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Inspired by the “fiets & frites” ride last summer, I’m thinking of an “SF dumpling tour by bike” (I need a catchy name) on June 9 [edit: Saturday June 30th]. . Tentatively: an 11am -> mid-afternoon tour, with perhaps 10 miles of biking at a casual pace and a hill or two– nothing too serious. And 4+ stops at dumpling shops to get takeout and eat by the side of the road or in a nearby park. It will probably focus on the Western neighborhoods (Richmond, Sunset, West Portal, maybe Balboa Park).

Well that was an epic scouting ride (checking out some new parts of the Bay Area for potential group rides). I won’t spoil the surprise yet by posting a map or details, since parts of this will probably work their way into a “mystery group ride” coming in the next few months. But in a few teaser photos: Of course, I only noticed this sign after passing through: ...

On Sunday I joined someone else’s group ride, SF -> Fairfax (with a stop at the Good Earth Natural Foods for lunch– good sandwich options) -> Nicasio (with a stop at Rancho Nicasio) and then back via the very scenic Lucas Valley Road to San Rafael and Larkspur. A friendly crew and a solid 54-mile ride with a few thousand feet of climbing. A few of the cyclocross maniacs led us onto dirt paths, wood chips, and coarse gravel through the Presidio: ...

Lands End

Map of the hike from downtown Mill Valley to The Tourist Club. I’ve never found a good one online– the one on the Tourist Club web site isn’t especially clear– so I sketched a quick one onto a photo of a paper map.

Thanks to Jason and Erica and Cat, I got to go on an interesting 120-mile bike tour up to Wisconsin and back while I was visiting Chicago, and I didn’t have to do any of the planning. (rhetorical question: who rides 120 miles to a Super 8 motel at the edge of a cluster of strip malls, just for fun?) I was less interested in any specific destination than I was in checking out a variety of towns, environments, and regional cycling infrastructure (impressive!), and this ride certainly delivered. ...

ice cream stop at mile 100

good bike infrastructure near chicago

broken chain somewhere in the woods. good thing I had a tool.

chicago route signage