So what's the Story?

This blog starts to tell the tale of how a young man in San Francisco met the new love of his life...

I Want that Bike

The saddest day of my life. Blissfully riding through Golden Gate Park on my tried and true, used Schwinn cruiser in the twilight hours on my way to meet up with some friends at a bar in the Outer Richmond District. Initially this seemed like a great idea. I had spent the evening with some old roommates at our neighborhood bar in the Inner Sunset and was a few G and T deep when I received a phone call from a lady friend telling me of this cracking bar I should check out. So I grabbed up my gear, bid my companions adieu and headed out into the night.

I should had realized that the slight amount of fog I quickly found myself in would only get thicker and thicker the closer to the coast I came but I was feeling the night so I started picking up speed. I was really going, I mean, really going. I felt like I couldn’t go any faster, that I was flying and that nothing could stop me… until the biggest pothole I have ever seen in my life opened its huge maw and swallowed my cruiser whole. Now, I was flying and luckily this time, very soft grass cushioned my graceless fall. After making sure I was still all there and in working order, minus a beat up ankle, I looked to my Schwinn to see how she fared. Oh god, Oh please god no! With trepidation I limped over to my obviously shattered cruiser, her once straight and proud Y frame twisted beyond belief. My shout of anguish echoed throughout the park and now spent, with reverence I picked up the pieces of my love and took the long, lonely walk home.

I was never a big bicyclist. I grew up in Washington and mostly rode mountain bikes on trails in the woods near my backyard. It was purely recreational and never once did I think of it as a mode of travel. Since living in San Francisco and throughout my college career, I have come to see the true value of a bike. From my Urban Transportation course I was given a peek into the bicycling culture by a book called Pedal Power: The Quiet Rise of the Bicycle in American Public Life by J. Harry Wray. I was enchanted by the power that the people in this book, with the aid of their bicycles, have had on the transportation system, human health, and the environment. I had my bike for a total of 6 months out of the two years I have lived in San Francisco so there is much for me to make up for. Many hills for me to conqueror, stealth routes for me to discover, and leg muscles to develop.

Critical Mass, fixies, bikes that are nicer than any car I’ve ever seen, kids with tree trunks for calves who can’t seem to stop smiling, epic rides through the city. I’ve decided I want some of that. I own a car and use it regularly to get to and from work, and from work to school. I have always been unhappy with this situation. I have had to use a large amount of the money I make to put gas my car, not to mention the damage to the environment, but due to time constraints I felt that I just had to deal with this. Now that I am nearing the end of my stay at SFSU, my routine is going to change so that the only place I’ll have to be is work and a biking I shall go. Everywhere. Now, right now is the time for me to make a change in my life, for the benefit of my wallet, my heart, and my planet. And wouldn’t you know it, my bike is dead. And while I shall never forget my Schwinn, I feel that she understands and would like for me to find another friend to cruise the city with. So you see, I NEED this bike. Writing a blog for six months about my experience with this bike is a small pittance that I will happily serve for a chance to ride this dream. As soon as I saw the bicycle being offered at Bike to School day it was all over. I mean orange and blue are my colors! Love at first site does exist.

This was the essay I entered at San Francisco State University's Bike To School Day contest that the ECO Students put together. I was pretty optimistic about my chances. I mean come on, did you read my essay? So witty. So charming.

A few weeks went by and no news. I wasn't too concerned about it. It was finals week. People were graduating, family was coming in from out of town, blah blah blah.

Months go by. It's summer, the weather just perfect for biking but still no news about who has won the essay contest. I've lost all hope. :(

Finally, when I've all but forgotten that I was even in a contest I receive a text informing me that, yes Ryan, the bike that stole your heart when you first laid eyes on it is now yours for the riding. Overjoyed I zoom on over to SFSU and pick up my brand new bicycle, courtesy of the wonderful Ocean Cyclery located on 1935 Ocean Avenue near the City College of San Francisco.

Thank you so much Eco Students and Sabine and Jeff of Ocean Cyclery for providing me with one sweeeeeeet looking ride.

I'll be using this blog as a way to share my experiences of biking around the city and to promote the idea of bicycling, be it for recreation or as a major mode of transportation. I'm what one would call a noob, or rookie in the world of urban biking and I have a healthy respect for how vicious it can get out there but I look forward to, as my essay said, exploring San Francisco in a whole new way.