We may never understand why bicyclists need to blow through stop signs in our neighborhood, but we do know why they're on bicycles in the first place: biking in the Bay Area is fun -- and challenging at times, but mostly fun.
If you want to get started building up your butt for the AIDS LifeCycle, or you need another activity besides drinking whiskey and reading this blog, we recommend getting start right here in the Lower Haight.
And if you've never done anything more than ride to work, it's good to have a goal associated to your ride. It helps when you need motivation to get up that next hill. We like to go on food rides, because we're fatties who are motivated by the promise of any sort of indulgence, no matter how minor. Here are 4 routes that we like, and think you'll like too.
If the line at Dojo is too long, the Chinese place up the street isn't half bad either.
Of course, there's no way that you are reading this and thinking you would enjoy riding back to the City. You can if you want, but we recommend grabbing Caltrain, which is a few blocks away. We assume you know how to get home from King Street.
Also, a few things to note for people new to longish, longer, and f@$king endless bike rides:
And if you've never done anything more than ride to work, it's good to have a goal associated to your ride. It helps when you need motivation to get up that next hill. We like to go on food rides, because we're fatties who are motivated by the promise of any sort of indulgence, no matter how minor. Here are 4 routes that we like, and think you'll like too.
Taco-lito
This is the easy ride; great fun for visitors to go on. It's only 10 miles long, and there are tacos at the end of it.
Over ten miles you pedal through a part of Golden Gate Park, by some great views of the city in The Presidio, over the Golden Gate Bridge, and then finish with a fun, downhill dive into Sausalito, ending at Salsalito Taco Shop. Afterwards, if you don't feel like taking on the giant hill you just zoomed down, you can grab the ferry.
Please note that every tourist in the world does this ride, except for the taco part. Here is a route map:
Ramen Run
This 29-mile ride south to San Mateo's Dojo Ramen opens with a slog uphill to the county line, but the payoff is pretty great.
You get to ride all the way through the park and along the beach. There's a somewhat annoying section where you are on Skyline Blvd with the traffic and a generous shoulder, but that leads into the pretty San Andreas Trail. After a half a mile back with the cars, you enter the Sawyer Camp Recreation Trail. This can be a busy spot with walkers and bicyclists, but there is a reason: it's like riding through The Shire. Simply stunning.
The trail ends with a leisurely bomb down into San Mateo on Crystal Springs Road to El Camino Real. From there, jog over to B Street to get your ramen. Here is the route.
Beer Cycle
We don't condone drinking and riding, so on this ride, we assume that you, like us, are only tasting the beer and spitting it out. That's right, tasting big mouthfuls of beer and distributing it into the mouths of your friends, who are not riding, like a mother bird.
Starting from home, head over to Speakeasy in Hunter's Point. They just opened a new tap room, so you no longer need to escape work on Fridays. From there, climb over Potrero to taste the beer at Southern Pacific Brewery on Treat Street in The Mission.
If you're done, just head home. If you're not, we recommend riding by your apartment, pedaling out to the beach to see the sunset, and then dropping in at The Park Chalet. Next, beat it back through the park to 9th Avenue and do a flight at Social Kitchen & Brewery. Afterwards, re-enter the park on 9th, roll down Page Street to Toronado, maybe hitting up Magnolia on the way for a full book.
What is The East Bay?
After a few rides from San Francisco, you do start to hate The Golden Gate Bridge and the Sausalito lateral (that huge hill you bombed down earlier) and the tourists. If you're like us, you then start to wonder if there's another option. Of course there is. There are wonderful rides you can do in the East Bay that start and end at BART stops. Just cycle on down to Civic Center and hop aboard.
One in particular that is only 17 miles and ends with a beer at Ben & Nick's in Oakland starts at the Orinda BART stop. After some city riding down Morgana Way, you do a 500-foot climb up to Pinehurst Road. From there, you climb up Skyline Road to the ridge and amazing views. This part can be tough. If you need to, get off and walk your bike up. No shame in that. Finally, you need to get back down. Be prepared to fly downhill and wind your way into Rockridge for a beer at Ben & Nick’s. When you're done, hop back on the BART to Civic Center and wiggle your butt home. Here is the route.
- Go with friends
- Carry at least one tube, a patch kit, a multi-tool, air charges or a pump (we recommend air charges) two water bottles, a snack, lip balm, sun block, and chamois butter.
- Wear the stupid shorts. They are designed for performance.
- Wear the stupid jersey, for the same reason as above.
- For longer rides, make sure you know where you can rest and get water. You can find yourself in the middle of nowhere without water, food, or shade and that is lame.
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