by John Griffin, Staff Writer          9 photos by Ed.

It was the 4th of June, a bright and breezy San Francisco day, and it was just made to order for Apres Ski Club’s traditional Train, Bike, Bridge ride. The streets were alive with people enjoying all the activities that make San Francisco such a unique city. Apres usually holds this ride on Memorial weekend, but due to scheduling issues it was moved this year to the weekend following. It was a lot less crowded than Memorial weekend and in the future we may just move the event to the fist Saturday in June.

The Tour, as I like to call it, starts with a train ride up the Peninsula, picking up Apres cycling enthusiasts along the way. Once in the City, the ride starts at the Cal-Train station at Fourth and Townsend. This year we had veterans and new comers alike and everyone was excited to get started. There were several new bikes and this was a good opportunity for their owners to show them off.

The most challenging terrain is in the first one-third of the ride, so our first stop is at the “South Beach Café” on the Embarcadero for some sustenance in the form of Italian coffee, snacks and some getting-acquainted conversation.

Once rejuvenated, the group speeds along the water front passing all the cars stuck in traffic and weaving through the throngs of pedestrians, roller bladders, street musicians, farmers market, and other cyclists. As we pass Fisherman’s Warf, the aroma of fresh garlic bread was wafting in the air. Soon we were passing the Hyde St. pier and the tall ships of Aquatic Park at the foot of Ghirardelli Square, heading for our first real climb at Fort Masson. This hill is a mini Alp d’huez for you Tour d’France buffs, and you really need your alpine gears. A couple of the riders had some adjectives to describe the hill that I won’t share at this time.

After a photo-op at the top of Fort Masson Hill, and a pause to catch your breath, the group enjoyed the down hill ride to the Marina, which was filled with sun bathers, kite flyers, frisbee catching dogs and their owners, and onlookers. After passing the Saint Francis Yacht Club we entered the bike path at Crissy Field at the Presidio and are now heading toward Fort Point and the Golden Gate Bridge. Starting just short of the lighthouse, we start our second climb. This one is more demanding than the first and culminates with another photo-op, this time with the Bridge in the background. From this vantage point, we could get a good view of the Bay, which was dotted with boats, with some serious sailboat racing underway. As we took in the view we reflected on what a truly great place this is.

Now, with the major climbing behind us we headed across the Golden Gate, the center of which is literally, the high point of the trip. Once across, we started the very fast down hill plunge into Sausalito. Again, you could pass the cars on the road if you wanted to, but this time, they’re going the speed limit. What a blast. Don’t worry though, if you don’t want to go that fast, that’s ok too. We always stop to regroup and no one is left behind. This ride is for any level. All you need is to be able to ride a bike.

Ok, back to the story. After we regroup in Sausalito, we head out across the marshland on a well-paved bike trail towards Mill Valley. We take a right on Blithdale and do a couple of easy ups and downs, followed by some ins and outs through the very-up-market Lagoon Neighborhood and finally ending up in down town Tiburon at about 1:00 PM. After a little discussion we settled on the Sweden House for lunch on their Bay side veranda. We had a good lunch, and their Swedish pastries were on steroids. Life is good.

After lunch and a little digestive wandering around, we caught the 3:00 PM ferry. After a stop at Ayala Cove on Angle Island, we made San Francisco pier 43 by 3:40. Some made a mad dash for the 4:00 O’clock train, while others enjoyed a very civilized social hour in a local watering hole before heading for home. I think all would agree that this was a pretty good day and I’m looking forward to doing it again.