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Halfway from SF to Mt View, stopping for water as the sun rises. (from last week)

Custom bike panniers in progress. Prototype 1 is lumpy, but it’s a start.

[ It’s all about getting on the bike and riding: I’ll try to keep this blog 90% about the rides, but there will be an occasional side notes about gear or bike-related projects and events. ] It’s the rainy season in San Francisco, though there’s also something fun about riding in cooler weather. Here are a few tips: After the first few storms of the season, the road is especially slick, as oil floats to the surface– be careful. And metal in the road (manhole covers, grates) and some kinds of paint can be even more slippery. Grooves and patterns in your tires don’t really improve grip. But wider tires and/or lower tire pressure give you more contact area with the road, which should improve traction– try dropping your pressure 10-20 psi. Tap your brakes periodically while riding, to make sure they’re still working, to get a feeling how your bike’s behaving, and to clear some water from the rim. For weatherproof gear, a poncho plus safety pins work in a pinch, and a $15 fender or rack will keep your tire from throwing a “rooster tail” of dirty water up your back. ...

Sometimes I dislike Gear with a capital G. Bicycling may be second only to photography in the obsession with buying Gear and Accessories and Upgrades for every niche application, and talking about how much you spent on them. We don’t need all these specialized accessories. In case you can’t tell, I’m in the crotchety “don’t buy upgrades, ride up grades” camp. Hell, the Tour De France was won 50 years ago by someone riding a 50-years-ago-technology bike and wearing 50-years-ago-technology clothing, and he was still a far better cyclist than I’ll ever be. ...

rain…

This Sunday: a casual late-morning ride, 20-25 miles, leaving from Four Barrel (Valencia/15th) at 10:30am* To the ocean via Corbett, around Lake Merced, to Trouble Coffee for one of the best espressos in the city and/or inch-thick cinnamon toast, and maybe a drink at Zeitgeist afterwards. Here’s a similar ride we did a few months ago: http://ridewithgps.com/trips/117820 * weather permitting– there’s always a chance of a delay or change– you can text me day-of to check in or let me know you’re interested and I’ll keep you posted. ...

Four of us cruised up to Sausalito and Tiburon via the Camino Alto hill and Paradise Drive before taking the ferry back. About 35 miles of riding, here’s a quick map: (a special shout-out to f for doing this as his first ride since the Foster City Flats ride a year ago). Pre-ride savory pastries at Tartine: Biking along the panhandle: ...

I tried commuting from SF to Mountain View by bike a month ago– it’s doable, and actually quite beautiful (morning fog, birds, marshy swamps along the bay) but involves getting up early (a 3 hour ride at a casual pace = leave home around 6AM). Here’s a GPS track of most of the route:

Meeting 10:30am at the planter by the golden gate bridge gift shop (I’ll be hitting up the ferry bldg farmers market earlier for some Primavera & Blue Bottle), then doing [this 40ish-mile loop through Sausalito and Tiburon](<http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/san-francisco/551127079691337454). Relaxed pace– there will be some people on the ride who haven’t been on a bike in a year, and the scenery is worth appreciating.

*July 2022 Note: This post is from 2010. I took another camping trip up here recently with some folks with a slightly different route for the American Canyon->Napa part of the ride (less time on the main roads: there are some new bike paths since 2010, and we found some unconventional shortcuts). Possible new route based on that ride is here, but use your own judgment: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52755794. As a rare long post: Bike camping in Napa Valley was a great weekend– it felt like a vacation even though it was only two days long. The debrief: ...