2017′s plan for “Year of Fire” (more one-night bike camping with bonfires) was a bust– for a variety of work and personal reasons I barely biked other than few-mile errand rides (including some hefty cargo bike trips), but the few fun ride like worknight-bike-camping on Mt Diablo with a friend and a week biking (supported) in Maine reminded me what I was missing. I even failed to organize a 5th annual SF Dumpling Tour or join Supermarket Street Sweep this year. ...
For the first time in six years, organizing group rides (or really, riding much at all) fell off my radar most of 2016, between big changes at work and at home. But reminded how much biking keeps me grounded and happy by a week in the saddle in Maine, I’m ready to pick up the torch again. Speaking of the torch… if I declared 2014 ‘Year of Dirt’ as a way to motivate myself to organize a series of rides on casual dirt roads in Livermore, through the fragrant fennel forests of Benicia, and up and around Mt Tam, it seems like 2017 should be a year of Water (rides to lakes, swimming, kayaking), Air (mountain tops? riding for speed would fit the theme but is not my style), or Fire (more bike camping, especially of the brief one-night S24O style like this overnight at Lake Chabot). ...
I’ve been enjoying Cool Gray City of Love and taking notes every time he mentions an interesting vista, path, or historical intersection in SF I haven’t been to. So… it seems worth a periodic ride around the city to check out some of them. This Saturday, a Mission / Glen Park / Sunset route, including: Several notable staircases (we’ll lock bikes at the bottom and hike up for views), two of the very few remaining old unpaved road segments in SF, Billy Goat Hill, and some of the last remaining evidence of the great sand dunes that once blanketed the Sunset. ...
I’m organizing this casual public ride on May 5th.
**Saturday November 3:**A Tale of Two Coffees Start with the great coffee at Front cafe in Potrero Hill. The “butterlap”-ish route along the water and around the city to Ocean Beach. Trouble Coffee, toast, and coconuts. 20ish miles, very friendly / casual pace. Sunday November 18: Remote East Bay, Mine Tour, Trails BART… to the end of the line (Pittsburgh/Bay Point)! Ride flat paved paths… to scenic Antioch! Tour… an underground former sand mine in Black Diamond Mines Park! Explore… fire roads and dirt paths** above the park! About 20-25 miles. Some optional dirt trail exploration with hills. December 1: Supermarket Street Sweep, again.
Currently in the works: a two-night bike camping trip to Sky Camp in Point Reyes National Seashore (I made the reservations six months ago and am finally sorting out the details– I’ve talked to several people and it looks like we’ll have a good posse). I’ll probably follow the same general route as this Point Reyes trip from last year, to keep it easy to plan…
Hat tip to Elliot, this sounds interesting: http://www.cyclelicio.us/2012/alviso-salt-pond-bike-tours Perhaps in later July, combined with a ride from Fremont or Mt View to Alviso on a segment of Bay Trail.
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: ...
Here are a few other 1-day or weekend rides I’ve been kicking around, to do this spring or summer… including a few repeats of good rides from last year, since that makes the planning easy. None of them have dates yet, just giving people a heads-up… and if you’re especially interested in certain ones, let me know and it will be more likely to happen… From shortest to longest: A ride to San Bruno Mtn (8 miles each way from the Mission) combined with a few-hour hike and a picnic A casual “Tour De Dumplings” 15-20 mile ride around SF or the east bay, stopping at various dumpling shops, in the spirit of the Fiets & Frites ride (http://fietsandfrites.wordpress.com/) A casual 25ish-mile afternoon bike ride around some vineyards in Livermore (similar to a ride from last year, but different vineyards: [/post/photos-from-our-recent-7-person-livermore-wine/]) A bike+hike to the Tourist Club in Mill Valley for one of their weekend beer-and-sausage-and-German-music festivals (May or July). Basically a copy of this ride A mysterious, medium-hilly 40-50 mile ride in a remote part of the East Bay that I bet most people have never biked in (even I haven’t). I like the idea of keeping the details secret and just telling people to meet at a certain BART stop at a certain time An overnight bike camping trip to Point Reyes, with oysters (50ish miles each way, similar to what a group of us did last year though at a different camp site for variety), maybe as a three-day weekend Taking Amtrak to Sacramento and doing some riding around the American River Valley