black and white saturday

>.< happy saturday!!

friday fun times: one of these things is not like the other

as seen in a parking garage in downtown san francisco:

um, yah. free bici. be careful while parking your bike out there. m'kay?

happy friday everyone!

Street Life

There is a lot of manufactured enmity out there. Not sure why.

Seems to me like people are getting along just fine.

Happy Friday!

Policletos

Photo from El manubrio

The bike force is with you!!
Armed yourself with the most powerful social global weapon: la bicicleta
I'm digging the bike gloves, so formal =)
What do you think? I think it is a great idea for roaming around México City, the traffic sucks so bad, I have been able to walk 2 miles, faster than the moving traffic - and I'm a slow walker.
Ding-ding

The invasion of the policletos:
Español: La invasión de policletos
English: translated link »

tiphat/ via my g.reader friend RXN

Sunshine, Sushi and Road Lessons

Finally, just when we all thought we were going to become walking mushrooms from lack of light, San Francisco has sun!!! Oh glorious sun from which all life springs, you have finally seen fit to visit us with light and warmth!! For a few days there will be no thought of taking a sweater, or two, when leaving the house. I will not have to wipe fog from my eyes or contemplate wool. No boots, no socks, no sleeves!

When it gets this warm, I stop cooking. On Tuesday we decided to have a family sushi night so we could ride in the warmth to the restaurant. Declan was very clear that he wanted to ride his own bicycle, not on the sidewalk. It was quiet out, and with four of us to buffer him, why the heck not?

I am quite sure that people seeing us pass thought I was completely nuts for letting my kids, especially one so young, do something as radical as ride a bicycle on a street (godforbidbutatleastheiswearingahelmet...) but that's fine with me. I had the great joy of seeing my three monsters pedaling away, joking with one another, keeping tabs on each other and enjoying the amazing evening.

It is always a little difficult when he decides he would rather skid to a stop than slow down and come to a gradual one, but other than that, we just enjoyed a real summer evening on our bicycles. Something about sunset light, and summer heat, and bicycles and the prospect of sushi make a Tuesday night quite nice.

Behind the Scenes

People frequently ask me if I just jump out in the bicycle lane and start taking pictures. The answer is, yes, that is exactly what I do (unless I am riding, in which case it is straight from the saddle). It is always funny to see how people react to me and my camera. My friend Jon, who is the creator of the Bikescape podcast (now defunct, but there is great stuff on there you should check out. I think he should start it again.) filmed me taking pictures of the riders of Sunday Streets.

These are some of the pictures I took.

All of these were taken at Sunday Streets. This closure was through Golden Gate Park and along Ocean Beach (where I grew up and would have been thrilled to have the Great Highway permanently closed to traffic). Last time it was closed it rained buckets. This time it was glorious with the most perfect weather anyone could ask for! You can see it on people's faces!

In looking at my pictures from this day, almost no pictures of women came out. The guys were all willing to smile for the camera, but the women were all shy. Come on, ladies! Time to represent! (I have noticed that when women wear helmets, I have a much harder time getting them to let me shoot. No one likes how they look in a helmet.)

Putting His Brompton Where His Mouth Is

Many of you out there in the world outside the blogosphere have heard of a bicycle store in Portland, Oregon by the name of Clever Cycles. CC was started by Todd Fahrner who has become something of an internet friend of mine over the last year. Todd invented the Stoke Monkey, too.

A little bit ago, Todd informed me he would be riding to SF from Portland at the end of August. I was more than a little jealous. A long distance bicycle tour is a dream of mine that I hope to fulfill in the not too distant future. What makes the tour really interesting is that Todd has decided to make the journey on his daily ride- his Brompton.

He has made a few modifications to make the long distance a little easier, but overall, it is just a regular old, everyday Brompton.

Todd will not have his trusty dutch bicycle to carry his folder with on this trip, but he will have his hammock and his IPhone and his GPS. With a Twitter page to keep us updated, we can all see how all you need is a bicycle to get you where you are going as Todd follows the coast on his folder.

Good luck, Todd! Let me know when you are hitting the Golden Gate so I can take your finish line shots!!