Our Adventures of Biking the Golden Gate

Ever since Chris and I went to San Francisco in June I have had some emails regarding what we did while there. One thing people have been asking a lot about is biking the Golden Gate. Let me just tell you about that little adventure (eye roll).
For starters, Chris and I are not bikers. We make be '(ex) college athletes' and look like we are in shape, but I assure you, we do not bike. I told Chris days before we rented the bikes that I wanted an electric bike. I always remember spin class in college and not being able to walk for days after. You know, the non-bikers waddle? Ya, I didn't want that.
So, we show up to the rental place, I tell them I want an electric bike, and the chick looks at me like I'm nuts! She casually says, "Oh no! Ya'll are young and in shape. You'll be fine!! Believe me, people much older than you use regular bikes and they do great."
Now, I had gone on a morning run the day earlier and seen the hills we would be biking to get to the Golden Gate and to us Texans, those things basically qualified as Mount Freaking Everest. As the San Franciscan says, "Oh, you'll just have to bike up a small three story hill. No big deal."
That's not what my butt and legs were screaming about five minutes in.
Can I remind ya'll that I grew up on a dirt road, walked everywhere in college, and haven't owned a bike since I was five...when I got my first Barbie bike. That should give you a background on my biking skills. I can ride a bike, but let's not get crazy here, kids.
And just like that, we were off on our adventure. We were about 5.4 miles from the Golden Gate and I'm thinking, "Okay, when I ride the bike at the gym, I can do five miles in like 15 minutes, so we should be good." Ha!
I was Chris's laughing stock for the entire day of bike riding. We start off having to bob and weave through all the fit people running everywhere on our path. Then we hit the park by the bay and the hurricane force winds made me feel like I was a hamster on a wheel; essentially my legs were moving, but I was going no where. It was awful. The path was gravel and I couldn't get good traction. The wind was making me swerve everywhere. I kept telling Chris I was ready to give up and he quickly reminded me, "This was your idea!"  A mom pushing four kids in a stroller passed me, a guy walking 82 (it was actually like 17) dogs passed me, I even think a guy biking with his two kids in a trailer thing passed me. It was pitiful. All the while Chris is popping wheelies around me and telling me what gear to switch it in to. 

Finally we reach the bottom of the bridge where everyone stops to take pictures. Perfect time for my butt to rest and me to gain feeling again in my legs. We had been biking for almost an hour and not yet made it up to the bridge. If this blog contained cuss words, you could insert many of them right here.
After snapping pictures and downing water, it was time to tackle the 'small' three story hill. What rental-bike-lady failed to tell us was that, while biking up the world's largest hill in your bike lane that was two feet wide, there would also be cars whizzing by your at the high speed of make-you-poop-your-pants miles per hour. Chris kept yelling at me to scoot over, and I kept yelling back that this was "the worst idea everrrrrr!" And then I saw another resting spot and my heart felt hope. My thighs we screaming and by butt bones, well, they were about as sore as all get out, and, yet, we still hadn't even made it onto the actual bridge.

We, of course, take more pictures (the more picture, the more resting time), and then decide the easy part is finally upon us. A short, level path straight to the bridge, so we set off on our adventure, sore tushes and all. We enter the east side of the bridge (they only have one side open at a time...) where this wide (sarcasm) bike lane was available to us, and the other 1,000 people. 


Let me give you some estimated measurements. The total path was about eight feet wide, half for the bikers, half for the walkers and runners....going in both directions! So there were runners, walkers, and bikers going both directions on the bridge that is freaking really high and windy and you have goob 1 and goob 2 trying to navigate this monster of a bridge without taking anyone out. It was stressful and one of those 'check off my list' type things. I was constantly ringing my bell in order to warn the poor pedestrians that it was not a good idea to walk 4x4 on a path that you should walk single file.

We stop at the areas where you have to walk your bike, we take some pictures, Chris freaks me out by getting too close to the edge, I kinda start to panic when I really get to thinking about how high I am, and then we decide to tackle the second half of the bridge. 

We finally, like 1.5 hours later, make it across the bridge. Then we discover the steep and windy road that leads you down into Sausalito. I just about wanted to have a heart attack riding straight down this winding hill, with my speed topping out at probably 15 miles per hour with fast car after fast car at Nascar speed racing on by. About halfway down I pulled over into some rando's garage because I had to take a breather. I had never in my life rode a bike on a road, much less on a busy, narrow, steep road.

After a quick breather, we make the final trek down into Sausalito and my oh my was it worth it. That little town is such a gem. I felt like I was in some other land that almost made it worth the bike ride over. Next time, I'll take a cab, but it was such an adventure. 

Did I mention this was on the day of our two year wedding anniversary? It will be an anniversary for the books!
We ate lunch and then walked around town and caught the ferry back to the city. I couldn't sit on my seat for the ride to the ferry, if that is any indication as to how my booty felt. 
Once back, I must have gotten my second wind because I convinced Chris to try and bike from the Ferry building to the Painted Ladies. After consulting with a police officer who said it would be "doable," we decided to go for it. 
Literally, five minutes in, we turned around, bee-lined it straight for the rental place, returned our bikes, and didn't sit for the next week.
 It was a day I'll never forget.
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Napa Wine Tour

When we first scheduled our trip to San Francisco I knew I wanted to go to Napa. Chris and I are not big drinkers, but I could't pass up a wine tour if we were going to be that close! I did some research and decided that since we were staying in SF, and not Napa, that it would be best to take a small bus around Napa on a guided tour. Renting a car wasn't an option because we were not going to be the two drunk Texans trying to navigate our way around California.  I went to trusty 'ol Google for some help and up popped Platypus Wine Tours. After looking at all our options (wine train, rent a car, other wine tour bus companies) I decided to book us on a Platypus Wine Tour. We took the ferry from SF to Vallejo where our Platypus tour guide picked us up. From the moment Scott introduced himself to us, I knew it was going to be a great day! There was a total of six of us on the shuttle bus. All of our personalities meshed well and we had a blast throughout the day! Not only does the tour guide drive you everywhere, but he also educated us on wine, grapes, and the whole entire process that goes in to making wine.  Platypus likes to take their guests to the smaller, less populated and fancy wineries and that was something Chris and I really liked.  Below are the four wineries we toured. They were all so unique and would visit each of them again in a heartbeat! Hagafen Cellars This was our first stop and I was already blown away by its welcoming vibe. Not to mention the sunny California sun and cool temperatures. Seriously, ya'll, how cute is this winery?! At this winery we got to tour a the cellar room and our Platypus tour guide guided us through how the wine is made. It was so interesting learning about the process and now Chris and I feel like wine connoisseurs. Not!! 

Hill Family Estate Wines

Our second stop was not at an actual winery, but at the most quaint and adorable tasting room I have ever seen. It was all sorts of perfection. From the decades old farmhouse table we were sitting at to the Restoration Hardware decor, it was perfection. 

There was some food pairings to go along with our wine and that was probably a good thing because us lightweights were feeling it!

We actually got to meet one of the Hill family members (the son, Ryan) and he was so welcoming to our small group. Platypus has a great reputation with many of these wineries, so we were treated so well!

I should also note that Washington Street is like something out of a book, or movie. It is so perfect and precious that I honestly felt like I was dreaming. From the flowers to the feeling it gave you...ugh, precious!

Laird Family Estate

Laird Family Estate was our third stop. We got to sit out on a patio and enjoy our tasting while looking out over the winery. It was gorgeous! It is always so interesting to hear how wineries came about and Laird's story did not disappoint. 

Andretti Winery

The last stop on our tour was at the Andretti Winery. Yes, as in Mario Andretti. When we drove up I felt like we were in another country. It was such a stunning winery and the people were so sweet to us. 

By this time we were a little tipsy. In Napa, when you spill your wine on your shirt, they call it the 'Napa Tie-Dye.' Chris was taking my picture when all of a sudden I hear, "Oh man. Honey, I got the Napa tie dye..."

We were dying laughing!!

Isn't he precious?!

All in all this was probably my most favorite day of the trip. Next time, we are planning a trip just to Napa. Not just for the delicious wine, but the atmosphere is something I have never been around and this quaint town now has a special place in my heart!

If you have any questions, or are planning a trip to Napa, I would be happy to try and help out!

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