Sunday, September 16, 2012

San Francisco By Bike!

So much fun!

I've been wanting to ride my bike around San Francisco for quite a while.  Seeing the city from a bike seemed like a great little adventure.

Although I've ridden parts of the city before (across the Golden Gate Bridge and into Crissy Field, Pier 39, and the Embarcadero), I've never taken my bike on BART or toured the other great San Francisco neighborhoods.

I started out with about a 45 minute Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train ride into San Francisco, getting off at the Embaradero station.  This put me about a block away from the Ferry Building at the waterfront -- near the base of the Bay Bridge that spans over to Treasure Island and back toward Oakland.



It's about 4 miles of mellow cruising along the waterfront filled with tourists, restaurants, shops, etc. until you reach Pier 39.  Thankfully, there's a decent bike lane that makes biking easy and enjoyable.  Pier 39 is a zoo though -- I try to get through here quickly. 

Another mile or two brings you to the Crissy Field area, where the Presidio meets the water of the bay.  I love it down here.  Paths roll along between sand dunes and beaches on one side, and grassy play areas on the other.  People are out flying kites, playing fetch with the dog, bbqing.  Lots of young local beautiful people out for a jog or a stroll with the kids.

Up to the southern base of the Golden Gate Bridge -- another heavy tourist zone.  Didn't spend much time here.  Passing under the bridge brings you to one of the most spectacular neighborhoods I've ever seen - Sea Cliff.  The most beautifully maintained vintage homes overlooking the Pacific Ocean, just to the west of the Golden Gate Bridge.  To live there must be a magical life.

I've been riding in an arc that followed along the shore of the bay.  From the Bay Bridge, I rode north, looping to the west.  From the Golden Gate Bridge, the route along the edge turns south.  I passed by bunkers that date back to the early days of California and helped protect the bay from attack.


Here's my weapon of choice for today's urban assault.  It's an old Klein Pinnacle set up with dirt drop bars and bar end shifters.  Fun bike!



I ended up near the Legion of Honor -- a spectacular building atop a bluff with great views east back toward the city




I continuing south along the western edge with views of Baker Beach.



A short distance further, I rolled passed the old remnants of the Sutro Baths



And the Cliff House (where it looks like a great place to enjoy a meal from a window seat)



From here, you have views to the south along the long stretch of Ocean Beach




From the Ocean Beach area, I ducked into the far west end of Golden Gate Park on JFK drive and started heading back inland, away from the coast, into the heart of San Francisco.


 Festivities were everywhere


Exiting GG Park at the east end of the "pan handle", I dropped into "The Haight"




Had to find the corner of "Haight - Ashbury" -- there's a Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream store here.  Great area filled with interesting shops, the smell of pot, and lots of people.  I grabbed a latte in a local neighborhood coffee shop -- Coffee to the People.



From here I continued a bit east and down through the Castro district.  It did not disappoint.  The area was filled with lots of colorful people from all walks of life.




Next, a little more east, I hit the Mission District of San Francisco.  I made a brief stop at Delores Park.  Lots of locals just hanging out on the grass -- smoking grass.


One of my main goals was to eat Mexican food in the Mission District.  I chose a little place called La Taqueria on Mission Street.  It did not disappoint.   I watched them make these "el dorado" style tacos and had to order two.  (A crispy tortilla with cheese inside a soft tortilla, loaded with meat, salsa and all kinds of goodness).  Get some!


It was about 3:30pm when I finished with my tacos so I needed to start heading back.

Here's the whole route loaded up from my GPS:
Strava



I didn't really know what I was doing when I started out.  I did a little research in the morning on various GPS sites where others had done similar routes.  I also downloaded an iPhone app ("bikeroute") that did a pretty good job of showing me the best bike routes through town.  I did notice though that my AT&T iPhone was struggling over here.  Yelp was hanging up, other apps were running way too slow or not functioning at all.  Not sure if it was just a bad day or if that is typical.  It did hamper me getting around a bit because I was sort of figuring it out on the fly and the iPhone was my primary resource.

Anyway... the bikeroute app let me know that Folsom Street was a good route northwest back to the Embarcadero where I jumped back on the BART train for the trip back home.

Great day!











Saturday, September 15, 2012

Tour De Fuzz (2012)

I made a last minute decision Friday night to log in another century. I traveled two hours north (leaving at 5am) in order to ride the Tour De Fuzz century. This century is a fund raiser for law enforcement agencies in Sonoma County.

I did this ride last year and thought it was one of the best centuries I've ever participated in. When it came up this year, I didn't want to miss it. This is the third year in a row that they've put this on. I've ridden the last two.

What makes this a great century:
 * Route -
The Northern CA wine country and geysers area is remarkably beautiful.

 * Support - 
Lots of friendly volunteers available every step of the way.  Want to challenge yourself?  The 4-mile Geysers hill climb is an optional timed event if you'd like to participate (I ended up 8th in my age group of 28, and 20th out of a group of 87 -- I'm a solid mid-packer! :-)

 * Food -
Nice breakfast spread before you even hit the road. Rest stops were nicely spaced and stocked with good cycling-specific products such as Clif Shots, shot blocks, GU's, chews, etc. in addition to the traditional bananas, cookies, nuts, PB&J sandwiches, bagels, baked mini potatoes (love those things!), etc.
Lunch included a nice selection of pre-made sandwiches along with an outstanding and healthy pasta salad. The post ride meal was over-the-top -- pulled bbq pork (and tons of it) along with BBQ chicken, potato salad, and free-flowing Lagunitas beer!

 * Entertainment -
Music, law enforcement demo's, silent auctions, raffle drawings, swimming pool, shower, etc.

 * Value -
Excellent route/scenery, support, great food, T-shirt. All adds up to be one of the finest centuries around.