The Industrial Athlete

Currently a very busy port, this harbor sees a huge number of automobiles shipped in from overseas that are then loaded into trains for transport across the continent.

One thing I am really enjoying about being injured and needing to rely on the bike for training is... you can go a lot farther in a given amount of time and see a lot more of the world during your workout.

Last week, we turned our heads to the east and rode the bike looking at  The Semi-Urban Athlete's  view in my 'hood. This week, we take a trip north and west along the trail and discover some of the 'hood's industrially scenic past and present...

one of the Victory ships that was built here is now open to the public

Several days ago, I introduced you to the Rosie the Riveter Memorial, which is here because of the Kaiser Shipyards from WWII, but the area's industrial past began before that. Stepping back to the Great Depression, there was the largest assembly plant on the West Coast... the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant shown below...

The Ford Plant was used for military purposes during the War Effort and was recently turned into an events venue... someday I want to go to a party here... it is beautiful!

Before automobiles were commonplace, there was a thriving brickmaking industry along my route...

Beautiful waterfront homes across the street from the Brickworks pay homage to the area's thriving shipping history...

There is a very important history of railroad here as well. At the turn of the 19th century, it became the westernmost point in the Transcontinental Railroad...

Below is the ferry terminus... the end of the line. 

From here, people and things were ferried over to San Francisco. 

The Bay and Golden Gate Bridges made this service obsolete in the 1930's.

This whole loop is somewhere in the vicinity of 8 or 9 miles...and yes, for real, all of these things were easily photographed on my ride :) The ride was equal parts historic interest and scenic beauty AND just pretty gross junkyards and bombed-out looking warehouses. Maybe I'll show those things next time :)

And just over this bridge...

is the real ghetto.

I'm still too scared to go in there on my bike or running even though I do drive there often.

This activity in an adjacent parking lot reminded me to stay on this side of the bridge...

They did all of a sudden race over the bridge with sirens blaring... and there was a helicopter circling over head, too.

I was a little worried I'd get in trouble... or hurt... by taking this picture :P

***************************
And if you're looking for my oblivious observations from Sunday's San Francisco Marathon, you'll want to click here.
But if adorable children and their adorable antics are your thing... definitely hit this.
And the gadget was late last week, so if you missed it and want to see it, here's your link.