Next Sunday, a more-than-just-biking trip: a bike ride from Farley’s coffeehouse in Potrero Hill to Old Mill Park in Mill Valley (17 miles, mostly flat: rough map), lock bikes there and hike 45 scenic (and uphill) minutes through the woods on the Dipsea and Sun trails to the Tourist Club, and enjoy their Maifest for a few hours (German cultural celebration: beer, sausages, polka dancing). Rolling out from Farley’s at 9am.
Big Adventure planning.
Two “probably” rides (as usual, let me know if you’re interested, in case details change, or check the blog the night before). Saturday: fun headlands loop / luggage test ride A roughly 22-mile scenic Headlands ride (see photos from a past ride). For variety, let’s meet at Mojo Bicycle Cafe at 10AM. Casual, friendly pace, and also intended to be a “luggage test ride” – anyone who’s been interested in bike camping (or is coming camping in Point Reyes in a few weeks): this is your excuse to put on a rack, pump up your tires, strap on your bags and camping gear, and get comfortable with how your bike handles on some flat roads, a steep uphill, and a steep downhill, without worrying about pace or being too far from the city. And to stretch your biking legs after the rain if you haven’t already. ...
No scheduled ride this weekend, but next Saturday 3/19 a few of us plan to ride this 53-mile Grizzly Peak / Pinole / Port Costa Loop (rain cancelled the last attempt), probably meeting at the Downtown Berkeley BART at 9AM (time could change depending on responses). There probably won’t be a free motorcycle gang spaghetti dinner in Port Costa this early in the season, so bring a sandwich or some other food and we’ll stop halfway in for a break.
Two social rides organized by others this week: Wednesday: Butterlap (7pm at the Ferry Building, a friendly 17 miles around the city with a few dozen people, mostly flat but two notable hills, Bender’s afterwards for a bit). [edit: was raining at 6pm, didn’t go] Friday: SF Bike Party (12-mile ultra-casual bike party with music, a few stops, and 400+ cyclists). This month, in Potrero/Dogpatch/Bayshore. And this weekend, something more ambitious I’ve talked to a few of you about: ...
If it’s not rainy: Friday 2/4: joining the SF Bike Party, a slow-rolling evening with hundreds of cyclists and several big bike-mounted stereos (photos of the last one). Just 9 miles. 7:30pm meetup at Civic Center. Sunday 2/6: Alpine Dam. A beautiful and hilly 50-60 mile ride, meeting 9:30AM at Velo Rouge Cafe. No rider left behind, probably a stop in Fairfax for some food afterwards, no commitment to making it back in time to watch That Sporting Event (hey, at least the roads should be empty…). ...
I’m planning a ride to Montara (near Half Moon Bay), leaving Saturday morning 1/15, staying overnight in the Montara Lighthouse(!) Hostel, and coming back Sunday morning. About 25 miles each way, some hills and deserted/derelict highways (see below), and about $30/person for the hostel. If you’re interested in joining, let me know ASAP– I got tentative confirmation of some space at the hostel but need to call back in the next few days to confirm and put down a deposit. [edit: whoa, 10 people interested so far!] [edit edit: up to 12-14] ...
The rainy season has some time for rides, and some time for dreaming about rides to do next summer. Here are nine ideas for Big Rides (I’ll try to actually do 3 or 4 of them): January: Overnight bike trip down the coast to Montara via Old San Pedro (“Planet of the Apes”) road. [edit: did it, a great weekend] April: Bike to Point Reyes during wildflower season for a three-day weekend. Carry gear and camp overnight, have a day to bike/hike and enjoy Point Reyes, then bike back. About 43 miles each way. [ edit: did it, awesome ] ...
(assuming it’s not raining): Wednesday 12/15: Butterlap with a group of 20-40 friendly strangers. I may bring the bike stereo. Sunday 12/19: SFBC-organized evening ride around San Francisco to tour the elaborate Christmas light displays. See http://www.sfbike.org/?chain and scroll down. Roads are slick these days– ride safe.
I plan to do the Supermarket Street Sweep, Saturday at noon. A race around town to pick up a collection of food (to be donated to the SF Food Bank). You get the checklist of stores to visit and things to buy at each one when the race starts, so you have to decide right then what set of routes to take to optimize your path… The SF Bike Coalition throws a party (beer, auctions, DIY activities, raffle, food, art) every year. Winterfest is this Sunday evening. You can get in free if you volunteer– I’ll be pouring beer in one of the tents.