Topic: San Fran

[csendker]

Just got back from spending a week in foggy northern Cal.  Nice time had by all (the family), but I must admit to being jealous of the quantity and diversity of bikes.  I'm comparing northern California to Buffalo of course, not a fair fight on any level but possibly for the price of gas.  I saw a ton of Duc's, a zillion scooters, a couple of SOHC's, lots of sport bikes and even an old Peugeot.  And they're commuter bikes, not the big 'ol chrome 'n show HD's we have everywhere here.  And for those of you actually riding in the city: my hat's off.  You must be total experts in the use and care of clutches & brakes; those be some damn steep hills you have.  And they put the stop sign so you're still on the incline, and can't see a thing over the crest.  I took Hwy 1 down to Monterey, and I think I saw more bikes than cars at some points.  Lots of them were long distance folks, loaded with gear.  I found the ubiquitous "Rent-a-Harley" propaganda in the hotel lobby, but couldn't pull the trigger.  I got enough grief from constantly snapping my head at the next bike I saw - can't imagine the recourse to "See 'ya tonight honey, I'm taking off for the day on my rented bike".  Now it's back to the land of Harley, but at least it's a sunny day and I get to ride my 550 again.

[lsutton]

Glad you enjoyed yourself, you should have rented the bike though, maybe a sportster, and tried out some of our twisties.  You're right about the brakes, I generally get less than 4k miles to a set of pads on my commuter bikes (same as a set of tires) and about two years to a pair of boots before I wear a hole in the top from the shifter.

[Uncle Ernie]

You can rent Beemers there, too.  Funny thing, sometimes you'll come to an intersection with a sign that says "HILL".  Best to have packed your 'chute personally on those.   We used to occasionally watch moving vans get stuck at intersections where the trailer is so low, they snag at the cross street.

So what restaurants did you go to? Any Northbeach bars? Where did you stay?

[csendker]

I forgot to mention the BMW's, probably second only to the Ducs in quantity.  I did notice the heavy scraping at the top & bottom of the steeper hills though.  Took a taxi one night - the more we laughed, the faster he went down the hills.  I think we may have caught some air once.

We stayed at the Ramada DT on Market - had a couple of free nights coming.  Not the best neighborhood, and a lot more homeless than I expected - the kids got a real dose of reality there.  But with the MUNI tourist pass, no problems running around the city - one subway stop away from the market st. cable car terminal.  Great transit system.

We went to Muir Woods to stare in wonder at the Redwoods. On the way there & back, I kept thinking this is the place to go if I had rented a bike.  Over the Golden Gate and through the backroad switchbacks.  It would have been an awsome ride, but instead we all started getting carsick in the minivan.

It was a family trip, so no bars.  My wife's a coffee nut, so Northbeach -Little Italy?- was a big hit with all of the Cafe's everywhere.  Our favorite restaurant was the Nob Hill Cafe: 'sgetti & pizza is absolutely awsome.  And the Twins showed up while we were there too, much to the delight of the kids.

[jasonbox]

Dood, I've been to San Fran many times, the bikes always abundant, many vintage cliassics. It's fun to tote a digital camera and capture images of the many bikes and make a little slideshow to impress yer friends.

JBOX

[miles nowhere]

I dont know if its still there, but when i lived in sf('02 '03) there was a vintage honda shop around 18th and folsom (i think). They always had a bunch of old sohcs sittin out front to taunt me. I was  a bicycle messenger, so I didn't have much cash and my motorbikes were scattered around the country...

[Uncle Ernie]

Sounds like Charley's, but it got sold and now it's something like O'Hanlon's or something. They specialize in SOHC4s.     Funny about the twins, I forgot about them.   My favorite places for coffee are either Peet's in Berkeley or Farley's in Potrero Hill- always great bikes to look at.  Amazing views from Farley's too.   The 2nd half of the '90s I lived in the 'loin to save money while I went to school.  No need to tell me about "reality". Some of those streets are like Calcutta, but I had a good time watching the transvestites.  The very first time I visited SF (about 1969 or 70) I was in that neighborhood and went away thinking "Gee! The girls sure are friendly here!"  Later I became friends with the manager of Phinoccio's.  Many a hayseed has had a crush on a Philipino man and not realized it.
I guess I'll always miss that burg. I just can't afford to live there.  I'm not a career kind of guy.

[csendker]

I was watching "The Rock" the other day, and paid extra attention when Nicholas Cage goes tearing around town on a bike chasing Sean Connery.  Great scenery shots. But...he hops on, and drives with his right hand only while calling back to the office on his cell phone to track some info down over the computer networks.  Mind you he started right after trashing a cable car, and they don't run on too many level surfaces.  He ends up at the Exploratorium, another real flat section of town.  I bet you can't ride in the city proper for more than 10 seconds with only one hand, you have to be changing gears and crunching brakes like there's no tomorrow.  Hollywood.