Bicycle Touring America

This week’s Travelsonabike2 bicycle touring on this day post comes from America on the 4th of July 2012. There can only really be one post from the past for the Fourth of July. I was in America at the time and was lucky enough to be joined by two lovely ladies. I’d met Linda and her mum when I first arrived in America. Some 4000 miles ago in San Francisco.

Wednesday, 4th July 2012. In New York City.

It’s American Independence Day. Linda and Eva arrived late yesterday, and after they’d checked in, we went out for something to eat. We then went on the Staten Island ferry, which gave us a good view of the Manhattan skyline at night. I’m surprised they wanted to do anything after their five-hour flight. But I wasn’t complaining.

It seemed to take forever to get moving this morning, but then that’s the joys of playing the tourist with a couple of women. What do they do that takes so long? Once they’d shown up, we went to the Brooklyn Bridge, which we walked along. It was a bit of a shame as it was covered in scaffolding. But hey, at least I sort of saw it.

We then took a walk around Wall Street, which, as you can imagine, was completely deserted, being a national holiday. After Wall Street, we made our way to the World Trade Centre and saw the new building (One World Trade Center) they were putting up to replace the twin towers. We also booked some tickets for tomorrow to go and see Ground Zero.

In The Evening

Tonight, we went on a boat on the Hudson River to watch the Fourth of July fireworks. Not that we could really see them, but it was still good, my second night of seeing the Manhattan skyline at night. The Empire State Building was lit in the colours of the American flag: red, white and blue. We finished the evening off by going to Times Square, which was buzzing with people and had a good atmosphere.

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If you want to find out if Garry’s away touring at the moment and check his location, visit the Where’s Garry page.

Bicycle Touring America

This week’s Travelsonabike2 bicycle touring on this day post comes from America on the 16th May 2012: childhood memories and an invitation out for supper.

Wednesday, May 16th 2012, in San Francisco.

I had a late start today. I didn’t wake up until ten o’clock. My lack of sleep yesterday seems to have caught up with me. But hopefully, I’m all caught up now. Once I was up, I went in search of some maps and gas for my camping stove. I could use petrol, but I preferred gas. It’s a lot cleaner. It took a lot of walking and searching, but eventually, I managed to source both items.

Once I’d sorted out my supplies, I visited Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. I saw the sea lions, which apparently only appeared after the earthquake in 1989. Fisherman’s Wharf felt like a theme park, with loads of themed shops. I enjoyed the sea lions, though, watching them basking in the sun. I also saw that you could get a boat to Alcatraz, which I might visit tomorrow. I also went to Lombard Street, the most crooked street in the world. I remembered that street from when I was young. It used to appear in an old television series, “The Streets of San Francisco” (with Carl Malden). I also recall it being in the “Dirty Harry” films.

I Got Invited Out For Supper

I got invited out to a Thai buffet tonight. Linda, the American lady I spoke to last night, invited me to join her and her mum. The food was lovely, and the company was excellent, but the restaurant was a bit odd. They had a big pool in the middle of the place with a volcano in its centre. And every so often, they had a thunder and lightning effect go off. I think it was to mimic the volcano erupting. It didn’t really work. But as I said, the food was lovely, and the company was good. And I wouldn’t have gone there had I not been invited by Linda and Eva.

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with a monthly photo update that I publish each month.

If you want to find out if Garry’s away touring at the moment and check his location, visit the Where’s Garry page.