Adventures in San Francisco: The San Fran Marathon and Golden Gate Park

The SWAE Sports team will be spending the next week in San Francisco, meeting with outfitters, visiting old friends and exploring the sights and sounds of the Bay Area.

“Adventures in San Francisco” will begin a series of posts and photos of my adventures in The City and continual updates of SWAE’s progress with Bay Area outfitters. Check out the adventures through photos in our Rad Photos section.

Our team will now consist of six people; Elliot Bates, Alex Pelley, Brendan Mullholand will join up with Dan, Will and I. Bates was on the first part of SWAE’s trip in Washington, but had other engagements in Boulder, Colo. to attend to when I met the team in Seattle. Al and Brendan will be flying into San Fran in the next couple of days; more to come as I get introduced to the new members of our crew.

Our room in the Monarch Hotel, stuffed with every possession we had.

Our room in the Monarch Hotel was not built to accommodate five people. The room was 15′ x 20′ with a bathroom, two queen-sized beds, a T.V. and a desk. We were able to stuff four bikes, as well as the rest of everyone’s luggage, into the cramped space, two people sleeping in each bed and one person crashing on the floor. It wasn’t comfortable, but we were used to being closely tucked into tight spaces together.

Bates’ alarm began to ring at 6:15 a.m. on Sunday morning, July 26. His girlfriend Sarah had woken up at 4:45 a.m. to get ready to run with her wave of the San Francisco Marathon starting at 5:50. I willed myself out of my sleeping bag to join Will and Bates to see Sarah finish in Golden Gate Park. It was irregular for me to wake up this early, but I had been getting use to early wake up calls since I’d been on this trip and I was interested to see what all the commotion was about.

We made it to the park just after Sarah finished; she was clocked for the half-marathon at two hours and 10 minutes. Streams of people could be seen along the streets and paths surrounding Golden Gate Park. Some, marked by their bibs, shoes and sometimes interesting running outfits, participating in the race. Others were wrapped up in warm clothes against the chilly morning fog, cheering the runners on, passing out bananas and other goodies.

Since we were up, we moseyed out of the park and found a bike-friendly cafe called the Velo Rouge and sat down to eat breakfast.

The Conservatory of Flowers, built in 1878.

Afterwards, Sarah and Bates left for the hotel, while Will and I decided to explore the Golden Gate Park, a 1,017-acre space in the middle of Downtown San Francisco full of recreational opportunities, greenery and cultural experiences.

Our first stop was the Conservatory of Flowers, which has been a landmark in San Francisco since 1878. We only had a look at the outside of the conservatory, but the flowers were gorgeous. There was a statue of James Garfield next to the conservatory.

From the Conservatory of Flowers we rode deeper into the park and tried to sneak into the Japanese Tea Gardens. I was halfway through the entrance before a cashier caught me. Luckily I didn’t get in trouble and just got a cold finger wag and reprimand.

Flowers glow in the sun in the San Francisco Botanical Gardens.

The sun payed a visit mid-morning as Will and I rode on towards the San Francisco Botanical Gardens in the Strybing Arboretum. The sunlight touched everything.

Green leaves glowed brightly on trees. Flowers were illuminated by the light throughout the gardens, creating a perfect opportunity to snap photos. Birds chirped in the ponds, bees buzzed in flowers and a turtle sun bathed on some rocks.

The sun seems to energize all activity in San Francisco. Considering the constant fog and overcast skies, the sun is a greatly desired commodity in this part of the country.

We left the botanical gardens to go back to the hotel at around 1:30 p.m. to meet up with Bates and Sarah. We got an opportunity to go to the Legion of Honor Art Museum, which housed some amazing Impressionistic artwork from Van Gogh, Monet and other classic artists. Scultpures by Rodin were also housed in the museum, as well as an exploration of etching techniques from the late 1800’s.

Our first full day in San Francisco was full of excitement and I feel like I couldn’t capture enough of the atmosphere. It’s great to be back in a city and we will rest and prepare for a hectic week in the Bay Area.

To check out our adventures through pictures, check out our Rad Photos section on this blog and scroll down to the photo slideshows.