Travel Agent takes a hit for her clients!

I left my heart in San Francisco……or at least some skin and bone!

You can imagine my excitement when I was  offered  the chance to spend 4 nights in San Francisco – a city I have never visited…….all in the name of self improvement….all for you, our clients…..

What, with the dollar the way it is – I was dreaming of shopping, a little Californian wine, some clam chowder, maybe catching a 49ers game at Candlestick Park.

So you could imagine my horror when I received my itinerary a few days before departure to be faced with the prospect of a 9 mile push bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge….now Jo knows I would do anything in the line of work, I would eat, I would drink, I would inspect hotels, I would suffer a long haul flight, but come on…….do you know how expensive medical costs are in the States????  Me, being the wrong side of 40, on a bike, on the wrong side of the road (and as it turned out, in the rain) is just asking for trouble……..

Never has a truer word been spoken….

Apparently, this is an incredibly popular tour for visitors to Fisherman’s Wharf.  Grab a pushie, throw on a helmet and take off……get to Sausalito and ride the ferry back.  There are numerous companies that offer this.  On paper, the ride itself should have been spectacular. Pedal through Fort Mason, the Marina District, past some truly spectacular homes, stopping at the amazing and little known Palace of Fine Arts, which was built to commemorate the completion of the Panama Canal.  From there, pedal through the Presidio to the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. 

The experience would be unforgettable….so I put on my “game face” and gave it a go….I could do this, something to tell the kids and one day (assuming I survived) the grandkids about….

Things started badly – wet cable car tracks are really slippery (I am sure that wasn’t in the 10 page legal document I had signed prior to climbing on my bike……) and you guessed it, I hit the tarmac in the first two blocks……but as you do, you hop up, ignore the pain, laugh self consciously, embarrassed that you have caused a spectacle on the main tourist strip and push on…..all for you, our clients……

Once on the bridge I noticed emergency stations that were located short distances from each other with “Crisis Buttons”.  At this point in the ride, I knew there was no other reason on earth for these to be here except for unfit, inexperienced push bike riders like myself, who thought their life was almost over……all due to a bike ride…….

The good news was that the last three miles were in fact downhill and with just one more little hiccup, I rolled into the ferry terminal at Sausalito – somehow managed to dismount and board the ferry.  I toasted my success with a “BUD” as I looked at the beast I had managed to conquer – and boy, was it a long way up…..

So when you next see a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge, think of me…….and assuming the above article has enticed you into doing a trip to San Francisco, call in and see me and my scars and I can make this dream into reality….all for you, our client…..

Tina Lazell.