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.

We’re looking for a few volunteers to help build dirt jumps, help setup a cyclocross race course, and other tasks of a general high grade of awesomeness.  If you think you could assist, please head on over to the SF Bike Expo volunteer signup page which can be found here. They’re looking for volunteers for a few days before as well, so don’t let your schedule slow you down.  SF Bike Expo has teamed up with Marin Bikes to raise funds for our future SF bicycle park (location TBD) by raffling off a Marin dirt jump hardtail!  If you’d like to enter the drawing, click here, and buy as many tickets as you are wonderful.

If you miss this event, you’re missing out on the best bicycle based event that San Francisco ever sees.  Cross Race, Dirt Jump contest, Track stand contest, great deals on all those beautiful, shiny upgrades you’ve been scouring craigslist for…

The blog over at www.sfbikeexpo.com is keeping everyone updated on last minute details.

SF Urban Riders will be there with our triple threat feature – come, ride, play, and support your local cycling scene.

]]> http://sfurbanriders.org/wordpress/sponsors/1121-sf-bike-expo/feed/ 0 http://sfurbanriders.org/wordpress/lead-story/con-amigos/ http://sfurbanriders.org/wordpress/lead-story/con-amigos/#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:24:18 +0000 dcrites http://sfurbanriders.org/wordpress/?p=897 Why SF Urban Riders? Why bother? Because of the pure enjoyment that comes from gathering good people together, and enjoying the experience of a bicycle adventure together.  Laughing, looking, and leaning through turns and berms, one after another.   That’s why we lead group rides.  That’s why we’re working to create more off road opportunities in SF Parkland.

Cyclocrossers, Singlespeeders, Frankenbikers, Trailbikers, and Dirt Jumpers united this last Sunday under the banner of a SF Urban Riders group ride.  One accomplice even came down from the land of Sonoma for, “something different”.  Seems that even though you can have the endless miles of singletrack of Annandel and West County out your back door, there’s always that allure of park/pavement/burger/beer combination that our fair city serves up so very well.

We met up around 9ish.  I say ‘ish’ because in proper mountain biker style, no one had a watch on or was really worried about exact times.  While we waited for a friend to arrive, we practiced wheelies and bunnyhops to bide the time. I also took pictures of us not practicing. Easier photo subjects, if somewhat less interesting.

Our route went out through some fun trails in Golden Gate Park, carefully plotting our route around and through the Nike Women’s Marathon – though we did get some free chips out of the deal.   They were worth the price, and that’s about all I can say for popchips.  A new spot to me, who has been riding in GGP for the last five years, was the dump yard out near the beach, and talk about a potential bike park area, there’s already a ton of material there, and no use other than allowing RPD to dump materials.  That and ride down hills,

Past Graffitti walls,

And through puddles, as boys on bikes must do.

From there, we went up to Mt. Sutro, which was beautifully moist from the fog and recent rain.  Per typical, it felt like a wonderful escape from the city, from San Francisco, and everything urban.

From there, we went out to Twin Peaks, Whiz Burger, and Zeitgeist.  There aren’t much for trails in the latter two spots, but there are certain other attractions beyond bicycles and trails after one has spent a few hours on bicycles on trails…

Hope to see some more folk, or just more of the same next month, or simply crossing paths on our fine SF trails.  We’ve got a lot of room to get better, but it’s pretty damn nice as is.  Now go out and ride your bikes.

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?

The YMCA’s Matt Dove and Mark G designed and managed the program, with assistance from SF Urban Riders director Dan Schneider.  Many elements of the YMCA’s programs were inspired by the popular SFUR bike skills events hosted in McLaren and Golden Gate Parks.  The YMCA’s program drew 15 to 20 youth daily to come out and experience riding a bicycle on trails.  The program has taken kids out to explore trails in the Presidio, Golden Gate Park, and of course, our beloved Mt Sutro.

The first day of the bike program was conducted at the YMCA’s presidio location, and served as a mountain bike orientation for the youth in attendance, many of whom had never ridden bicycles off road before.  The instructors presented drills and excercises that illustrated both street safety and basic off road skills.

The first day of real off road riding was hosted by SF Urban Riders, within the trail system of Mt. Sutro.  Participants in the program completed two to three laps, stopping to practice some of the more technically challenging features of the Sutro Trail system.  Young mountain bikers got to build confidence and have fun learning how to pedal through a tight switchback, how to float, rather than rattle over some particular rocky sections, and how to confidently roll off of that one tricky log in the trail.  While enjoying lunch within the serene summit garden, YMCA staff and SF Urban Rider’s Dan Schnieder presented a brief history of the area, as well as lessons on how to properly ride trails and show courtesy to other trail users.   The energy among the kids was decidedly positive, with ‘cool’ being the ubiquitous term to describe the activities.  Attendees were also overheard saying “I’m psyched for the mud…” and “I want to go back into the forest”…

Well said, young ones.  I don’t think that feeling ever changes.

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.

Here’s a couple snapshots of the workday, and if anyone has any more snapshots, of this workday or anything else you’d like to share with SF Urban Riders, please visit our flickr group, and upload a few pictures to share.