Dan Schneider and Chris Ruedy inspect the Interior Greenbelt Trail Corridor.

Its been rumored about for quite some time, there have been community meetings, and there was even an emotional vote of approval from the SFRPD Commission, but nothing tells the story like a photo.

The long awaited Interior Greenbelt Trail project, or better known as the Stanyan Street trailhead, finally breaks ground on Saturday October 2nd, 2010. The project is a partnership with UCSF and SF Rec & Park since the trail corridor shares property lines. Visit the SF Urban Riders Volunteer Page for more details on getting involved in this exciting and historic project.

The Interior Greenbelt trail was originally established in the 1880′s when Adolph Sutro owned the land and planted the trees that would become the infamous Sutro Forest. At that time Cole Valley was farm land, UCSF had not been constructed, and the newest train stop was at Stanyan Street to bring visitors close to Golden Gate Park. In order for Adolph Sutro to get weekly laborers to his Nursery at Clarendon and 7th Avenue he needed a connecting trail, so he constructed it and made it into an official route. It went on to become another of Sutro’s amazing recreational gifts to the city he loved, only to be improperly managed and lost to the public in the 1950′s.

This project will take 6-9 months to complete, and thousands of hours of volunteer work. It will add approximately 1/2 mile to the current Mount Sutro trail system, and more importantly direct access to Mount Sutro from Stanyan Street and Cole Valley. This trail project also signifies the beginning of a dream to build a trail that will continue from the Stanyan Street trailhead all the way around Mount Sutro, continuing over to Twin Peaks, and then  down into Glen Canyon. Its a big dream shared by many open space organizations, and just One Big Reason why the cycling community needs SF Urban Riders to be at the big table and advocate to keep this dream accessible to bikes!

Please be excited for this NEW Trail Project, but be RESPECTFUL. Please do not try to use the trail during construction, as it has NO EXIT.  Local neighbors thank you in advance for your courtesy!

The best way to check it out is to VOLUNTEER at the monthly trail building party.

The best way to stay informed of all things Mount Sutro and Trails is the Sutro Stewards website:

This section the Interior Greenbelt trail has been closed to the public for 50 years

Chris Ruedy, Craig Dawson, and Bandit at one of the hidden Chert Rock outcrops that are waiting to become cool trailside features.

SFUR hopes to see you at McLaren Park on October 3rd, 2010 for this years big event!

Enjoy the Video!

There was also the glorious moment of the planning commission revealing the data gathered from the last survey.  Another hearty thanks to everyone who took time to fill out the second survey.  Just look at these figures! The people have indeed spoken.

What’s that? Can’t read the text? Lets have a closer look.

So now we just need to keep pushing.  Within the hallowed halls of the great institution known as SFUR, which could easily be mistaken for a dive bar, we’re working to get a second draft of our bike park proposal submitted.  Then comes assurance that we can have a space to work with, then comes fundraising and building.  Then comes some sweet, sweet play time for you, me, and everyone who loves bike riding in the bay area, and many who do not yet know how much they (will) love it.

Many thanks, and if you have time, please fill out the second survey, located here.

Note that this survey is not as open ended as the first, and it is a little disappointing to not see any mention of a bike park within, especially given the results of the first survey.  Please take some time with the second survey to select the ‘other’ option and note how much you would appreciate a place for you and your children to ride bicycles off road in a structured environment.

We’re making progress on the McLaren Bike Park.  We’re gathering support and reviewing proposals to submit to the city.  Thanks to everyone who has already joined our McLaren Bike Park facebook page.  Thanks to everyone who has visited our new MBP page here on this site.  A very special thanks to everyone who signed our support petition and wrote a letter.

We’re also making a separate website just for this project.

Come by and visit us @ www.mclarenbikepark.org.

With enough voices, our momentum towards a bike park and mountain bike trails in McLaren and elsewhere will be unstoppable.  We really need everyone’s help to spread the word.  Tell people on facebook, tweet it out, send some emails, or just talk about it after your next big ride.

Pack Less: No matter how well you organize your goods, two weeks of four people living out of one car gets chaotic.  Its better to have less to sift through, less to carry around.  I could have brought fewer tshirts, fewer shoes, fewer strings, rubber bands, tripods and shovels.  (yes, I actually did bring all that crap. No, I don’t know why).  Recent studies show it’s not as gross as you think to wear your tshirt four days in a row. (just don’t ride in the same one 4 days in a row)

Carbon Soled Shoes are EVIL: When going on adventure mountain bike rides, one at times finds oneself climbing up steep sections that are unrideable.  In the single speed worlds, these are pre-requisite parts of the course.  In Durango’s SSWC course, they threw wall after wall at the riders, which would have been tolerable had I not had the Specialized Pro Carbon Torture shoes on my feet.  Now, these types of shoes are just fine for sprinting through Mt. Sutro, down to Bender’s, or racing your friend down the tower trail of Twin Peaks.  But try to walk up a mountain in them, and your feet will HURT!   Today, I buy some flexible soled shoes.  Today, I say adieu to blisters and more blisters.  This advice may come in helpful in cross races, too.

Off Road Recreation Area = ATV playground.  Sure, it sounds nice, after all, we’re all about recreation in the dirt.  However, the no-holds-barred lands known as Off Road Recreation Areas tend to be spiderwebbed with hick trails, fueled by gasoline and hootch, going everywhere, making the provided map all but useless.  To make matters worse, an Off Road Recreation Area gives mountain biking the worst element of road riding: No, I’m not referring to an amateur roadie’s over inflated ego, but rather to being passed by cars (and ATVs, and Motorcycles)

Never ask for MTB routes at Action Sports, Bakersfield.  See above. (it was his “favorite” local mountain bike trail)

Be an Ambassador: Because it was the Single Speed WORLD championships, it was arranged for me to pick up an Austrailian on the way out of town.  This man endeared himself to everyone he met through being an all around good natured fella, a hell of a bike rider and basketball player – and he brought cheap tourist trinkets with him.  It’s a good trick.  The plastic ‘ro, riding in my ‘ru, down the road brought about many a laugh and a story.  The children in Durango smiled new smiles when he handed them clip on Koalas.  The Aussie diorama can still be referenced on my car’s dashboard – currently located on Fulton & Arguello (until the damned dpt comes ’round)

Other Lessons: Make new Friends. Lean into the turn. Explore.  Dont’ use the Map unless you have to. Relax. Let it Ride.  Go Ride.  Draw Pictures.  Take time. Make time. The sound of silence is a beautiful one. Don’t be traffic.

man, I sometimes wish I was still on the road.

Next year is New Zealand… anyone want to take a trip?

When I try to turn these thoughts inward,  I am constantly astounded at the chaotic crashing of thoughts through my head.  This doesn’t disturb me in the least, it just seems to be. Perhaps this reflection is brought about by my reading a good deal of literature and fiction lately (God bless you, Mr. Vonnegut), where life is ordered into a storytelling form, linear and straightforward. It seems to mak life and human interactions linear and organized. Perhaps therein lies the fiction, therein lies the art.

Speaking of crashing, I was recently drawn into another heated debate about the validity of fixed gear bicycles as a form of urban transport and cycleriffic fun. Why must these debates get so heated? I love bikes, in all shapes and sizes. There are people that pick a side of the fence, stand staunchly decrying fixies as true connection to the road, the ultimate in simplifying the human-machine interface.  They face squarley off against those yelling how fixies are a dumb fad, no one knows how to ride them, they only want them as a hip fashion accessory, fixie riders aren’t even about bikes, they will all crash and die without a brake, cause harm to the freewheeling public, etc. etc.)

Why must sides be picked? Bikes are fun. Period. Ride them.

This smacks of those surfers that ride shortboards and glare and curse when I paddle my longboard into a shortboard lineup.  Smacks of my younger years, when skateboarders who couldn’t even land a kickflip on flat ground would gnash their teeth and scoff at me when I launched a 360 out of the halfpipe on my “fruitboots” aka rollerblades.   Yes, that’s right. I’m admitting it.  I rollerbladed and I loved it.

Shit, it doesn’t even stop there. Go to Utah, try to take your snowboard to Alta ski resort. Nope. not allowed. Not unless you take a skillsaw to the centerline and drill some ski bindings in. Snowboards NO. Skis yes. Longboards NO. Shortboards yes. Rollerblades NO. Skateboards yes. Fixies NO. Freewheels yes.

and of course, the dichotomy of trail use: Bicycles NO, Horses yes.  Bicycles NO, people yes.

Can’t anyone besides me see that no matter what the sport, stupid apes find a way of making their platform better by excluding or belittling another? Why can’t we apes just see that long or short, fixed or free, one or two, blades or boards, foot or wheel, we’re all enjoying varieties of the same feeling?  That we’re all seeking to enjoy the same space and seek respite from this crazy life we’ve gotten ourselves into?  Can’t we just smile at the variety that is created around the dynamic sensation and pursuit of flat out fun?

Huh? Can’t we?

So many shoes, so many shoes, that our kids will soon have beautiful trails to ride and glorious bike parks to explore…  Nike, the same powers that brought Union Square visitors the giant, gaunt, and intense poster of Lance Armstrong’s race face are now running a 650,000 dollar grant to support community and school groups which aim to unlock the potential of young people through programs that focus on sport.   Well, as you can see in the current lead story – SF Urban riders is all about getting the young’ns out on the trail.

We need your help to secure funding from this unique opportunity. Please follow this link to vote for our group and spread the word via facebook!

With your help we can secure funding to organize regular youth rides and skills camps.  If anyone remembers our skills clinics at the local Pilarcitos race series last fall, those type of programs are exactly what we will expand upon and bring to more places, with more quality features, challenges and lessons to engage and exhilarate children who stop by, no matter what their age.  If you don’t remember the events, perhaps the images and video below might stir your imagination.

Thank you for helping us in this unique community based fundraiser.

Maybe it will never be that easy. It probably shouldn’t ever be that easy. However, the easiest thing you can do to enhance and expand your riding experiences when you venture to the land of Tam, Repack, Headlands, and Tamarancho is to visit IMBA’s site and write comments into the local government. There are miles of sustainable, beautiful trail, that we are not allowed to use solely because of our choice of vehicle. Let’s take one more step towards a beautiful future where cyclists, hikers, dog walkers and runners can all share miles and miles of beautiful trails.  Please take a moment to write in and indicate your support for more mountain bike access to our local trails.

Click HERE to take action and help open up one more trail to mountain bikers.  And be sure to use this whole interweb to tell a few people about us and about this opportunity for new singletrack access in Marin.

Sign up can be found @ http://www.alesandtrails.net

You could go elsewhere this Saturday, you could go get a selfish ride on trails that wouldn’t be possible without a group like IMBA advocating for mountain bike access. But if you go elsewhere, you won’t get all this good stuff…

• Limited Edition Event Beer Tasting Glass
  
• Limited Edition Event Socks from SockGuy
  
• Trial Subscription to Dirt Rag Magazine
  
• Goodies from Clif Bar, Sports Basement, Technu and other sponsors.
  
• Opportunity to join a guided ride or skills clinic
  
• Gourmet BBQ ( We’re talkin’ really, really good, not just some cheap-o catered stuff)
  
• Beer Tasting from eight breweries
  
• Opportunity to demo bikes and participate in the Silent Auction, Shimano Youth Series race and Dirt Rag Photo Contest

SF Urban Riders will be present, and if the well groomed, fun and swoopy trails of China Camp aren’t enough, there are going to be an entire slew of fun technical features available for practice and sessioning.  The crowning jewel of which is what happens when SFUR puts its collective heads together around good drawings:

Click on the drawings to see some images of the structure in action.  We can’t wait to raise a cup and pop a wheelie in a toast to fine trails, fine people, and fine advocacy work.  As you can see below, it was obviously no fun at all last year.