Picture Change

Bicycling has brought so many changes to my life.  There is something about how it frees you from convention, if you let it, that propels you into new experiences.  My shopping habits have changed (way less packaging because it is too hard to carry, more farmer's market purchases, more small store purchases because it is hard to park at the mall...), my eating habits are different (smaller amounts more often because it is awful to bike on a full stomach), my transportation choices have shifted (I will bike if I can, even when the car could be faster) and so much more.

My entry into photography was completely a result of riding my bicycle.  When I started seeing pictures from around the world of people on bicycles, I wanted to start adding to the record of what was happening around me.  As time went on, I wanted to do better at it and so I started to explore the camera.  Even pictures of things that have nothing to do with bicycles still have a bicycle as part of them as I probably bicycled to get where I was shooting or the subject was found while riding around.

Bicycling is very hard on digital equipment.  I have managed to destroy my Pentax 10D when I crashed my Bat on the Market St. train tracks.  The smaller ones have either worn out or been dropped too many times. So now, I am using film cameras that are much smaller and a great deal more robust.  But that means that my old "shoot-from-the-moving-saddle" style has got to change.

I can still do the occasional panda if I have the right camera with me,

but it is a great deal more difficult than it used to be.

So now, I will have to find a new style of shooting the bicycle scene.  This means finding a different way to interact with it, too.  It will take time to work out, but it will be fun and my bicycle will be with me all the way.

Bits and Pieces

Just a few things I saw riding around this weekend.

From behind, La Ballena looks like any other bicycle.

While we were parked I noticed that the bicycles very much resemble their riders- long, skinny and carrying all the groceries or more than a little wide in the rear with a propensity to wear orange.

SFPD monitoring a large right to life march. It was a pretty calm event, especially as the night before had been quite a bit more hectic with an Occupy SF protest. It isn't SF if there isn't someone protesting something every 24 hours. It is our secret industry after tourism.

This, however, was the winner of the day. I love my City!!!

What did you see this weekend?

Happy Trails

My route was a happy place this weekend.

The road was shared,

and there were positive affirmations. Now we can all get on with Monday.

Wednesday

It is Wednesday. The sun is out in San Francisco. Friday is a long way off. Take comfort, the bike life continues and will be there when you return.

Tuesday Ride

One of many reasons I love my City.

Men Bicycle, Too

There is a lot of emphasis on getting women on bicycles these days. Maybe knowing the nice guys they could ride with would help.

Ride Across Town

Just some of the people I saw as I rode across town.

We all talk a lot about those on bicycles looking like those on foot. We seem to have plenty of that going on.

Sometimes a book break is in order. A little sun in San Francisco and we want to be outside.

Uphill. Headwind. Reduce your drag, take off your shirt.

Grab your stuff and hit the road. Don't wait for the cargo bike of your dreams. Just go.

Lens Free Riding

What you carry with you over the course of the day can really change the way you look at things. I usually have a camera with me whenever I leave the house. The few times I have left home empty handed, I have continued to see the things around me through a lens and have regretted my lack of equipment. Not today, though.

My Mom picked up the kids and took them to LA for a couple of weeks. This leaves me with time on my hands, and a bicycle without extra kid weight : ) I decided that all extra weight was unwelcome while riding today. My camera was left at home. Making the deliberate decision to not shoot gave me the chance to just watch the world as it presented its self to me today.

What I saw was a whole lotta people on bicycles! They are all over the place in San Francisco. Some streets I saw dozens of them at a time, some just one or two, but all of the places I saw people getting where they were going to on bicycles are places that saw almost no two wheeled conveyances just three years ago. It wasn't just young people, either. I saw people of all ages riding everything from recumbents to homemade long johns. Almost everyone on bicycles looked the same as the people walking down the streets. The bicycle parking was full everywhere I went!

I will take out my camera to document it all another day. Today, I was happy to just be a part of the flow. Just another San Franciscan on a bicycle.

Ride on!

Grow A Beard, Ride A Bike

Beards have been making a comeback for the last year or so. They seem to have a special place in the bicycling community.

First up is our friend Esteban. He writes a San Diego based blog, Vélo Flâneur, and recently wrote a piece for Flow in which CYLRAB was mentioned (I am very pleased to be in a paper with footnotes : ) Esteban rides with a beard (he rode the Butter Lap with us last week).

Then there is our friend Deep, King Of The Trike (my title for him). Deep rides with a beard. And a sound system. On three wheels.

I shot this picture of what I have come to think of as "the beard cousins" last year. They seem to have tried to co-ordinate their beards.

I took this picture last year, too. He was just starting the beard odyssey. Maybe it has filled in since then.

This whole post (one that will go down in the annals of bicycle advocacy history as the post that changed the world for the better) was inspired by the wonderful man with the fantastic smile I took a picture of last Saturday.

Ride on all you bearded men!

A Little Something

Another weekend has come and passed and I have nothing pithy to write about and not enough photos dealt with on any one subject to cobble something together with. So I'll just throw up a few random shots of happy bike life in San Francisco from last weekend and try to do better tomorrow.

Bicycles in front of cafés is pretty much the "fish in a barrel" shot in these parts.

The City was awash with adult Bike Ed classes from the SFBC.

It is easy to stop at intersections if you get something interesting, like one of SF's historic trolley cars, to watch.

When the signs say that bicycles are not allowed on the path we try our best to comply and head for the lawn instead.

And if it all gets to be just too much in the City, we can head to Point Reyes and leave our trusty steeds outside while we get a beer.

Everyday People

While I am a participant and chronicler of the "Cycle Chic" movement, I really love the regular old folks you see on bicycles. There is so much beauty in the everyday, mundane world that we hardly ever notice.

This guy and I talked about riding around the city and how much fun it is. He took off down 3rd st. and I kept going. We'll see each other again on Market St. and we'll have someone new to wave to.

These two were on their way somewhere and taking the opportunity to people watch at the red light.

Maybe he needed to pick up his bike somewhere and she was heading over there with him.

You just know this lady has sons and she took one of their bikes to get out with her daughter. I love all of those clips in the girl's hair! I bet they click like the spoke beads we all used to put on our bikes.

Sometimes you have to make your own parking. Unless you have a skateboard, in which case you can park in your messenger bag.

One of the great joys of human powered transportation, any kind, is what you get to see- everyday people, doing everyday things and making the world a more beautiful place in the doing.

The Dark Side

I am always surprised when people tell me they are afraid to ride at night. Fear stops people from experiencing so many things. Riding in the city at night can be very peaceful. Fewer cars, more space, less noise.

Night riding isn't about carrying a ton of groceries or getting to work on time. Just grab your purse and hit the road.

The only hurry is to make sure you get to the pub while there is still a seat to be had.

Or maybe it is a gallery opening you are headed out to. A show of impressionist photography perhaps?

Maybe it is just to burn off some energy from the day. It doesn't really matter. Give it a try if you never have before. You will never have to worry about a valet scratching your car ever again!

Night & Day

Day time. Riding out to get some work done, pick up kids, return milk bottles...

Night time. Mid-week Butter Lap around town. Gotta get better at the hill climbing if I am going to make it in August.

Mix it up a bit. Just because you commute does not mean you can not race. Just because you like the open road does not mean you can't hit the street.

The Road Of A Hundred Miles

It should always begin with a restroom stop.

More to come.