friday fun times: planning bike rides

really. after work, this bike advocacy thing takes up most of my time. whether it's here, or being involved neck deep in planning mass bike rides, or valet parking your bike so you can have a good time at an event, i can't help it. i love it.

part of why i do is to meet all different sorts of people who are all into the bike, the rides, the community, or just the solo road thing. but we all share at least one thing in common: the bike. oh, and probably not getting hit while riding one. as long as the last clause is always a danger, those of us who ride will always have a strong bond.

so the latest bike ride planning meeting i went to was amazing. the cusp of something phenominal: clitoral mass in oakland. sounds like the ride is national, and in no small part the idea is owed to those fierce latinas down south, las ovarian psychos.

the real beauty is we're planning this ride BY and FOR a non-male audience, as the name of the ride suggests. females, gender nonconforming, and trans folks all welcome. we have social media savvy, bike ride planning experience, website artists, and more importantly, the desire to put all this fierceness out in the world.

so two of my fellow bike party planners and i have to thank bart for their awesome "trial" where this week, all week, they have been allowing bikes on at all times. phew.



we introduced ourselves and sat back and then we all helped planned. a lot. then we took this picture.

foto credit to kanchan over on fb.

so what's next? ...just wait and see. ride coming up soon! save the date for MAY 25 for oakland's version of clitoral mass.

sights and sounds from the south

birmingham, alabama

i went to birmingham, alabama recently and one of the first things i saw was a large billboard showcasing some bicycle marketing we've talked about here on the blog before. this time was advertising a bank.



they equated bicycles with efficiency. heh. i can dig it. also glad to see that bike marketing is permeating a city infrastructure which basically supports no bicycles. i'm not trying to be sarcastic either. maybe the marketing will seep through and begin to have some sort of influence on the city, or not, but gotta remain hopeful that change is coming. all over the US.

austin, texas

i also went to my hometown of austin, texas. bikes are everywhere there, and i can't help smiling when i see bikes all over the streets.

i went to austin city limits music festival again, and as i mentioned previously, they recommended pedal power to get to the festival. we definitely took advantage of their bike parking. and also got to see some great bikes.

the little blue cannondale is mine. got it as a christmas present last year. if anyone knows about this era of cannondales, please share! says it's made in the usa.









i miss texas, and can't wait to get back for a non-working vacation sometime in the near future. had a great time, but it's time to head back to san francisco.

friday fun times: shower cap edition

need i say more? checkered side mirror, patterned shower cap.

a reader of ours, el tejano, posted some more pics of golden gate park's parking woes. here are a few. go over to his flickr to check out the rest!

these pictures might illustrate a little more of what is confusing some people in my description in this post. sorry! is not the easiest to explain, which is probably why there is confusion surrounding it in the first place. i plan on going to the park at some point this weekend and see if i can get more pics of the confusion. but also more pics of empty spaces so you can see what it is supposed to look like.

have a great weekend!

thursday thoughts...

i don't know about y'all, but this week has been super chock full of bikey things. so much so, that during my day job, i've been a whole day off. so in my mind today is friday, but it's really thursday. gaaaaaaaaawd.

so what did i do? i went scouting for a route for the upcoming sfbp. upon our deciding to scrap the route and plan a ride with no bike map and with our phones running out of batteries, we knew we had a long night ahead of us. when i went to unlock joanie to go on a ride to the other side of the city, this is what i stumbled upon...a flower at dusk.

then on wednesday night, i worked with another bike party volunteer, except at our part time 2nd job. we parked bikes, valet style, at a rather picturesque location...

i got to test out the hdr on my phone camera.

i've come home utterly exhausted both nights. whee! all of for the love baby...

what bikey things did you do after work this week?

It's All Covered

In other parts of the world that aren't San Francisco (what? There are other places?) it is not unusual to come out to find someone has left you a little present. Seat covers as leaflets area common objects.

photo by Lüca Pradella

This is a phenomenon that is beginning to be seen here in San Francisco.

After seeing a few of these in the Mission the other morning, I was surprised to see them all over the waterfront. Any bicycle that was stationary when the crew came through was given the treatment.

The red, nylon covers were produced and distributed by Timbuk2, a San Francisco based messenger bag company (they make lots of things, but the they started with, and are best known for their messenger bags). The bearer of the seat cover was entitled to a 20% discount on the purchase of a new bag.

It was funny to see so many bikes with red seats. Advertising that provides a service is pretty cool. So many people I meet wish they had seat covers, and now, many of them do!

i've got a case of the baskets

i love my basket. most people i know who have them do as well. here's some i've seen over town the past couple of months.

milk crates TOTES count as baskets. this one was on her way to work.

friday night lights

owner of this basket really likes the theater enough to leave bike outside while watching an awesome play unfold inside. (it seriously was one of the best plays i've seen, if it comes your way, please go and catch a performance.)

these baskets work 9 to 5. tryin' hard to make a livin'

these two little things somehow found each other

and finally, sometimes basket owners are drawn to each other and produce smiles while sharing the bike cozy love

aww. how happy has your basket made you today?

Park It In The Street!

The other day I posted this picture of the new Metrofiets parked in an on street parking spot.

.

I was surprised by the number of people who expressed fear (both here and on my Flickr account) about being harassed by either drivers or police.

So here I am challenging the status quo, again. I could have insisted on parking both of these sizable machines on the crowded, narrow sidewalk thus making it impassable for man or beast. There were already a dozen bikes littered around the store entrance, not to mention parked dogs and sun worshiping coffee addicts. But why? There is a perfectly good, open and available spot right there in front of my destination. While drinking my coffee I watched several people pull up with bicycles (with kickstands) who chose to leave due to the lack of sidewalk parking instead of utilizing this lovely large spot. It's even a free parking day (Sunday)!

If this guy can sunbathe in my space,

then I can park my bike in the street (it is as long as a Smart car!). Sometime this week I will post the law that says I can, tonight I am too lazy.

Origami for the Holidays

Do they know there are ful on racks in the parking basement? Maybe they're just running quick errands.

Little origami inspirations around the Japantown area in SF for the rainy, snowy or sunny days, depending on which side of the globe you are. Things are starting to slow down and everyone is getting ready for the end of year and a well deserved break, that's a good thing =)

Hope For The Future

You know there will be a future for bicycling when you see children's bicycles lying about, waiting for their owners return. I saw a little piece of that hope on my way home the other night.

Two kids bikes locked up to a parking meter with Mom's (?) mixte waiting for the morning to come. Two tiny bicycles being kept outside so they can be used the next day to get somewhere.

It isn't just me seeing this, either. Fellow bicycle lover, Ian, sent me this lovely sight in my email.


A child's bike locked up outside a local school long after the school day was done.

Bicycles. They are not just for playtime anymore!

adventures in bike parking, II

seen in a SF garage in the financial district. what i like about this is not the free bike you could get in like 10 seconds, but rather is the fact that bike is super disheveled. i see plenty of mountain bikes parking in those bike rack slots (aka sorry-ass excuse for bike rack parking, but i guess we at least get this...), but never one like this. even if you moved a bike to get it out of the way to unlock your own bike, something i have done before, you would think you should move it back to how you found it. or maybe the owner left it like this in a rush to get to work. both theoretical situations exposed the underbelly of vulnerability of this bike's parking job.

in any case, i was rather fascinated by this bike for some reason. keep them bikes locked up well, mkay?

The smile maker

Ran into this bike the other day and wanted to hug it. That little colourful parrot is just wonderful.
This was taken outside the coffee bar, one of my favorite spots for coffee in the city - which coincidentally, is painted almost entirely red outside.
Red walls attract red bikes.
Happy bikes attract happy energy.

have a great weekend
besos .m

Cruising around

There aren't many cruisers in the city, but enough to make you smile. I spotted these 2 super cute baby blue ones in the Inner Richmond. As I turned, the two friends were giggling because I thought those orange flowers were automatic smile-makers.
My friend and dinner partner for the afternoon just said 'ok, meli - remind me to put orange flowers on my road bike when I get home'
Keep taking notes I said.
Boys, are so silly.

The weather was in the high 80°s and the sunset couldn't be more beautiful. It is September, and it is summer in SF. With mostly foggy skies, so we take full advantage of the 'heat waves'

how to be nice to someone in two simple steps

one two...one two...

ONE:

and THEN........

TWO:

hopefully that made someone's day :)

Blue sequel

To follow up with our calitexican bike lane sighting [link], this bike suddenly appeared while I was parking bikes at the valet for the YBCA's technoCraft opening. Oyyy, so cool.

The writings on the wall.

Calitexican and meligrosa's road bikes getting some spanking fresh artsy wall love. Right.
For once we left our beloved basket red and bleu mixtes asides, and we decided to take our road bikes for a quick spin the other day. (that quick turned out to be, ummmm, 3-4 hours...) And face the mean hills in the face. Y qué?! here we go.
Of course I could not agree to do anything, for that fact, without a serious caffeination session before hand. More to come soon.

Both photos taken on Linden – Hayes Valley.

Stolen bike alert: Lynne's Specialized, stolen from 3rd +Minna

I photographed Lynne and her Specialized on May 8th in the Presidio.
•• Any info and your eagle eyes out there would be much appreciated!!••

2009 Specialized Sequoia Elite Serial Number 08216670 Stolen yesterday (6/14) between 11:30AM and 3:15PM where it was locked on a railing at 3rd and Minna. (police report # pending)

· 52cm
· black/silver
· Pinhead lock system on wheels, headset, and seatpost
· women’s Dolce 2009 seat
· mount for wireless cyclocomputer on headset, magnet and sensor on front wheel
· hood mounted black bell on right hood
· mounting hardware for light on left side of handlebar
· tree shaped black and white sticker on seat tube
· orange “Ride Free or Die” sticker on left lower fork
· blue “Pedal Revolution” sticker on right lower fork
· black/white SFBC share the road sticker on front of the head tube
· Spoke-lit green lights on both wheels
· Shrader valve tubes
· two water bottle cages, silver
· portable pump
· Kryptonite lock mount on right side of down tube
· Topeak rack attached to seatpost
· Downtube has SFPD and National Bike Registry stickers

Owner: Lynne Howe
I have the Pinhead key as well as the original purchase paperwork to prove ownership. Reward and my undying gratitude if recovered.

[crosspost]

Parking in Japantown.

Off we go.

Did you know there is a designated space for bikes in Japantown? I'm surprised that not a lot of people know, I personally forget they are there. Often times when in Japantown, I just lock up my bike near the tower or a parking meter, as I like to visually see my bike every 20 minutes, and most people do, as such:

Well this is good to know if you are heading to the Sundance movie theaters or walking around with your friends. It is located as you enter the parking lot, right off the corner of Webster st. and Polk. We had 4 bikes and there was still plenty of room for more. Well, now you know.

Leave a kid near a boring bike rack, and it will quickly become super fun to convert it into an imaginary pony :D

Declan and the imaginary pony.

thursday thoughts: de colores...

color influences my eyes. when i saw this going on between the bici vatas the other day:

...it reminded me of easter times growing up with cascarones.

so colorful. so festive. so fun.

time to make more cozies and more bike piles i think :)

BVPV