I’ll start this article off by saying “I’ll never do that again!”.
On one of my visits to San Francisco, I was at Fisherman’s Wharf hanging out. You can see the Golden Gate Bridge very easily. It seems right there.
As I’m walking around, I see bicycle rentals. I get the bright idea to rent one and ride to the bridge.
Along the way, I pass a marina that reminds me of the beginning of the T.V. show “Gilligan’s Island”.
I start to realize that the bridge is not “right there”. And it’s all uphill pedaling. I’m getting really burned out, but I press onward.
At one point, I stopped to snap this photo of San Francisco… and also to rest, lol.
As I got closer to the bridge, I was glad that I made the ride because I was getting some good photos that most don’t, unless they do what I did and get tired as hell doing it.
I thought this was cool to look up at the bridge from this spot. You can see how high I have to go to get near the beginning of the bridge.
The Golden Gate Bridge opened at 6 a.m. on May 27, 1937. 200,000 people crossed, what was then, the longest suspension bridge in the world. People walked, ran, tap danced and roller skated their way across.
After I got to my destination, I was relieved. The ride back was cake.
Joseph B. Strauss was the architect and designer.
Later, I drove across.
Many don’t know that the Golden Gate Bridge is the top suicide location in the world.
Eleven men died during construction of the bridge.
Many don’t get to see the bridge from this side. I like it.
When the steel arrived for construction, they noticed that the primer for protection was colored “Burnt Orange”. They liked that bright color over a darker gray or similar color. And as an added bonus, it made the bridge easier to see in fog.
San Francisco funny facts: the Chinese fortune cookie was invented by a Japanese man living in San Francisco.
San Francisco passed the first “Ugly Law” in 1867. The law prohibited unsightly people from showing their face in public.
The cost to build the bridge was 27 million dollars. The bridge is a toll bridge and each vehicle must pay $6 dollars.
The Golden Gate Bridge is the most photographed bridge in the world. The total length of the bridge is 8,981 feet and it’s 746 feet above the water.
You can see Alcatraz Island from this side of the bridge but it’s not as close. When Al Capone was there he played in the prison band on Sunday’s. He played the banjo.
On the North side of the bridge is the “Lone Sailor Memorial”. It’s of a sailor getting his last look at San Francisco before he leaves for duty at sea.
Approximately 1.5 million men and women shipped out of San Francisco during WWII.
To build the bridge today would cost approximately 1.2 billion dollars.
An estimated 1.9 billion vehicles have used the bridge to cross San Francisco Bay.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about the Golden Gate Bridge. Although I was tired from the bicycle ride, it was well worth it because tired fades but photos last forever.
You can see my 25,000 photos on my website along with my travel and event videos.
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Spider Michaels
Beautiful!