Virtual Greg

Today I went for a bike ride around San Francisco. When I was there two weeks ago I only went on public transport, which is good in this town, but restricts your exploration. A bike is good for touristing round town: not fast enough to miss things, not slow enough to be boring. The Caltrain service from San Jose through Silicon Valley to SF lets you take a bike on board. There is a special carriage where people stack their bikes on the bottom deck and try to find seats above.

I got on at my local stop (California Ave) and detrained at the second last stop in SF, 22nd Street below Potrero Hill. Apparently some Silicon Valley employees live in this suburb, a couple km south of downtown SF, and catch the Caltrain to work. I figure it’s not out of the question that I might live there eventually so I wanted to check it out. My goodness does San Francisco know how to do hills. Though it’s just a small neighbourhood, it’s a long haul from the station to the top. Once up there, the houses, view, parks are wonderful. It’s a family area and people were walking their dogs and swinging their kids. Some of the streets are so steep that you wonder how the cars stay parked. I took some snaps but it’s hard to photograph views from hills and I don’t how illustrative they are.

The next neighbourhood to the west is the Mission, a well-known area that’s both artsy and a bit down-and-out and quite different to Potrero. I rode down the hill and west to the main streets, Mission and Valencia. Around here there are lots of shops and eateries and I stumbled across the famous Aquarius Records. I told the guy I had a record in the store, but no red carpet was forthcoming. From there to the large Dolores Park at the border with Castro, past Mission High School (alumni include Carlos Santana). The sun was emerging from the fog by now and the houses getting more upmarket as I rode through the Castro towards Haight-Ashbury. Andrew B called Upper Haight a better Brunswick St and that’s a pretty good description. It’s fun, about six blocks of interesting shops, cafes and the odd anachronistic head shop for the tourists. Andrew had recommended a particular coffee spot here so I made it my first stop for the day. Despite a few spectacular hills most of SF is flat and not hard to ride around.

From Haight I rode along the panhandle to Golden Gate Park. This is better inside than it looks from outside. Similar vibe to the lawns between the Yarra and the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne. It’s huge and you could spend all day here but I wasn’t in the mood for lawn and took a northbound exit to head for the Golden Gate Bridge. I missed this two weeks ago and was determined to see it today. You go through Richmond, an unremarkable suburb, followed by another giant park, the Presidio. From the map I was expecting more lawn, but this is more like a national park in the mountains. It includes a gold course, forest, and several winding roads. I rode down to the bay, past a cemetery and along a large foreshore with families bbqing. The enormous bridge was shrouded in fog. Under the bridge there is an old 19th century fort guarding the bay. It was cold here, which seemed incredible after the heat wave two weeks ago. The climate seems more variable than Melbourne’s and alternated hot and cold all day.

Next I rode east along the shore road, through the Marina district to the piers on the north-east shore of San Francisco, round the east side to the financial district. I wanted to catch the BART across the bay to see UC Berkeley but it was already 3pm and I decided to leave that for next time. I wandered round Union Square to buy memory for my camera.  Crowds wait here for the cable car and there is usually live music – today it was an amazing drum band, about eight people playing bass drums and snares in a style that was a cross between marching music and hip-hop. It was time to head homeward and I had two choices, either bike down 4th street to the start of the Caltrain line, or return through Mission and Potrero to the 22nd street station where I began the day.

I biked south along Mission st and swung east toward Potrero. These two neighbourhoods are divided by the steep hill and a large freeway. I had to ask a passerby how to cross it all. Along 17th I went up the hill to “downtown Potrero” on 18th and Connecticut, a little shopping area. Not much here but ok coffee and those great views again. Up over the hill, down to the Caltrain station on 22nd and watied for the train, where I chatted to two other cyclists who convinced me I should bike over the Bridge to Marin County one day. The bike car was crowded with people standing and bikes three deep, but I got a seat eventually and read a free Arthur magazine I’d picked up at Aquarius. I didn’t realize this was such a great magazine. I’m not sure we get it in Australia – I’ve only seen the website. It addresses the issues of the day, ranging far beyond music, and is as good as any magazine I’ve read.