Vacation in San Francisco - Biking Advice

Hey Everyone,

I'll be traveling to San Francisco the first week of September and am hoping to get some riding in while I'm there. I've done some online searching of rental places, routes etc but I always like to get personal recommendations.

So what advice do you have? Favorite places to ride? Level of difficulty?

Another note, I'll be riding with someone who only rarely recreationally rides, is it a viable place for her to cycle?

Any information is appreciated!

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Permalink Reply by Steven on August 4, 2009 at 3:36am
Yes. I should probably plan on coasting in to Seattle and going straight to the hospital. haha. yeah, it'll be a lot of time in the saddle. during most of the day i'll be only taking some time now and then to take some pictures, send a tweet and restock some gatorade. other than that, i really have no idea what i'm doing. i'm in over my head. haha.




Ashley said:
Holy Cow!! That's a lot of riding in 5/6 days...

Steven said:
Thanks. i might be in over my head, but it'll be fun to find out. i'm shooting for 6 days (5 day push) so it'll mean pedalpedalpedalpedal pretty much all day. :)



Ashley said:
WOW, that sounds like a great trip!! Good luck!

Steven said:
i'll be there at the same time too. but only for one afternoon/evening. i'll get in to SF on Friday Sept 4, pick up my bike (having it shipped to San Francisco Cyclery for reassembly) and take the rest of the day to check out the sites around town. The next morning i'll head out for a 950 mile ride to Seattle. Can't wait to get started!
Permalink Reply by payton on August 4, 2009 at 6:08am
The map that Sue mentioned is priceless. Make sure that you plot out your routes well, since it's very much unlike Chicago -- you don't just go via the grid. The "Outer Limits" ride mentioned on that page is also a great one; it's about 50 miles, IIRC (the city's roughly 7x7 mi.)

As far as where things in town are, most of the livelier neighborhoods are clustered on the eastern flats and accessible via Market. The principal exception is the Haight, and the map shows a brilliant route that dodges the hills.
Permalink Reply by Robert LaRocca on August 5, 2009 at 7:00pm
Ashley, The Bay Area has plenty of great rides that you and your friend can and will enjoy. If you have done a little research you should have found something on Golden Gate Park. It is mostly flat and closed to cars on Sundays http://www.sfgate.com/neighborhoods/sf/goldengatepark/ . If you want to get a taste of Northern Calf. country, just across the GG bridge is the Marin Headlands and Rodeo beach/lagoon. (You'll be amazed at how much the environment changes in just a mile.) You can bike the bridge and up into the headlands. The climb up the hill is a bit long, but fairly gradual. Once you get to the top it is an amazing view of the ocean, and then down hill all the way to the lagoon. The roads around the lagoon are flat and it is an easy 5 miles into Sausalito. The Marin Headlands is so close that if you do not cycle it, the drive is too easy to pass up. In the east bay, Berkeley, the Bay Trail is another flat ride with beautiful views of the bay. A good place to start is at the foot of University Ave & I-80. Park at the little food stand with a large parking area. The paved trail with no cars too contend with runs north along the freeway and then follows the shoreline. You cannot get lost, just remember to follow the water. The trail runs into a nice eatery named the Boilerhouse about 8 mile from University Ave. http://www.baytrail.org/maps/East_Bay.pdf .
Warning: If the fog comes in, and it usually is this year, the coast can feel like January in the Windy City. Don't let this stop you, but do bring a nice warm jacket.
Hope this helps. R~

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