Big Wheel Biker Gang 2006 U.S. Tour

With ten dollars less in my pocket, I was across the Golden Gate Bridge and parked in the southwest parking lot. After a trip under the bridge and back to the car and back under the bridge(I had forgotten the monkey in the car), I was finally, officially at the Golden Gate Bridge. With Midnight by my side, I scoped out the grade of the bridge to see if I would finally become the first man to big wheel across the Golden Gate Bridge. Needing time to consider the feasability, I decided to explore the adjoining park and fort.
Rolling down a few hills in the park on Midnight, I was at Fort Point, just under the south end of the bridge. Fort Point is not a horse friendly fort, if anyone was planning on visiting with their horse. The park ranger said he was going to put Midnight by the door and keep an eye on him. After wandering around the fort for awhile, I returned to find Midnight unattended. Way to go ranger guy! Guess it’s best that keeping the streets safe is left to the Big Wheel Biker Gang.
Enough of this sightseeing, it was time to make history! I was determined to ride all 1.7 miles, but it wasn’t as easy as you’d think. Because of the grade of the bridge, it was impossible to ride from one end to another. I was going to ride it in two parts. First I rode the north half and then returned to the middle to ride the south half. Although the slope was too great to ride uphill, it was not large enough to be able to glide downhill. Crossing the bridge required 1.7 miles of strenuous, continuous pedaling. A little more sore and slightly fatigued, I had successfully covered the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge. Unfortunately that is when tragedy struck. Pulling off of the south end of the bridge into the park, Midnight started to waiver. And then… Bam! Midnight’s wheel turned sideways. The friction and heat of the axle over the last 1.7 miles had worn a hole through the middle of the rear wheel. A horse with a broken leg would be put down, but I wasn’t going to give up that easily on Midnight. We had been through too much together! (Thanks to the peson that sent the well wishes on the guest book) Carrying Midnight back to the car, I let him rest in the backseat while I took Hank around to see the sights. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to see Alcatraz. Maybe next trip. I hear Alcatraz on Easter is a wonderful time.
Speaking of Easter, it was time to go see Lombard Street. What does that have to do with Easter you ask? Well, the Biker Gang will be racing down Lombard Street at 2pm on Easter Sunday. Come one, come all. After parking in the Ghirardelli parking garage, I was climbing up the huge hills of San Francisco with my back up big wheel, “Racer 3.” You didn’t think I’d come unprepared, did you? Standing at the top of Lombard Street, it was going to be tough to get down with all of the traffic. There’s a continuous stream of tourists driving down the street. I needed a plan. Standing at the very edge of the brick road, looking around, thinking, I could see people starting to stare at me. They knew I was up to something. Then the key to the ride showed up. The trolley. Every so often the trolley would park just right, so traffic would be blocked in all directions. That was my opportunity. Hopping on Racer 3, I was flying around the turns of Lombard Street as cameras were flashing. Unfortunately, 2/3 of the way down I ran into traffic. Being a cautious driver on my first attempt, I waited in line between a pickup truck and a car. Once at the end, I waited my turn at the stop sign to go. My turn. I was off. Across the street and down the biggest hill I’ve ever ridden. Both feet on the ground and I was still flying. I could see a frightened Asian family at the bottom. As they moved to jump out of the way, I pulled a hard right and stopped just short of them. To properly scope out the track for the Easter race, I headed back up to the top. Timing the trolley just right, I was off again. This time I wasn’t going to let traffic bother me. Approaching the first car, I swerved to the right… Swerved to the left past car number two… Car three… Car four… Past car five to the bottom. Piece of cake. Heading back up the hill to go to my car, I was stopped and interviewed on a home video. Just one of the many cameras I ended up on that day.
Unfortunately time was running short, and it was time to start the long trek east. I’m going to miss the west coast, but I’ll be back!
Up next… “The whirlwind tour home…” Stay tuned to see if Midnight pulls through.
P.S. As soon as I review all of the Golden Gate Bridge video footage, I’ll let you know how long the ride actually took.

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