Un Vacuous: The Cycle of Life

Last Sunday, I went on my first bike ride in the city. Big deal! People go on bike rides everyday. For most SF residents, it is their only way of transportation. But you see, I have not been on a bicycle in years!

The adventure started at Golden Gate Park. I rented a bike for the afternoon. My friend is an avid bike rider and thought it would be a great idea to ride through the park then Great Highway and eventually end up at SF Zoo.

It sounded like a great idea at the time. What a fun way to spend my Sunday. So different from my usual walk or hike so I thought, why not. Let's shake things up a bit.

Let's set the mood...

I woke up that morning and my place was still dark. The outside light was barely breaking through the curtain. I was proud of myself that I woke up early for I was anticipating the day ahead. I stretched out to reach for my cell phone to check the time only to be surprised that it was in fact closer to 10:00 am. Alright, I thought, it's going to be one of those SF summer day where the fog doesn't burn off until later in the afternoon. When I finally got ready and headed out the door, it was a little bit past noon. We had a leisurely breakfast at a cafe nearby and went off on our way.

I finally got on my bike and started pedaling at half past two. The sun was still behind a thick layer of cloud and it was fairly cold. No matter I thought, I would get warm once I start pedaling and get my heart rate going. The first 10 minutes was nerve wracking. I was wobbly, nervous, awkward and giddy all at the same time. I was also trying to figure out the whole shifting gear thing. It was so confusing!

When I first learned how to ride a bike back in the Philippines, there was no such thing as brakes let alone shift gears. There was one speed; fast! Brakes? If your lucky you could stop using the soles of your feet much like the Flinstones :D The unfortunates ones though like myself would fall to stop. It was only a matter of which part of my body would break my fall. No parts were spared. My arms, wrists, knees, chin and elbows have all had their share of scrapes, cuts, open wounds and bruises. I have visible scars to this day. Despite all that, I have never broken anything. That's a miracle in itself! So you can just imagine my relief when I found out that parts of the park were closed off from cars on Sunday's. It at least gave me a few minutes to acclimate myself to bike riding once again.

We weaved through the park and stopped for some photo opps. It was fun. I saw parts of the park that I've been wanting to see but never really had the chance. We reached the outskirts of Golden Gate park and was now on Great Highway.

Tulip Garden

The weather was not cooperating with the mood I was in. The fog was thick and now being really closed to the water there were no trees to block the wind, it was also cold and misty. I pedaled my way up Great Highway and had to stop every so often to wipe my glasses because it was dripping wet from the mist. My dress was wet and I was getting tired. I finally got the hang of shifting the gears to make it easier for me to pedal up the little hills. We finally reached our first destination, SF Zoo.

Tea Time (Java Beach Cafe)

Because we had a late start, we didn't get to the zoo until closer to 3:30 and it closes at 5:00pm so we decided to skip the zoo and join the rest of the group at Stern Grove to watch the SF Ballet. This was the part that totally wiped me out. The way to Stern Grove was a steady incline up. So hard! My legs were like Jello - not when it's jiggly and ready to eat, more like the liquid state of it :)

We finally reached Stern Grove and I just about passed out on Azmeera's lap. I caught the last 15 minutes of the performance

Wiped out

I like analogies and I can say that my bike ride was sort of like life in general. There were times that I pedaled my heart out without the use of the gears. It was hard but worth it in the end and then there were times when I used the gears to help me up the hill. I liken the shift gears to my friends and family. Most of the time I go through life's struggles on my own but more often than not, I rely on my friends and family to give me a hand. To offer words of comfort, a hug or just a swift kick in the butt to get me going again.

I'm celebrating life, I'm having fun, I'm connecting, I'm loving, I'm Yours -

Dinner at Tsunami