The last week has been somewhat of a whirlwind. I got married last Friday, which was wonderful and then it was on the plane with my husband and my little one to sunny San Francisco.
A couple of days in and having just about conquered my jet lag and got my bearings it was definitely time to get myself a bike and have a ride in this beautiful city.
Those lovely people at Pashley had arranged for me to pick up a pastel Blue Poppy from cooler than cool bike shop Citizen Chain. My challenge now was to cycle back to our apartment in Haight Ashbury. Now having never cycled in the States and only ever visited San Francisco once before I was a little nervous. It makes you realise how used to your local roads and route you get a commuting cyclist and when faced with a different city, a different road system it feels kinda daunting.
I acquired a cycle map from the San Francisco Cyclery, put my Pashley in the lowest gear possible (San Francisco has a lot of hills) and off I went. The roads feel much bigger and wider over here which initially made me feel quite vulnerable but following my map I soon found some great cycle lanes and began to gain confidence. I was also encouraged by my fellow cyclists, San Francisco has a really healthy cycling culture and there's nothing better than other cyclist on the roads to make you feel safe and proud to be on your bike.
I arrived back to meet Robert and Florence for a much needed early evening drink at our new local Magnolia. A great ending to an exhausting but wonderful week.
11 comments:
love the photo of the wee florence (and i want a hat like hers)...
Congratulations on your wedding! Your kid is too cute :)
I'm impressed by your ability to jump into cycling in the States. I visited London last year and did not ride a bike there, partly because riding on the left would have been totally disorienting.
Do you know that the coolest female cyclists live in San Fran? I'm sure you've seen Bikes and the City and Change Your Life, Ride a Bike.
It sounds like a wonderful experience - loving the picture of you and the Poppy! Have fun :)
Thanks Michelle. Florence was actually fashioning my hat.. I just bought it here on Haight street, a bargain at $12!
Thanks for the congrats Dottie. I did find it pretty scary, the opposite side of the road this is very disorientating.
I know, there are some very cool cycling bloggers here, I just actually had coffee with Meli from Bikes and the city and am meeting some of the other girls for the Sunday streets ride tomorrow.
Thanks Lady Velo - I hope the sun is still shining back in London and your breaking in your Brooks saddle.
Hi Caz, it was so cool to meet you this afternoon. Welcome to San Francisco! Bravo for defying disorientation and getting on a bike. I know the feeling when you are somewhere new and just dying to ride.
Hi babees - it all looks fab , lovely to see photos . Love Pam x x
Hi Caz
Loving the bike. Looks really great out there. Keep us posted on your adventures
saw you had a visit with Meli-G ~ nice! I was thinking, 'did shy fly her bike over?! wow, that's dedication.' now I realize you had a local ride ~ just as dedicated! When I lived in SF I would definitely say people biked but I wouldn't have necessarily called it a 'scene'. People just rode bicycles, raced bicycles, end of story. But now when I return, there is actually more of a 'scene' and such better lanes, etc. in place for bicyclists. I guess similar to the rest of the US. :) I am glad you could benefit from all of that. Good for you, hope you had a GREAT time and congrats on the nups.
Great insight from the tourists perspective.
The first thing I do when I'm in a city is rent a bike - it's the best way to see the new city.
Lovely photos and Florence is adorable! :)
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