Mission Mission

I asked Devin if he’d had any kind of formal self-defense training or anything:

No, not really. I went to military school when I was younger, but I’ve always been a badass.

Good to know. Watch your backs if you ever visit Sac I guess. And try to hang with a badass like Devin.

Previously:

Critical Mass Sacramento

I’m pretty sure SFist editor Brock Keeling said all that needs to be said:

Exactly what is S.F. Bike Party, you ask? Let’s see: SFBP is new and meant “for all riders of different ages, types, and skill levels to enjoy.” They “encourage people to bring positivity and contribute to good times while being respectful to others.” They “follow planned routes along the way.” And, best of all, they urge you to “dance and socialize along the way.”

What fun. Think of it as Critical Mass’ younger, more controlled sister who likes to karaoke after a glass of Chardonnay. She’s a total stitch, but won’t get you into too much trouble. The perfect way to start your commitment to cycling more in 2011.

Perfecto! See you there!

RSVP on Facebook here.

[Spoke card by Bikes and the City]

When Critical Mass made its way into the parking garage under the Safeway on 16th Street, those on tall bikes had to duck or risk head trauma. The ceilings were low, and some low-hanging pipes were even lower. But those came in handy:

Also of note (perhaps), a female tall biker, amid throngs of dude tall bikers:

Oh, and here’s some video:

Look at the size of that baton. And three or four of them were wearing gas masks.

All we wanted to do was cruise down Powell into the morass of Black Friday shoppers and see what was up, but NOOO. These guys had to blockade the whole neighborhood all geared up for war. God forbid anybody messes with commerce on the biggest shopping day of the year.

The ride was super fun though. A small group, nimble, good attitudes, and a few scenic stops:

It was a dark and stormy afternoon, so not many riders showed up. But a handful of die-hards did, and the sun started peeking through the gloom, so we had a pleasant ride around town. SLC has a ton of new bike lanes, some good vegetarian food, is close to a lot of natural wonder, and has a neat-looking temple.

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Back when our band LA CORDE went down to play a show in Tijuana, we had the pleasure of hanging out with our friend Jason, a former San Franciscan who’s been living there for the past few years. 

We’re planning on going back there for more shows over Labor Day weekend, so to get in the mood, I’ve been checking out Tijuanalandia, Jason’s  blog.  It’s pretty awesome.  You should do yourself a favor and check it out yourself.

Tijuana Critical Mass

Just like the Mission

TIJUANALANDIA

Previously:

Mission Taquerias Need to Step it Up

Mission Bar Treats Need to Step it Up

While the city giveth us green bike lanes, they also taketh away: behold the bicycle crackdowns on the Wiggle.

The blossoming of bike lanes and Gavin with a paintbrush are great, but is the city now cracking down on cyclists? Junior seems to think so:

I’m kind of worried that they are a precursor to beginning widespread bicycle ticketing around the city.  You know, like back before the Critical Mass days.  I’m all for cyclists obeying the rules of the road, but the interpretation of those rules is at issue, and the price of those tickets has increased to around $300 nowadays, which can be the same as a paycheck!  But I try to stay out of politics . . .

And behold this ominous San Francisco bicycle ordinance!

Oh crap, that’s from 1903, sorry.  Scanologist Eric Fischer brings us this century old news.

But some things haven’t changed — sections 1-4 are regularly ignored in the Mission.  And as Eric notes, “Speed limit 6 mph. A $500 fine then would have been like $10,000 now.” We certainly would not have survived that era. (But we certainly need to bring back the practice of “scorching”. And I am going to work in “Machines of Similar Character” into everyday conversation.)

1895 regs — biggest difference is a concern about transporting children on bikes.

As for irony, the first “good roads” campaigns were pushed by cyclists in the late 19th century.

As bicycle outings surged in popularity, riders everywhere shared a common burden — hazardous roads. Soon [Albert] Pope began speaking across the country about the need for good roads. “The high point to be aimed at,” he said back in 1889, “is the recognition of the importance of the whole situation by the national government.”

Then Henry Ford came along.

Some historical context on the conditions of roads in the late 1800s is available in old San Francisco municipal reports.

The city struggled to keep up with the surge in popularity of bicycles. I found this 1894 report amusing.

BICYCLE ROAD EXTENSION

Your Commissioners have always borne in mind the fact that the public is made up of separate human beings with separate tastes, whose comfort and convenience demand regard.

Keeping this in view, the bicycle road was constructed last year exclusively for the use of patrons of the wheel, and a further extension of this road is proposed during the coming year to run parallel with the main drive.

The rapid development of the present interest in bicycling among all classes is something astonishing, and as the Park is a favorite haunt of the cyclists, it is incumbent upon your Commissioners to attend to their interests and wants.

That first line is pretty much SF in a nutshell.

After hanging at GG Park for an afternoon listening to tunes amplified by cycle-powered generators, the Bicycle Music Festival finally took to the streets.  Obo Martin and his band were joined by Fossil Fool to provide music for the ride.  Each instrument was on a different platform towed by a bicycle, and it sounded pretty good whenever they stayed together!  The drummer kept falling back though, probably owing to the bulkiness of his craft.  Always the drummer.

Check out the crush of cyclists as they approach Divisadero and then swell down Fell past this poor overwhelmed videographer who ends up in the middle of all of it:

Many more photos available at the Bicycle Music Festival website.

Previously:

Judgement Day Melts Faces at the Bicycle Music Festival

Anyone who commutes down Valencia or Market on the regular no doubt has come across this fellow at one time or another.  How could you possibly miss his grey grizzled flowing beard and locks, or his duct-taped battletank of a Schwinn Sapphire that he pedals around so furiously?

This morning I finally decided to say a little more than “what’s up?” and managed to have quite a nice rolling conversation with the guy (I’m sure the fact that I was wearing the exact same jacket helped too), starting on Valencia at around 17th and lasting all the way to the end of Market.  Here’s a paraphrased transcript of our “interview” while in motion:

On how long in the biz:

I’ve been a bike messenger in SF for 35 years.  The last 28 of those years have been on this Schwinn Sapphire, except for about 3 months when it was stolen in the Mission.  Luckily, a friend spotted it about 3 months later at Bay and Gough.  The jerks couldn’t even get the U-lock off (they had cut through a skinny pole to which it had been attached to get it), so they just dumped it!

On Critical Mass:

It all started when a bunch of drunk bike messengers got tired of SF police handing out $20 tickets to cyclists all the time for bullshit minor offenses, like not putting your foot down at a stop sign.  $20 was a big chunk of your take home pay way back then, so they decided to shut down some key intersections around the city and show the cops they couldn’t just fuck with them.  Seems to have gotten their attention.

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Our cranky old commenter Cranky Old Mission Guy might be on to something:

I have an idea.

How about all us pedestrians pick one day per month to meet, link arms, and walk from one place to another — completely blocking the streets AND the sidewalks — while randomly ignoring traffic laws, common sense, and any notion of courtesy to other San Francisco residents (we’ll blame it on “the fringe element”)? I’m sure the bicycle people will be happy to show their solidarity by not trying to cross our lines!

Sure, he’s being facetious, but really — why not have a pedestrian Critical Mass once a month?

Photo by smi23le.