A gust of wind whips around the first tower jutting heavenward 764 feet. In an attempt to stay balanced on two wheels, we dismount from our bicycles and gaze up at the hypnotic steel beams slicing through the thick fog. They’re painted an arresting “international orange.” The surface of the San Francisco Bay is 200 feet below and the current churns swiftly against a red channel marker. Sail boats appear miniature from this vantage as they tack upwind. We snap a few pictures. There’s still more than a mile to cover before we’re in Marin County and on the other side, so we get back on our bikes and keep pedaling across the majestic Golden Gate Bridge.
In San Francisco, it doesn’t take long to understand why bicycling is such a popular pastime amongst locals. Trails abound from the San Francisco waterfront, across the Golden Gate Bridge and throughout Marin County’s coastline offering resplendent views of the picturesque Bay Area.
Rent your bikes from Blazing Saddles at Pier 41 in Fisherman’s Wharf. They offer 24-hour rentals starting at $32 and a free ferry ride back to San Francisco is included in the price, so you can check the harbor tour off your To Do List.
You have three options for your bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge. You can simply bike across it and turn right back around to where you started, or venture onto Sausalito and even farther to Tiburon. Take your time and walk around these bayfront towns and then catch the ferry back to San Francisco from either location.
Option 1: The Golden Gate Bridge, 9 Miles Roundtrip
Start out on the meandering beachside trail of Presidio National Park where you’ll spy some of San Francisco’s most coveted Victorian era homes, many of which are owned by celebrities. Stop for the occasional scenic photo opp as you make your approach to the bridge. Upon arrival, get the gears clicking and pedal up the mild incline towards the spindly orange steel of the 1.7 mile-long suspension bridge.
The Bay Area’s microclimate leaves San Francisco chilly and blanketed by fog even in the summer months. You’ll experience this in full force, along with a gusty wind as you pedal across the bridge. At a midway point, stop and gaze behind you at San Francisco’s rolling pastel topography. Ahead, the golden, craggy cliffs of Marin County’s rocky shoreline awaits.
Krista on the Golden Gate Bridge
Once you’ve accomplished the feat of bicycling across the Golden Gate Bridge, you could turn right around and make your way back to Blazing Saddles–but then you’d miss out on all that North County has to offer.
Option 2: Sausalito, 8 Miles One-Way
Miraculously, the bone chilling fog of San Francisco has burned off and the climate in Marin County is more akin to warm and sunny Southern California. It was this side of the Bay where Otis Redding penned the lyrics, “Sitting in the morning sun, I’ll be sitting when the evening comes…” In the warmer clime of Marin County, you can imagine doing just that.
Continue downhill on a path along the freeway towards the idyllic harbor town of Sausalito. Here, lock up your bikes and take a stroll along the water by houseboat row. You can window shop at boutiques and art galleries or dine outside at a cafe.
This is the first point along the way where ferries shuttle back and forth to San Francisco, but I urge you to forge on. Turn those eight miles into sixteen and continue your ride to Tiburon.
Option 3: Tiburon, 16 Miles One-Way
Tiburon
This stretch of the trail follows a horseshoe-like path as Richardson Bay cuts into the land. The scenery feels like a nature preserve with mallards and their ducklings following the leader  while elegant egrets and herons sun their long necks in the shallow marshlands.
Tiburon lies at the tip of the peninsula with spectacular views of Angel Island State Park, Alcatraz and downtown San Francisco’s skyline. And this is where the payoff awaits. While away the afternoon at Sam’s Anchor CafĂ©. A mainstay in Tiburon since 1920, the place is almost always packed. Tables on the spacious outdoor waterfront deck are available on a first-come-first-serve basis and they’re absolutely worth the wait. The cioppino is to die for with Dungeness crab, clams, prawns, mussels and fresh local fish all simmering in a spicy tomato broth and the ahi tuna burger with wasabi aioli hits the spot. Order their famous and refreshing pink lemonade vodka cocktail and enjoy the views, the sunshine and the buzzy scene.
Harbor Tour Back to San Francisco
After a cross-county bike ride and a languorous lunch, go ahead and loll in the green belt next to Sam’s awaiting the next ferry to chug along transporting the masses back to San Francisco. There’s a nearby ice-cream shop to sweeten the deal after lunch.
Once you board the ferry, a deckhand will help you stow your bicycles down below, so you can enjoy the harbor tour on the upper deck unencumbered. Take in the sweeping views from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Tiburon Peninsula and relish in the journey you’ve just completed. As the ferry rolls towards San Francisco, you might even find yourself blissfully whistling along to “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay.”
