The Hammerin' Wheels Road Bike Club

November 1, 2009 7:00 AM. 6 attended.

B/C 40/50 San Francisco Urban Biking (GG Bridge included)

Home Depot in Natomas Market Place (map)

Selected By: Jeff Sanford

100 photos of this Meetup

Uploaded by: Jeff Sanford, George

***Please remember Daylight Saving Time ends, fall back 1 hour or you will be an hour early to this ride!!!***

Ride Summary:

Terrain: San Fran can be VERY HILLY some sections are VERY STEEP.
Distance: expect to ride between 40 and 50 miles.
Speed: You will need to be able to keep a 15mph pace in the flats.
Rider Level: Budding Intermediate riders and up.
Sweep: No but we will ride as a group and regroup if we get strung out.

A few things to point out about this ride.
1. This ride will end up being an all day event, please plan accordingly.
2. This is a fly by the seat of your pants ride. You need to be loose to enjoy this ride. There is no set route. Rough idea? Yes but nothing in stone.
3. This is a social ride not a training event but due to the terrain, heavy traffic, and probable strong winds you will need to be an experienced cyclist.
4. We will stop for lunch/snacks at some point along the made up as we go route.

Our ride begins at The SF Ferry Plaza. The address is One Ferry Building 200 The Embarcadero San Francisco, CA 94102. Look for the Hammerin' Wheels jersey near the road directly in front of the building. Meet at 9:30am, ride begins at 10am.

There are 732 (+/- 5) ways to get yourself to S.F. I usually drive to a BART station in the East Bay and take BART to the Embarcadero station. From there it is a ~1/2 mile jaunt to our starting location.

In light of the Bay Bridge closure I will be taking BART into the city, The fee for a round trip ticket from Walnut Creek to Embarcadero is $9.50.

Again, there is no set route for this ride. You will need to be loose and go with the flow. We will hit Golden Gate park, Go over the GG bridge, cruise around the north bay and return, cruise down Lombard street??. If anyone has any places of interest to hit please let me know.

Things you will want to bring: spare tubes, patch kit, cash, water, snacks, camera, sunscreen, chapstick, probably a jacket

As always your helmet is required.

I will send my cell number to all the YES RSVPs the night before the ride.

I will be monitoring the weather in SF. I will make a go/no go decision by no later than 6am. Please check the calendar before you leave.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask!

Jeff Sanford
I MIGHT put together a map if we get something ironed out but don't count on it.

Posted October 20, 2009 at 2:57 PM
Jeff Sanford
<drool>The Steepest Streets in the City
Filbert between Leavenworth and Hyde (31.5% grade)
22nd Street between Church and Vicksburg (31.5% grade)
Jones between Union and Filbert (29% grade)
Duboce between Buena Vista and Alpine (27.9% grade)
Jones between Green and Union (26% grade)
Webster between Vallejo and Broadway 26% grade)
Duboce between Alpine and Divisadero (25% grade)
Jones between Pine and California (24.8 grade)
Fillmore between Vallejo and Broadway (24% grade)

Posted October 20, 2009 at 3:55 PM
George
K, be sure to leave all those streets OFF the route. Thank you, come again.

Posted October 20, 2009 at 7:53 PM
Jeff Sanford
Awww come on, who doesn't want to try their luck on a 31.5% grade??? I want to cruise down Lombard on the bike this is only 2 blocks South. If anyone wants to give it a go it will certainly be optional...except for you!LOL!

Posted October 20, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Jeff Sanford
Here is a short YouTube clip of Filbert at 31.5% http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP-avaW5uQQ .

Posted October 21, 2009 at 8:53 AM
George
@Lourdes: Based on how much riding Jeff has been doing, you'll probably just be getting pics of his sexy backside. Woa, did I just say that?!

@Jeff: I'm bringing a rope so you can tow me up the hills. I may need to borrow a lung as well.

Posted October 21, 2009 at 6:29 PM
Jeff Sanford
Since the Bay Bridge will more than likely remain closed this weekend I will be driving to the Walnut Creek BART station. The BART ride from WC to the Embarcadero is 9.50 round trip. I am stoked for this ride!!

Posted October 31, 2009 at 9:54 AM
Jeff Sanford
If there are no local RSVPs I will not be at Home Depot. Please email me if you are planning to attend!

Posted October 31, 2009 at 12:45 PM
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6 attended

RSVPs closed

5.002 (2 ratings)

Event Host

Jeff Sanford
Organizer

This ride ROCKED!! Amazing views, great riding partners and some challenging hills! I LOVE the "go with the flow" style this ride produced. We had a rough idea of where we were going but took lots of little side adventures to scenic overlooks and other points of interest. We threw in some killer hills at the end, just because we could. Going up the back side of Lombard Street was about 1/8th mile long and 24% the entire way. All 3 that attempted it made it! Going down Lombard Street was no walk in the park either, tough to keep control and not go 120mph. Our last adventure was to tackle Filbert Street and its 31.5% grade (Tied for the steepest in the city and one of the steepest in the western hemisphere). 2 of the 3 that tried made it to the top. While I had the legs to make it, my mind couldn't over come the fear of going over backwards. After the 2nd time my front tire came off the ground I had had enough. No joke, its that steep! I'll try again next time and I will make this hill!
George
Group Supporter

+6 guests

I absolutely loved this ride. The people I rode with made all the difference. The scenery and weather were perfect. We stopped in the middle of the Golden Gate and gazed down at the bay, saw some huge ships and a sea lion playing on the surface, only to dive down out of view (total screen saver moment). At the end of the ride, a few of us climbed the backside of Lombard, and then tackled Filbert street, which is one of the steepest street in the Western Hemisphere (31.5%).
Chris Medford
Group Supporter