Wandering

Last night, on my way back "home" from dinner with friends I just had to keep riding. I had been on Phil's monster of a cargo bike all day, all over Portland and my ass was tired and my knees were tired and the balls of my feet had spent enough time pushing pedals but I just had to ride around. The air was that special clean that only comes from rain falling through trees and the night sky was playing peekaboo through the clouds. Everything smelled alive- not just the green smell of the trees but the gentle fuschia scent of the flowers and the dark brown smells of outdoor grills and the lovely grey smell of wet concrete. Light spilled out of the little clapboard houses of NE Portland and kids were still playing half court basketball in their driveways and the streets, not bothering to stop the trash talking of each other as they suspended play to let me pass. As I rode along the streets I could see into people's living rooms and kitchens as they watched television or washed dishes or talked on the phone to people far away. All of life is lived at ground level here. I had to keep riding to see more of it. I can't tell you why, it just had to be that way. This is an easy place to be a voyeur, I suppose, and when you visit other places that is what you become. Or at least I do- a voyeur on a bicycle.

friday fun times: atx's abbey road

foto by jrtrussell of one of my favorite atx homies, @fidmart85.

This Is San Francisco : Outside Lands

As you saw yesterday, we have stared a little cross pollination project between us, Vélo Vogue and Wheelright.  It is always interesting to see things from varying perspectives and so here is mine, just a little late.

I grew up in what people have, once again, started calling the Outside Lands.  Its official name is the Sunset District.  On the day we were all out there the Great Highway, the road that has physically separated the neighborhood from the shore line for decades, was closed to traffic for Sunday Streets.

This road was the terror of the neighborhood when I was growing up.  Six lanes of unregulated, high speed traffic with zero areas for people to cross on foot to reach the beach.  In 1983 most of the road and the adjacent sand dunes were destroyed by massive waves that crested over the road (20 feet above above and 30 feet in from the high water line) and the whole thing had to be rebuilt and reinforced. It is a constant battle, to the tune of millions of dollars, to keep this road safe for car traffic.  The whole road is built on sand dunes (most of which are a protected bird sanctuary)!  I am not sure why anyone thought that was a good idea and every year we are reminded it wasn't.

 At that time the road was redesigned with traffic control and crossover points at every street.  Pedestrian paths were created along the sides of the highway and we all thought it was great!  It never occurred to us to want more.  The whole Outer Sunset was in the throws of deep decline and anything we got seemed like manna from heaven.  Now, I think there are many, many people who not only dream but work toward shutting this highway down and turning it into open public space.  I think they will succeed and I look forward to that day.

 Today, when it isn't closed to traffic, bicyclists have to share the side path with joggers and dogs and walkers.  It is a beautiful path but it isn't enough.  The whole coast should be open to people to roam freely, to ride a bicycle or fly along on their skates or teach their children how to kite board.  I don't say this because I hate all cars, I say it because I have lived with this road and its impact on the neighborhood for 40 years.  The Outer Sunset deserves better.

In the meantime, there is always the beach. Miles and miles of beach to love and live on and be a part of.

So while I left the Sunset happily in 1984 to live in the Mission District, there is always a part of me that lives there.  There is always a part of me that misses the salt air and the fog horns and the never ending barrage of sand blowing into my home even with the windows closed.  I miss the kites flying above and the crazy surfers who head out daily to freeze in the violent surf and the pot smokers and the teenagers having bonfires as the sun goes down.

A little video of a regular day on the Great Highway.

This Is San Francisco: The Outside Lands

We have a new series that we are doing in collaboration with the fine ladies over at Velo Vogue called "This Is San Francisco." check out the first of the series. this series will consist of pictures we each capture at one event, or place, during each month to show you SF through our respective camera lenses.

enjoy.

a few sundays ago was sunday streets in SF. it closed the great highway and that was fantastic to see!

here's how i experienced that sunday.

it started with joining a ladies only ride.



then we went through sunday streets, which is where i broke off from the ride.

penny farthing. april 2012.


deep and ian. music bike.


declan grinded delicious coffee beans.


this is sunday streets: band. cargo bike bbq. ade&camera. bike.



james. 1968 coleman camp stove. cargo bike bbq. grey pacific ocean.


here are the posts from velo vogue and wheelright.

AIDS LifeCycle 2012: Ming!

last year we featured a few of our friends who were riding from SF to LA for the AIDS LifeCycle ride, which benefits the SF AIDS Foundation and the LA Gay and Lesbian Center. (full disclosure: i had a family member die of AIDS in the early 90s. f!@k AIDS!)

we have a repeat rider everyone! ming is on his second year of training.

1. hi ming! you now have one aids lifecycle ride under your belt.
congrats! how was it?!
It was intense! I know sometimes that "intense" is used as a euphemism
for "bad," but that's not what I mean. I mean that I had so many
emotions while doing the ride last year. I was of course so hopeful
that this many people cared enough about this issue to volunteer their
time and energy and to fundraise for an end to HIV/AIDS. I also was
inspired and moved by the many HIV-positive people who were doing the
ride. Of course there were many moments when I was (extremely) crabby
about my sore legs, aching back, arms, butt, etc.. There were times
when I was struggling up a hill (or on a seemingly endless flat) by
myself feeling like I wanted to cry, then another rider would come
along and give me encouragement, or someone standing by the side of
the road would be cheering (just for me!) and hand me a little paper
flower or maybe a high five that would get me through. I also learned
a couple of important things. One, now I understand why people make
those faces when they are using the foam rollers. THOSE THINGS HURT.
Two, now when my chain falls off when I'm shifting to a low gear I
just shift back into the highest gear and keep pedaling. That chain
just hooks right back on - no need to stop and painstaking put the
chain on and mess with the derailleur etc.! I'm sure that's a metaphor
for life or something.

2. let's talk training. how has it changed from last year now that you
know what the ride is like? are you doing more or less?
I'm definitely less anxious about training this year, now that I've
done the ride once. However, I'm having a little more back pain this
year, so that's a challenge. I would say I'm doing the same amount of
training as last year, but am less _kan-cheong_ about it, taking my time to enjoy the scenery and rests.

3. fundraising! any fun dinners or parties planned? how can people contact you?
I've been kind of behind on fundraising this year! I'm hoping to do
one midweek dinner next week (Wednesday May 2nd) and maybe a brunch on
Saturday May 12th. They'll both be relatively low-key, I think. Or of
course, feel free to drop by my donation page, make a donation, and
send me a note with your donation that you want to come to the
dinner/brunch! :) [Insert crafty laughter here.]

4. now that this is your second time, how has your reason for doing
this changed? if it hasn't changed, please remind our readers why you
are doing this great ride.
HIV/AIDS is still something that marginalized communities (people and
especially women of color, LGBT people, the poor) are especially hard
hit by, and that's something we should all really be looking at and
working to make right. Doing the ride is just one small thing that I
hope helps to raise awareness and also provide some much needed
services in San Francisco. Also, similar to last year, my birthday
falls during the ride! First official year of my third decade, I will
be somewhere in the middle of California, hopefully going at 12 miles
an hour ;).

a big thanks to ming for sharing and please don't forget to donate to his page. i mean how can you refuse those sock monkey socks?!

a truly SF bike...

in case some of you missed the memo, a few days ago was April 20. in case you don't know what that means, in numerical form it's 4/20, or a nickname of pot/maryjane/marijuana/etc. there were lots of celebrations in SF for that reason. seriously.

a few days before 420, i was in the lower haight, which some may know also houses a lot of medicinal mj clubs. it was only after 4/20 that i made the connection about this bike and the "california national holiday" of 420.

this bike was parked in front of toronado, a very excellent beer place for beer lovers.

happy monday y'all!

black and white saturday