Bike Ride to Sausalito, CA

Anais Nin once wrote "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." I'd like to think that mine expanded an additional 8 miles last March 14, 2007. :-)

Yeah, I know. 8 miles doesn't really sound like much. Definitely not the longest distance I've managed. But it's definitely a ride that I've always been afraid to take. And here I am, not a scratch on me! Woohoo!

Anybody who can ride a bike can do this ride (a knowledge of shifting gears wouldn't hurt, either). I took the 22-Fillmore to the end of the line, right on Marina Blvd. to get to the bike trail. The trail is clearly marked as you can see below:

I didn't really trust myself to be able to make it on my own (my sense of direction being what it is), so I waited until I got my handheld GPS to make this trip. Using a simplified map provided by Blazing Saddles, I used Google Earth's satellite view to plot coordinates and create my route in my GPS. In hindsight, I probably could have managed with just my handwritten directions but when you have billions of dollars worth of satellites hovering overhead to assist you, why not use 'em?

After taking a short detour to Fort Point, I doubled back to The Warming Hut where I had to make a series of climbs up to the Golden Gate Bridge. (a harsh reminder that I have to get my darned ass in shape one of these days . There are two paths on the bridge, (East and West), but at that time only the East side was open. Again, the path is clearly marked.

Through the length of the bridge are crisis counseling phones like this, a grim reminder that the Golden Gate Bridge is not only famous for its beauty but also for its allure to those wanting to end their lives.

The only thing annoying about going solo is that nobody is there to take my picture, so it definitely takes a certain amount of chutzpah to stop passers-by to take my picture, and then trading cameras with them so that I can take their picture. The trade is fair enough - usually the tourists are happy to oblige.

Whew! We made it across! This is a view of the bridge from the Vista Point on the Marin side.

After that, it is all downhill to Sausalito. Wheeeee!!!

Finally made it downtown. The GPS receiver was so accurate that when I uploaded my trip info to Google Earth Plus, it was able to pinpoint and zoom-in to the actual bench that I rested my bike on! Kewl beans, man!

After spending a little time in Sausalito it was finally time to take the ferry home. This is not some tourist ride but an actual part of the Golden Gate Transit system, so don't expect a leisurely ride. It costs about $6.75, I think. There is no pay booth at the pier. All you need to do is get on the ferry and pay inside.

On the ferry you can clearly see who the locals and who the tourists were. The locals were the ones wise enough to stay inside the warmth of the ship. The tourists (me included) were the idiots who were standing on the deck freezing our collective asses off. As a reward, I ended up sniffling with a runny nose for days. Note to self: stay indoors!

All in all, it was a good trip. I made the mistake of leaving home too late in the afternoon, because if I had left earlier I would have rode all the way to Tiburon. Unfortunately, I didn't know how long it would take me and I might miss the Tiburon ferry to go back home (they don't run as frequently as the Sausalito ferry). Well,there's always next time.

Here's a map from Google Earth showing my GPS tracks. You can see my trip details (elevation, min/max speed, time, coordinates, etc on my Motionbased.com page. Not that impressive, I have to agree. But for me and my lazy butt, this is the Tour de France, baby!

more pics of this ride at my Flickr.com page.

The Lives of Others ("Das Leben der Anderen")

After watching “The Lives of Others” I couldn’t help but be reminded that a “thriller” does not need to have gunfights or car chases to bring you to the edge of your seat. This is definitely a must-see movie, and the guys at the Oscars agree. This movie won Best Foreign Language Film.


The story revolves around three people – Gerd Wiesler, a straight-arrow but cold and ruthless member of the Stasi, East Berlin’s secret police, Georg Dreyman - a famous playwright, and his girlfriend Christa-Maria Sieland – a famous stage actress.


The movie is set in East Berlin in the 80’s. The Minister of Culture has become obsessed with the beautiful actress Christa, and he has given Gerd Wiesler the task of conducting 24-hour surveillance on Georg. His objective is to find anything illegal that Georg might be doing (even though his record had been spotless so far), so that he can get Georg out of the way and have Christa for himself. The task was simple enough – stay in the sidelines. Never interfering, only watching and listening.

The best part of the movie for me was the incomparable Ulrich Muhe, who played Wiesler. His transformation as a character was unmistakable. As his involvement in the lives of Georg and Christa deepen, so did his emotion. As he witnessed their lives in his surveillance room, he realized the bitter truth of his lonely, loveless life in contrast to the richness of theirs, in their relationship with each other and the friends that they have. He turns from cold calculation, to sorrow, anger, fear, (even mischief) and eventually deep concern.

He makes a choice to step over the line and involve himself, and by his actions he creates a chain of events that will irrevocably change their lives.

Definitely 5/5 stars.
(in German, with subtitles)

Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno)

This was just an incredible movie. It was hard for me to imagine that the same Guillermo del Toro who directed “Hellboy” was the same guy who made this movie. Not since the late 80’s when I watched Jim Henson’s “Dark Crystal” have I ever been so horrified, moved and engrossed by what some would classify as a fantasy movie. Called a “grown-up’s fairy tale,” Pan’s Labyrinth is definitely not for the faint of heart, but for those who are willing to take the journey it is definitely worth it.

The story is set in the 1930’s, during the Spanish Civil War. Ofelia is a young girl who moves with her pregnant mother to a rural military outpost to be with her new stepfather, the ruthless Captain Vidal. The captain is in charge of taking on resistance fighters in the mountains nearby.

Beside the outpost is an old garden with a labyrinth, and this is where Ofelia meets the Faun. He tells her that she could be the princess that their kingdom had lost long ago, and to prove that she was worthy of regaining her throne he gave her a magical book outlining 3 tasks she must complete before the full moon arrives.

Two characters stood out for me in this movie, both of them women. The first of course was Ofelia, played by the amazing Ivana Baquero. The intensity in which she was able to convey Ofelia’s innocence and strength literally grabbed me by the collar throughout the whole movie. The other character was the housekeeper Mercedes played by Maribel Verdu. (I was surprised at her transformation from the seductress she had played in “Y Tu Mama Tambien”). Mercedes was the other heroine of this story, and I could clearly see the depth of her courage strengthening with her resolve. With the same mouth she once used to say “I am a coward” also came the chilling words “you are not the first pig I’ve ever gutted” as she held a knife against a tormentor, rage burning in her eyes.

The movie is completely in Spanish with subtitles, and it worked perfectly. The fluidity of the Spanish language made me feel like I was listening to music instead of spoken words. The score also played a great part, the movie’s main theme is a sad lullaby, hummed because the words have long been forgotten. The cinematography was also a work of art in itself, almost a gray monotone throughout the film except in the Faun’s fantasy world.

There were a lot of themes in this movie: The depth of a child’s love, fearless in its simplicity. The courageous choices that ordinary people make, even in the face of great danger or even death, to stand up for those they love and what they believe in. The savage, cold-blooded brutality that the powerful can inflict over the weak. The truth that our external battles can only be faced and fought when we’ve conquered our battles and fears from within.

As I was exiting the theatre after the movie ended, I happened to glance down at a couple that was in one of the lower seats. A man was holding his wife, who was sobbing openly (and quite audibly, I might add) in his arms. Sheepishly I wondered if anyone would notice that my eyes were puffy too (since I had been crying myself). It was hard to deny the strong emotions that all of us felt, even after the end credits rolled by. For me, it was a bittersweet feeling – of grief at the heavy cost of Ofelia’s choice, and then sharing in her triumph in spite of her great sacrifice.

5/5 stars.