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Biking San Francisco

May 10, 2009 - 1 Comment - san francisco bicycling

When I moved to San Francisco just over a year ago, I did so without a car, truck, Segway, or what have you. Completely reliant on public transportation and my own two legs, the monthly $45 MUNI pass was my tax-deductible key to the city.

All MUNI busses are also either zero emissions or run on biodiesel, so they’re pretty damn green.

San Francisco’s MUNI system is highly capable compared to where I was coming from, and really helped me out as I established my new life on the western frontier, but it could only work for so long. After landing an apartment in the middle of the Richmond, the bus’s tendency to stop at every other corner seemed less cordial and more annoying; at an average speed of 7 MPH, it took my bus about 40 minutes to get me downtown, which didn’t include the waiting time which could be up to 15 minutes or so. The two hours I spent on the bus each day began to steadily take its toll on my sanity.

Enter the bike

The greenest form of transportation around. Everybody’s doing it!

I purchased myself the cheapest bike that could possibly work. It has gears for different speeds and a water bottle affixed to the frame, and it’s fairly rugged. It gets me from point A to point B.

The first challenge, of course, is figuring out the best routes around the city. I had hoped there would be a viable Google Maps mash-up out there somewhere which could calculate routes while figuring in the topography of the city, but the only solution I could find which purported to do this was very slow and buggy (but good luck to whoever is working on it, as it would be a great tool to have!). And so I succumb to (gasp) an old-fashioned PDF which does not plot courses for you. Use this map; it is invaluable.

Routes which I have personally found most useful have been the Panhandle Bikeway (through the Panhandle just east of Golden Gate Park) and The Wiggle, which runs between the hills to provide the easiest corridor from the easternmost end of the Panhandle to the Duboce Triangle, and beyond to downtown, the Castro, and the Mission. The Wiggle is highlighted on the bike map PDF, except note that when heading east you will want to take Oak instead of Fell (just remember Oak to Oakland).

If you are going to be riding at night, you will want to get both a white headlight and a red rear light in order to avoid being killed by a fellow citizen in a motor vehicle. It’s not just a good idea—it’s the law. Also, it’s a good idea to have a raincoat or similar apparel if you’re going to be riding in the rain—San Francisco is a very wet city at times.

More information about biking San Francisco can be found at the San Francisco Bike Coalition website.

Getting results

Your mileage may vary, but purchasing a bike has been one of the best ideas I’ve had in a long time. It usually takes me roughly the same amount of time to cross town as it would on a bus, but I never find myself waiting for the bus to arrive, which has undoubtedly saved me many hours in just the past month. It also provides a decent amount of exercise which is built into my day—if I’m going to work, that’s already well over an hour of time spent pedaling and raising my heart rate to get to the office and back. Bicycling is also the greenest form of transportation available aside from just walking.

These are great features, but to me they are only on the surface. The reality of owning the bike means much more than just saved time and exercise. It’s really about freedom through mobility, and in some ways, a bike provides even greater mobility than a car does in this city where one can easily spend ten minutes or more just looking for a parking spot. And I never have to worry about moving my bike out of the way to adhere to the street cleaning schedule. And, unlike relying on public transit, I can just pick up and go at any time.

There is also the matter of really taking in this beautiful city. In a car or on a bus you can look out the window, but that window is like a bubble between you and the outside, and everything tends to just pass by. On a bike, you are more at one with the road and your surroundings and may just happen upon some feature, maybe a restaurant or shop or work of art, which you might not have noticed otherwise. I also have the good fortune of a twice-daily traipse through my backyard, Golden Gate Park, where I have a short break from the density of the city to be surrounded by all manner of sweet smells and green things.

I hope this is helpful to anyone who has wondered whether bicycling is a viable option for getting around San Francisco. I can certainly vouch for its effectiveness in getting me from the west end to the east end and back every day. Additional tips, routes, and sonnets to the experience of bicycling are welcome in the comments.