Bicycle Ride over the Golden Gate and back through the Presidio

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My 14 hour flight was to depart from San Francisco's International Airport (SFO) at 10pm that night, so I wanted to do all I could to be good an exhausted by the time I got on that plane to enable me to sleep as much as possible. My plan worked quite well. While I didn't have a terribly restful sleep, and it was often interrupted, by the time we landed in Sydney, I was ready to take on the day in front of me which included a two hour layover followed by a three hour flight to Auckland.

In any case, this entry shows what I saw on my bike ride from Fisherman's Wharf over the Golden Gate bridge and back, and I also swung up into the Presidio on the way back to Fisherman's Wharf.

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Photos

East side of Fort Mason
Just West of Fisherman's Wharf at this point.

Tree Lined Bike Path
These looked like Cypress trees and were a cool addition to this stretch of the bike path.

Fort Point Below Golden Gate Bridge
Fort Point was in place prior to the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, and the architect of the Golden Gate Bridge was suitably taken by Fort Point that he made a point of architecting the bridge so that Fort Point could be left entirely as is. Hence the arc structure in the bridge directly above Fort Point.
You can find out more about the Fort Point national historic site here : http://www.nps.gov/fopo/.
Note the ocean going ship (blue) about to cross under the bridge.

Polar Resolution
That is what the text reads up on the bow of this ship. It must be used to dealing with colder temperatures than this.

Scenic Overlook
It is a long way down to the water. No wonder people don't survive when they jump off this bridge.

Suspension Cable
They look like a mere thread from a distance, but from this vantage point you can tell they are quite industrial strength.

Looking South
From Marin side looking South to the Peninsula.

San Francisco from Marin side
From the Vista Point rest area actually.

Presidio Cypress
I think these are Cypress. These trees were quite abundant in this area.

Horses
With the Presidio having so much real estate, why not have a few horses around?

San Francisco National Cemetery
Northern most point of the cemetery.

San Francisco National Cemetery entrance
Quite the majestic setting.

Barracks
Or at least that is what they were originally commissioned for.

Center Lawn
A rather large grassy area in the middle of the Presidio. This area was probably done this way to acknowledge the importance of work being done here.

Presidio Golf Course
After some hard work on the bike to ascend to the higher elevations within the Presidio, I finally find the golf course. I had no time to consider hitting a bucket of balls or anything though.

Tree Lined Fairway
Fairly formidable look as the fairway narrows heading down the hole.

Presidio Golf Course
Would be fun to play this course on a warm sunny day. Might have to plan an October trip for such an outing.

Presidio Entrance
I believe this marker notes the Southmost entrance into the Presidio from the city.

Twin Peaks
The metal structure there partially obscured by fog is known as Twin Peaks. You can drive right up to the base of the structure and get good views of the city and bay and such. Bring a sweater and a windbreaker or a warm jacket as it can be cool and windy up there.

Alcatraz and Palace of Fine Arts
The domed building there is the Palace of the Fine Arts building, with of course Alcatraz in the background. This shot was taken from a scenic overlook about 1/4 mile from the entrance to the Presidio Golf Course.