But everything was perfect! We made it through the tunnel before they did and with enough time to get out the camera and document. My bike did fall in a pile of dirt, but it's a small sacrifice to pay in order to see so many happy people on a Saturday in such a beautiful setting. Once we all made it to the beach, they trudged through the sand (bikes in hand) to watch the happy couple get hitched on Rodeo...whoever they may be! We watched for a minute or two before heading home, through the headlands with happy hearts.
http://pedros.com/bikelust.htm
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oh sissy this is magical! you write like bob dylan in tangled up in blue! xoxo
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