Our stay in Mendocino was far too short, this was certainly one of those places that two nights would have been better than one! But, we had places to go and people to see, so we were up and off pointing our wheels South along CA State Route 1 once more. What a great road, winding along the coast, high and low and through small seaside communities. Once again there were spectacular views around almost every corner.
Unfortunately for us, as forecast, the day got hotter and hotter, reaching record highs for this part of the coast. The air temperature thermometer on my bike read 114 degrees at one point!! This was now uncomfortably hot and we beat a hasty path to our next destination with no further stops.
When we started planning this trip, we decided we would like to see a bit more of California as we only spent a few days in Northern Cali on our last road trip. Then Tom floated the idea of riding our bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge! I was initially somewhat reluctant to consider this plan, having visions of nightmare traffic and crazy drivers. Fortunately for us we have some good friends living in Mill Valley, Marin County just North of the bridge. After a few e-mails a plan was hatched and Drew, and Melanie generously offered us a place to stay. We agreed that the weekend was the best time to cross the bridge so we confirmed dates, obtained the address and worked it into our master plan. We arrived at their lovely home on Friday afternoon. It was a happy reunion, such fun to see them again and get reacquainted with their boys who were quite small when we last got together. They are now fun loving boys who are a joy to be around!
Drew crosses the bridge most days as he works in San Francisco and recommended an early start to the next day. He took charge of the plan and executed it with great finesse. So..... alarms were set and in short order we were all out the door by 5:45am on Saturday. The entire Mount family loaded into their car and escorted us up to Hawk Hill. This was the initial view:
and within about 30 minutes:
It is so awe inspiring to see these iconic landmarks in person.
Next on the agenda:
A great shot taken by Melanie from the escort vehicle.
It was so easy to do the ride following the car and thankfully not a lot of traffic! We were guided to the Southern View Point:
and then the Northern Viewpoint after crossing the bridge back again:
For us it was the ride of a lifetime and a true Bucket List event ticked off. We will be grateful to the Mount Family for ever for making this a dream come true!!
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