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Some of you may know already, but in February or March, I'm going to be moving myself and my business to San Francisco. (Don't worry, I'll be back down for rides and such often enough). AltPixel lost it's lease and we have until mid-February to move out, so I'm going to take the opportunity to try a different city for a little while (or permanently, who knows), because I've lived in LA my whole life and I need to try something else.
I was wondering if any of you know much about the bike culture up there, or how I can get involved in it. I've ridden up in SF a couple of times now, but not in any group rides yet. What I do know is that they have the largest Critical Mass in the world (it started there), and that the entire city has amazing bike infrastructure... bike routes EVERYWHERE and signs on intersections without bike lanes that say "Bikes allowed full use of lane". Which is just awesome. I'm also looking forward to participating in a CM ride that regularly attracts thousands and thousands of riders and gets a mention in the evening traffic report as "reminder: don't drive in San Francisco tonight".
What I've gleaned so far:
* Somebody started a Midnight Ridazz chapter up there a few years ago, but from cursory examination of the web, it's not currently active. Or, at least, they don't update their website.
* A fellow in spandex I talked to last time I was riding up there pointed me towards sffixed.com, so I registered for an account. The forums are super-active, but there isn't much in the way of a ride listing. It seems more geared (rimshot) towards swapping parts and people showing each other photos of bikes they built up.
* There are a few sites that organize rides, but they're more of the 'bring your kids to ride through these tourist traps on sunday afternoon' and less of the 'let's ride around and drink because it's cheaper than a bar and more fun than a house party' variety.
* Everybody who rides a bike in the Mission drinks beer at Zeitgeist every afternoon after work (the most amazing biker bar EVAR, and by "biker" I mean the pedaling variety)
* I have a bunch of friends who live there, and all of them bike everywhere and are generally car-free, but they use their bikes as a practical way to get around and do stuff as cars just _aren't_ practical. But they don't know much about rides that aren't San Francisco Critical Mass.
So, I ask Midnight Ridazz... does anybody know of any regular social or party rides (a-la Crankmob, Robotz, or Taco Tuesdays) that go on on the peninsula? Is there anybody I should seek out and introduce myself to? Is there a Midnight Ridazz -like website that I just don't know about with an updated ride listing and/or forum?
Also, who wants to crash on my couch and ride San Francisco Critical Mass once I get settled up there?
My knowledge of SF bike culture is based solely on the Ridazz trip to SF back around July 4, so take this for what it's worth...
First of all, word is that the SF Ridazz are totally defunct. From talking to the folks at the bike kitchen there, it sounds like the group lost steam pretty quickly. People just weren't all that interested in partying on their bikes. In SF, people ride, and people party, but rarely at the same time.
We (well, mostly Matt and Sean) tried to recruit a ton of people for the Hand Bone ride and got a lot of "yeah, sure, looks interesting... we'll try to make it" sort of responses. But as it turned out, the only ones who showed were LA Ridazz and their associates. There was a huge messenger event that weekend, though. Quake City Rumble, I believe it was called. Races, parties, etc. So there's that kind of thing to look forward to. And when we stopping to grab lunch one day, there was a small group gathering outside for a ride following the history of the labor movement in SF. So if that's any indication, the earnest, granola-eating exploration-of-the-city type rides are as common as the air you breathe. Asking for Crank Mob would probably be too much, but find enough people with The Hunger, and I bet you could get something started.
I really think that riding a bike in LA is something special precisely because so few people do it, because it's a confrontation with a hostile environment. Once the infrastructure is in place to make riding practical for everyone, riding a bike just becomes what you do to get around, and a lot of that specialness disappears.
None of this makes riding your bike any less fun, of course. That city is an awesome place to ride. In fact, I'm really hoping that my brother will be getting his second bike before I fly down to SF for New Year's...
I just went up there this last week for the Creative Commons 6th Year Celebration. There's a lot of people that ride bikes in SF, it's pretty common to see at least one person riding at any given time when walking around. I asked a guy what the bike scene is like is SF and if there are a lot of rides, and he replied that there is one towards the end of the month, but didn't really mention any others. I imagine that there are probably smaller rides going on, but probably something you get to know by asking around.
yeh, the impression I get from riding up there is that EVERYONE rides so what's the big deal about riding with other people! but yeah they have a pretty big critical mass... it's led by some motorcycle cops that look the other way when people are running lights, etc. kakihara and i did the critical mass up there last month and it was craaaazy running through the black friday crowds. lots of fun though. there's also a couple bicycle bars where there is bicycle parking inside! gestalt haus and zeitgeist.
I will be moving up to frisco soon maybe mid year or earlier.
My girlfriends knows of some cats that are "bikers" i.e ride, camp, ride, camp. I will be making the trip back to frisco with my girl jan. 3?
If you want to talk about organizing some group rides out there, or just hang out and explore the city please count me in.
-Mike-
mtpisces@gmail.com
theres not many group rides at all. i live in sf and the biggest ride iv e been on was critical mass which was pretty dam big. but fuckin police are apart of it which equals mega gayness. other than that the biggest rides ive seen are like 12 people.
Judging by your involvement in the monumentally kick-ass, Rogue Ride, you're more than capable of showing these Northerners how it's done in the South!!!
I love LA. Despite the shitty bike infrastructure and nasty drivers, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here. But yes, Hal, start it up. It would be awesome to take the Bullet Train up there to party it up for the weekend, then get back to LA just in time to catch another ride/work.
i visit SF like once a month since my GF goes to grad school there.
a couple things i noticed:
- since SF is #1 really damn hilly, #2 only 7 miles by 7 miles (49 square miles) its pretty hard to emulate the types of epic rides we have in LA unless you want tor ride across the bridge to Marin, or to Oakland or to South SF. you can bike from the inner sunset, which is close to the middle of the city, to either side of the peninsula in a matter of minutes.
- people bike to get around when its actually faster than walking or taking public transportation. it's a largely accepted part of SF culture to do so.
- watch out for LA haters. i don't know what the deal is, but i've met a few. and i always have to remind them they are just different cities, and if they don't like LA, then they are looking in the wrong places. LA is huge. the two cities are different. and there's all there is to that.
Thanks for the input everybody. You've all basically confirmed what I had assumed all along, but I'm not sure that's a bad thing. I'm really looking forward to it, and don't think I won't be in touch.
My plan currently is to fly/drive up two or three times in January and scope out places. I'm not sure what part of town I'm going to move to, but I have a number of friends who live up there (who I grew up with in LA) who are talking about renting a 4 or 5 bedroom house up there. The place we're kinda-sorta looking at is a 4-bedroom residential space in the mission on the second floor of a storefront with a backyard and everything. Which means parties and places for friends to crash. I'm going to get an office and studio set up there as well. My plan is to sell my car in LA and build an Xtracycle so I can haul all of my gear around in SF.
In the mean time, it'll be business as usual in LA, and ROGUE V will still happen at the current space in Santa Monica in February, right before we move out of the place for good.
And yeah, Zeitgeist is AMAZING. I wouldn't call it the cornerstone of bike culture up there, but every time I go there, the bike racks inside are sooooo full of bikes that it's difficult to lock up. There should be some kind of a LA Ridazz-storm-Zeitgeist one day in the future.
Does anybody have any other ideas, experiences, or suggestions?
yeah im so glad i live in l.a. for all the culture thats offered here. being from a small town back in the midwest its refreshing to be a part of a city so big and yet full of excitement. yay!
can't say i lived in SF, but having a good friend that lived in Pacifica, i spent plenty of time up there exploring on two wheels. I think "science person" (forgot the s/n) has a similar perspective. The compact city isn't conducive to having long group rides every night. You'll soon run out of concrete & will want to venture off into the nearby hills. Mountain biking started here & it's still a strong influence. I would say the ratio to mtb's to fixies is about 5 to 1. Seems like single speed 29'rs with discs are popular. Which makes sense, even in "The City". Plenty of hills, rain-slicked roads that are clogged with cars just isn't the best place to ride a fixed gear bike. And no, I'm not trying to start a "your bike is lame" thread. But one reason a lot of pretentious northerners hate LA, is because of our blind trend following. And to many, the "fixed gear trend" exemplifies that. And probably another reason you won't see any LA-influenced bike rides.
Well, I don't really care much for psychiatrist-pshrink-heads, but here's my theory and don't strangle me.
I'm under the assumption that Bay-Area people hate outsiders in general due to living under that smug-banner that the Hippie-Area brought them, along with the tech-influences of Silicrack Valley.
They think they're smarter, cleaner, and generally more acceptable than everyone else in the country.
And to take cheap-shots, they'll usually strike at the closest region that isn't them, us down here in the Southland.
As for Gavin Newsom, you all know my stance on semi-unrestricted gun-rights.
This guy is the biggest, "gold-coated" hippie I have ever heard about.
If anything, the only reason I would move up to San Francisco is to run against him and kick him out of office!!!
yeah, screw those granola munchers ;-) actually, as the love child of hippies, i was dragged around to most major cities in the world (drove around the US for 8 months). I didn't continue their politics, but I did continue traveling. Not that I'm an expert on every city, but LA does deserve a lot of the shit thrown at it. It really is the most superficial city in the world (generalizing). A perfect example of that is the unbalanced number of boob jobs here (70% of the world). Couple that with number of full size truck owners who don't need their gas guzzlers (40% of all US full size truck purchases are here). Then there's the fixie fad that's dying out in many other cities. This city has it's priorities screwed up (generalizing) where function follows form, when it should be the other way around. But on a positive note, this city has an endless amount of urban terrain to explore & the greatest weather in the world to do so. And some of the most beautifully diverse women...by far!
Stating that fixies are Non-functional and just a fad is silly.... The first bikes ever made were fixed, freewheels weren't around when the first bikes were built.
They are very useful for moving around crowded city streets which is why messengers adopted them in the firts place.
Also they are so simple they hardly ever break compared to derailleur bikes.
If you want to judge people arbitrarily for the purpose of validating your own choice then thats fine but it smells like a pointless backlash.
Better to ride with someone for a few hours then to make decisions about them based on their hoice of bike.
2 more year here...then it's off to paradise. Most ex Angelinos wish they would of moved sooner. It's not fun riding around watching your back (been bike jacked 3 times!), then there's the little cliques with the big attitudes.___________ is so much better then LA ;-)
Still: i used to ride pista 15+ years ago. Way before the girl pants wearing crowd jumped on them. The novelty wore off as quick as the rubber on my tires. As for messengers on fixed gear. That's a myth. Back when it was really a real job (& not some "job"), the guys that rode fixed gear spent more time doing tricks waiting for an order. (Yeah, i know the NYC rasta dudes picked fixed since they were used to parts or tools). It makes more sense for a real messenger to ride a burly bike that can jump down stair cases or at least over curbs & avoid pinch flats. Not trying to get into a pissing match with the fixed gear fanboys, but hey, it really is a myth that most messengers rode fixed.
proof-reading: "weren't used to tools & parts". And yeah, they are easier to maintain. And they do look pretty. And sliding around is fun, but can still be done with brakes. And the fact that most fixies don't have a back up brake just screams, "i'm more concerned with keeping my bike pretty, then I am with my safety". (Read: extreme vanity). But as my name suggests, ride whatever floats yer boat. I don't care, just don't endanger others with your choice of bike.
if you truly could care less either way, then you wouldnt have spent the time posting your "opinions" in this thread again and again and again. just sayin. c u on tha streetz.
firing off a quick rant is almost as easy as maintaining a geared bike (not much effort). And again, ride whatever. I know it seems like I'm dissing on fixed, but it's not so much that, but the trendy people that never really were into bikes that a riding them for the fad aspect. But again, to leave this on a positive note, it's great that more people are riding bikes. Ride on...
I started riding fixed this winter to get more out of my (decreased) miles. It's improved, or at least made me more aware of my spin. The official verdict is:
all bikes are good
(as long as they're painted black)
p.s. San Francisco is cool, watch out for tracks!!!
hey. my name is julie, i'm from los angeles. i read your post about you moving to SF and you mentioned a line about letting someone couchsurf your place so they could attend the CM meet in SF...well let me say i for one am so up for it! is that chill?
maybe we can swap photos too, might be able to trust eachother a little bit more, something like that..
anyway,
i also want to get more familiar with that city because i'm going to transfer to CCA when i'm done with smc, and take my bike with me. plus SF is pretty legit.
yeah, screw those granola munchers ;-) actually, as the love child of hippies, i was dragged around to most major cities in the world (drove around the US for 8 months). I didn't continue their politics, but I did continue traveling. Not that I'm an expert on every city, but LA does deserve a lot of the shit thrown at it. It really is the most superficial city in the world (generalizing). A perfect example of that is the unbalanced number of boob jobs here (70% of the world). Couple that with number of full size truck owners who don't need their gas guzzlers (40% of all US full size truck purchases are here). Then there's the fixie fad that's dying out in many other cities. This city has it's priorities screwed up (generalizing) where function follows form, when it should be the other way around. But on a positive note, this city has an endless amount of urban terrain to explore & the greatest weather in the world to do so. And some of the most beautifully diverse women...by far!
just_ride
12.28.08 - 8:20 pm
reply
I hate this stereo type. considering most of the people your describing moved to LA. People who grew up hear do not fit your description. But most people complaning about it didnt grow up hear either. your talking about 5 % of LA explore the rest of the city and you might learn something
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