San Francisco Cyclists - Death Wish?

[Dogmama]

Just returned from San Fran and am amazed that there are not more cyclist related fatalities. I'm not talking about the tourists that rent the hybrids & wobble all over the streets.

The roadies ride at ~25-30 mph. Red lights are mere suggestions. Pedestrians crossing a street legally (like me) have to watch for the errant cyclist who is whizzing through. So scary - both for the cyclist and me!

BTW, I was one of those who rented the hybrid. Once. Road over the Golden Gate bridge and it was terrifying.

1. Pedestrians on a narrow bike/pedestrian path have no sense of what "Good morning!" or "On your left!" mean. They step right in front of you.

2. Ditto above for other cyclists.

3. I'm terrified of heights. The bridge not only sways, but it bounces with the cars.

4. The bikes are schlock. You shift and pray that you get the gear you want. Especially exciting going uphill. OK, maybe I'm a bike snob, but still...

Of course, DH loved it.

[DDH]

Wow, that sounds awful. So are people there just walking around with their heads in the clouds? I'm with you, if that is the norm, then I am suprised there are not bike or pedestiran related deaths.

[Trek420]

Dogmama "Just returned from San Fran and am amazed that....." that you didn't see any of us?

Uh, excuse me? Did we know about this? Ahem

You're not allowed to visit San Fran without advance notification. At least we could have told you where to get good rental bikes (you're supposed to ask Velogirl) and met for the recovery meal.

You didn't do the trip right. Now come back and do it over 8-)

[Dogmama]

I'm on my way!!!

It was a quick trip, unfortunately. My job is a killer & I just needed to get away for a few days. DH and I talked about spending a lot more time next summer (July) so as your governer says, "I'll be back!!"

A long time ago, I inquired about rental bikes in SF & didn't get a lot of responses. I should have asked again.

Mea culpa!

[Trek420]

See the OT thread now THIS is the way to use of guilt;

you mean to say that the gal I was supposed to go for a ride with yesterday canceled, so here I sat on the Cycleops watching the Raiders play and doing a hard spin every time they turned over the ball and/or got sacked (a hard workout, I highly reccomend it ) and I could have been doing a ride with you?

Cycling the Golden Gate Bridge advice:
do it, it's beautiful, I'm jealous. go on a weekday if possible
alternatives would be take the Ferry to Sausalito and do the bike path there.
Summit Bikes has good rental bikes (I mean good ones). They'll swap pedals, fit you....
What size are you?
OK, so you'll be back in July, we'll let you off the hook.

[Dogmama]

I always go on a weekday. Last week, though, it was really crowded. What gives?

I'm 5'5" and have no idea what size bike. I'll get my size before I come next time!!

I LOVE Sausalito. Thought about renting a bike, taking it across on the Ferry & doing Sausalito - Tiberon. Or maybe Angel Island.

[Trek420]

Mikes Bikes IN Sausalito is right on the bike path.

Angel Island with 360 degree views of the bay would be wonderful to hike or bike around.

I'm 5'1" so my bikes would be too small for ya'.

[Bike Goddess]

Actually, I'd suggest that you do the GG bridge on the weekend as the western side is open for bicycles only. Weekdays you have to ride with the other folks as you found out.

At least on weekends, you only have to deal with other squirrely bikes!

Good place to start is by the Sports Basement. This is also a bike shop although I don't know if they rent bikes.
Great place to park- it's in the Presidio so you don't have to go far to the bridge.

As Ms Trek says, please post notification when you grace your presence in SF. Of course, we'll want to see you- just ask Fish Dr!!!!

[tomgrrrl]

I'd second that....weekends are the time to ride the GG Bridge since you have the best view...looking toward the ocean and no tourists (on foot) to worry about....However, with that being said you can run into two types of worrisome cyclists.....very slow, clueless bike riding tourists or, very fast dudes who think they are the only ones on the bridge.....at least they installed guard rails so that if you do wipe out, you won't likely get run over by a car......

[E2theD]

We do have a lot of bike related accidents. I've seen a number of people be hit and been hit myself. I really think the stop sign/light problem you describe is multi faceted. Fixies are wildly popular here, so much in fact that the paper just did an article on them. The problem is that the people who go out to get them have no idea how to brake therefore they just cruise through posted signs and lights. I think a lot of other cyclists watch this and take it as a cue on how they should be riding. And then there are just the jerks that expect to have cars and peds respect them but do not return the favor. Sigh . All we can do is lead by example I guess. Speed on the other hand is almost a requirement here. If you don't keep up with traffic a bus or cab will run you off the road. No joke. Still it is an exciting ride everyday no matter what the frustrations and it has done wonders for my bike handling skills.

Erin

[CyclChyk]

Ok so I am terrifed of heights so just the visual you gals have painted so eloquently of the GGB is making me VERY DIZZY........

Altho the tough gal in me that I usually supress is aching to try it!!

[SalsaMTB]

I was just in San Francisco for work and wow, props to you girls for riding there. I don't know how you can handle those hills! A really steep downhill with a stop sign at the end, that would definitely take some time to get used to. Same with the uphills. Your legs must be bricks! Sadly, it was all work and no play, so I couldn't ride, didn't even get to visit a bike shop (I did peek in the window of one in palo alto though and saw a gorgeous bamboo frame).

San Francisco definitely puts Michigan riding to shame

[katie]

Well D-O-G, Lemme tell ya that while riding in the city is at first scary and unsafe, once you get your bearings and learn the rules of the road, it becomes some of the best city riding you'll do in your life simply because SF has such varied terrain and is small enough to get around on your bike efficiently but large enough and crowded enough so it takes a little more time than an empty 7x7 square would. I've got to tell you, SF cyclists are savvy because if they aren't, they're dead. That being said, there is a high occurance of cyclist vs. vehicle accidents, mostly getting doored and being hit by careless motorists. The de facto statistic is that if you ride in the city for three years you are gauranteed to be hit by a car and doored at least twice but this is only true if both parties aren't paying attention.

[Dogmama]

The de facto statistic is that if you ride in the city for three years you are gauranteed to be hit by a car and doored at least twice but this is only true if both parties aren't paying attention.

No kidding! And tourists in rental cars are completely clueless.

Signed - she who rides ONLY public transportation in SF