A friend’s Yuba el Mundo cargo bike with electrical assist, set up for carrying a kid and large quantities of groceries/cargo. I hitched a ride home sitting on the back rack and it lugged both of us and our groceries stably. Interesting…
I tried out Bay Area Bike Share. Easy, comfortable bikes (they don’t feel as heavy as they are), you use a keyfob to check a bike out and then have 30 minutes to check it back in at a different station. They’re launching timidly, though, with only a few hundred bikes (1/100th the scale of the successful New York program), so I’m concerned they won’t get enough riders and mindshare. We’ll see…
On the epic Lagunitas Brewing Ride a few weeks ago I noticed huge stands of green blackberries lining one of the Marin bike paths, and vowed to return on a foraging mission. So 11 of us wrapped blackberry picking, an escape from the fog, a picnic by the bay, ice cream, and a casual ride around Marin into a day. In quick cell phone photos: ...
Nice Nishiki, Southern Pac
not a good sign…
I’m a long-time fan of Trouble Coffee and the espresso / cinnamon toast / coconut trifecta, so imagine my excitement when she opened a second cafe in Bayview, closer to home. It was only a matter of time until I’d organize a “Double Trouble” ride: a butterlap-style ride along the water, through the Presidio, through eucalyptus groves past the Palace of the Legion of Honor, down along the ocean (on a clear see-for-miles day), and then across the city between both locations. The distance added up for an in-city coffee jaunt– 26 miles– but it was a great social ride with a friendly group and some new folks: ...
baguette pocket
Just for fun. Up at 5:30: Long early-morning shadows in Sausalito: Nicasio reservoir: Canalside paths behind Petaluma: Lagunitas Brewing for lunch: taproom, patio, friendly people, space to stash bikes: We started to ride back. ...
Robotic underground bicycle storage, Japan:
Yesterday, bike-based exploration organized by a friend: A ferry ride to Vallejo, an exploration of the fascinating mostly abandoned naval base and nature preserve on Mare Island, a ride through Benicia and across a bridge to Martinez, and then back to BART. Briefly, in photos: A massive boat-building drydock, abandoned. This photo doesn’t do it justice: Old buildings and railroad tracks: ...