Take a Ride with Otis, my man

Earlier this week we all celebrated St. Patrick’s Day.  We’re not sure what to think about the day that celebrates the driving out of Ireland’s snakes.  The claim is dubious at best.  Our feeling is that Ireland never had any snakes in the first place.  It’s almost like saying the SBT drove all of the kangaroos out of Canada.  Anyway, the day before St. Paddy’s, March 16 is also day of distinction of sorts.  The day is noted as the first day of a four week run in the number one spot for the Otis Redding hit “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.”   Redding wrote the song with help from guitarist Steve Cropper while he lounged on a houseboat off Waldo Point in Sausalito, California.  Redding had come off an acclaimed set at the summer Monterrey Pop Festival, not far from Sausalito. 

The festival, held in 1967 and never again to date, also featured blistering sets by Jimi Hendrix, an ascendant The Who, and an up and coming Janis Joplin.  The black, soulful Redding may have seemed out of place but he hit the stage backed by Booker T and the MGs and did an inspired version of “Satisfaction” among some of the standards his black audience knew and already appreciated.  The young, white audience cheered Redding when left the stage. 

“Dock of the Bay” had been flowing in Redding’s mind the entire summer of ’67.  By December of that year the song was written and recorded.  The album was set for release in the spring of 1968.  He never got to hear the final mix of the song nor see the album’s release.  Redding was killed in a plane crash near Madison, Wisconsin while touring.  He was just 26 years old. 

  

It’s possible to ride with the spirit of the “Big O.”  If you ever find yourself in Sausalito take a ride in the morning sun or when the evening comes.  Watch the tide roll in.  Watch it roll away again.  It just sounds like a nice time.  The houseboats are still there.  At last count, the floating homes were approaching 500 in number.  At roughly eight miles north of San Francisco a bike ride leaving Sausalito should lead every avid and erstwhile cyclist to the Golden Gate Bridge.  You will have to slow down and weave your way past and through some pedestrians but the views while on the bridge are worth the trip.  One of the greatest and most romanticized bridges in the world, the Golden Gate will not disappoint.  While your there check out Fisherman’s Wharf.  The area is so interesting and noteworthy is it fodder for future blogs, stay tuned…  In the meantime follow the link for Redding’s classic.

https://youtu.be/PyxLaHmOaYM.

Here is a cool SF biking site: http://bikethegoldengate.com/.