Great maps Jym!

I always find it difficult to explain the wiggle but it's so much
easier with a map.

The maps Jym has provided are certainly the most bike friendly routes
to/from GG Park taking into account traffic and hills.

There is one hill along Market St going to the park.  It's not too
steep and is only a couple of blocks.  There shouldn't be any hills on
the way back.

--- In folderfest@yahoogroups.com, Jym Dyer <jym@...> wrote:
>
> =v= I've made a Bikely map for my route from S.F. Caltrain to
> Tour de Fat at Speedway Meadows in Golden Gate Park:
>
> http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/S-F-Caltrain-Station-to-Tour-de-Fat
>
> > Thanks also for the route there, but the map shows one-ways,
> > the route back is...?
>
> =v= Good point.  Oak St. is the eastbound flip side of Fell St.
> (multilane, one-way, speeding).  I'd recommend Page St. instead,
> which you can take back to either the Wiggle or all the way to
> Market.  There's a short multiuse path through the section of
> park across the street from where J.F.K. meets Kezar.
>
> =v= From Market, take 8th Street south to Townsend, Townsend
> to Caltrain.  I made a map for this, too:
>
> http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Tour-de-Fat-to-S-F-Caltrain-Station
>
>     <_Jym_>
>

=v= I've made a Bikely map for my route from S.F. Caltrain to
Tour de Fat at Speedway Meadows in Golden Gate Park:

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/S-F-Caltrain-Station-to-Tour-de-Fat

> Thanks also for the route there, but the map shows one-ways,
> the route back is...?

=v= Good point.  Oak St. is the eastbound flip side of Fell St.
(multilane, one-way, speeding).  I'd recommend Page St. instead,
which you can take back to either the Wiggle or all the way to
Market.  There's a short multiuse path through the section of
park across the street from where J.F.K. meets Kezar.

=v= From Market, take 8th Street south to Townsend, Townsend
to Caltrain.  I made a map for this, too:

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Tour-de-Fat-to-S-F-Caltrain-Station

     <_Jym_>

Thanks for the suggested route changes, Jym.  We'll take Duboce and
avoid the heavy part of Fell.

Alan

> I plotted the route on Bikely.com:
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/169847

=v= I'd like to make some friendly amendments to that route.
Folks may want to take a look at or print a portion of the
big SF Bike Map available here (in PDF format, 2.0MB):

http://www.sfbike.org/?maps

(1) I wouldn't take Fell from Market to GGP.  City planners
were thwarted from putting a freeway through GGP in the 1960s
so instead they made Fell a multilane one-way road with lights
timed to encourage speeding, and it's a very unpleasant ride
up and over the hill with cars going 50+mph.

     The much more popular route is to take Market uphill a
bit and turn right at Duboce, then take the city's one and
only bikeway for one block behind the Safeway (alongside the
Bike Mural), then follow a path called The Wiggle (it's the
sort of wiggly line on the SF Bike Map).  This is the route
of an underground creek, and is the flat path connecting the
east and west sides of the city.

     This will get you to Fell, though you've got three blocks
of bike lane (formerly three blocks of guerrilla bike lane)
to the GGP Panhandle.  Beware of the cars speeding down the
hill, and also the overflow from two lower-price gas stations,
which often blocks the lane.

(2) Speedway Meadow is in the northern part of the Park, so
once you get to the Panhandle you'd just cross the street
and go essentially straight ahead onto J.F.K. Drive, which
has a bike lane for a stretch.  Don't continue on Kezar as
it turns left (as is indicated at the Bikely link).

=v= Alas, I'll be out of town this weekend, but I really
enjoyed Tour de Fat last year.  Valet bike parking was
overflowing, so we locked our Bike Fridays nearby:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dogpics/870465516/

On the way out I saw a guy with a Tandem Two'sday:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jym/960551520/

     <_Jym_>

P.S.:  I'd update Bikely myself but I appear to have too
much privacy turned on in my browser right now. :^)

I plotted the route on Bikely.com :http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-
path/169847

Looks like just 300 ft or so of climbing, so I suspect the two speed
will be OK.  It's up to you, though.

I'll be getting on at the Hillsdale station.  If some of my Bike
Forum friends do come, we'll probably end up in the bike car, since
they don't ALL have folding bikes ;-).  It won't be crowded on a
Saturday morning...

Alan

--- In folderfest@yahoogroups.com, "Nigel Healy" <nh.nigelhealy@...>
wrote:
>
> > I'll probably take the same train as you, Nigel.  I'll bring my
> > Brompton clone :-)...
> >
>
> The Merc, it was stopped due to being literally a Brompton clone.
>
> I have a 2-speed Brompton, with double chainring manual-move, its
what I use
> Mon-Fri for work riding, storing underdesk, car-sharing, etc. I can
bring
> that if the hills aren't too hilly. Otherwise I have my 12-speed.
Guidance
> please.
>
>
> >
> > I'm trying to get some of my Bike Forums friends to come along as
> > well.  Should be a blast!
> >
>
> So meet 8.36am at Caltrain? With Brompton, I usually ride the
Caltrain
> luggage carriage to preserve cycle storage for non-folders.
>
>
> >
> > Alan
> >
>
> I must be no later and get the 5pm latest Caltrain back, otherwise
happy to
> ride around SF.
>
> I left Sausalito 3.50pm and just managed to get the 5pm Caltrain,
thanks to
> climb upto GGB, and the many lights, which I stopped at, whilst
other
> cyclists rode through.
>

Wow!  If the parade starts between 9:30 and 10:00, we're OK.  It'll be
fun to zip through the City on a Saturday morning.

I'll probably take the same train as you, Nigel.  I'll bring my
Brompton clone :-)...

I'm trying to get some of my Bike Forums friends to come along as
well.  Should be a blast!

Alan

Fast cross town transport that will get you to GG Park in 15 minutes?
  Ha!

You could take the N Line on MUNI (ride up 10 minutes to Market St,
ride 20 minutes on N Line, ride 5 minutes into park).

Or if you really want to get there fast you could share a cab.
Usually there's cabs waiting at Caltrain at 4th & King during the week
but I'm not sure about weekdays and I don't know how much it is as I
always ride my bike - $15??

The schedule I received for the parade says it will start between
9:30-10 AM.  The registration for the parade begins at 9 AM but that's
only really signing waivers (quick) and getting wristbands for beer
(optional).

I think if you get there by 9:30ish you'll be alright.  I don't really
expect the parade to start very promptly.

Expected parade return time is 11:30ish.

--- In folderfest@yahoogroups.com, "Nigel Healy" <nh.nigelhealy@...>
wrote:
>
> Thanks Jean for the route.
>
> On Tue, Jul 15, 2008 at 7:00 AM, alanhu99 <folderfest@...> wrote:
>
> > CalTrain ends up waaaay on the other side of town. We probably
wouldn't
> > be able to get to the 9am ride on time.
> >
>
> You are correct.
>
> I mapped it, 5.4miles, given uphills and stopping at lights, I'd guess
> 45mins bike, so if Caltrain arrives 8.40am, eta at the event is
9.25am. If
> it were a flat no-stop area, I'd make it ontime!
>
>
> >
> > Let's see who else is going and we'll work out something by Sat.
Worse
> > case, I could drive us in.  I live near you....
> >
>
> This is not going to be physically challenging for me, its just the
issue of
> 9am and the weekend Caltrain hourly service with the 8.36am arrival,
being
> the first Caltrain service of the day, use of Caltrain & bike alone
is not a
> solution.
>
>
> So, given we're folders, let's make a solution involving that. Is
there a
> fast across-town service that get to GGP in 15mins? Would need to
average
> 20mph. Any trams manage that?
>
> Car-share, also would work given its a Saturday morning and light
traffic.
>
> Also, having a rendezvous route plan, where to be at roughly what time,
> would help everyone.
>
> I'm curious why Caltrain has such a depleted weekend service, I've
used it
> everyday and the weekend services are as heavily used as weekday.
>

I placed some footage from last week's FolderFest on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyY4gv_KG44

TV

CalTrain ends up waaaay on the other side of town. We probably wouldn't
be able to get to the 9am ride on time.

Let's see who else is going and we'll work out something by Sat.  Worse
case, I could drive us in.  I live near you....

Alan

Just a reminder since Magnus and I are working the ID table.  If you
intend to have beer or hang out in the beer/entertainment area you
need to have valid ID with you.  So don't forget it just because
you're on a bike!

Probably the best way to get to GG Park from Caltrain 4th & King is to
go down Townsend (heading south) until you get to 7th St.  Turn a
right up 7th St and follow the bike lane to Market St.  Turn left onto
Market and follow it south up a hill and over some train tracks.  You
can take the shortcut right after the train tracks that goes behind
Safeway (or if you miss it go to Church St in front of Safeway and
turn right).  Then follow the "wiggle" until you get to Fell St (this
is basically a zig zag that avoids the hills, it's marked on the
road).  Fell St is parallel to Market St.  Turn left onto the Fell St.
bike lane and follow this into the panhandle park.  You can ride
through the park instead of on Fell St, straight into GG Park.  Follow
the main road through the park, past museum, pass the overpass and you
will see Speedway meadow on your left.  If you can find Speedway
meadow it won't be that difficult to meet as it won't be busy yet at
that time.

If you need a map check out the SF bike map http://www.sfbike.org/?maps

The parade is a costumed ride (though it's not required), so it will
be a nice easy pace.

Hope to see you all there!

PS There will be free valet parking if you want to hang out after the
ride.

--- In folderfest@yahoogroups.com, "Nigel Healy" <nh.nigelhealy@...>
wrote:
>
> On Mon, Jul 14, 2008 at 8:29 AM, alanhu99 <folderfest@...> wrote:
>
> > Hey gang:
> >
> > This looks like a really fun event, and very folder-friendly.  Big
> > bike party at GG Park on Saturday. I'm planning to go. Anyone want to
> > join me?  http://www.sfbike.org/?fat
> >
>
>
> Looks interesting.
>
>
> >
> > We could meet for the 9am ride.  It looks like a folder-friendly ride
> > around GG Park.  Benefits the SF Bike Coalition.
> >
>
> Where meet? I'm not that familiar with the area. I get off Caltrain at
> end-of-line 8.36am.
>

Thanks for the URL. Great photos.

-Stuart

On Mon, 14 Jul 2008, Jym Dyer wrote:

>> Hi, John. Where do we find the photos? I looked in the photos
>> section of the FolderFest Yahoo group and didn't see anything.
>> I also searched Photobucket and didn't find anything.
>
> =v= They're at the Photobucket URL that Alan provided:
>
> http://gs245.photobucket.com/groups/gg58/4ONVS7W9GH/
>
> Just scroll down a bit. :^)
>    <_Jym_>
>
>

Hey gang:

This looks like a really fun event, and very folder-friendly.  Big
bike party at GG Park on Saturday. I'm planning to go. Anyone want to
join me?  http://www.sfbike.org/?fat

We could meet for the 9am ride.  It looks like a folder-friendly ride
around GG Park.  Benefits the SF Bike Coalition.

Here's the description:

Follow Your Folly All Day Long
Bike Parade Kick-Off
What is a bike party without a bike ride? Kick-off the day with us in
your San Francisco best at 9am for a fun and frolicking ride through
Golden Gate Park and beyond! The optional $5 ride donation goes to
support the bicycle advocacy work of the San Francisco Bicycle
Coalition and the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council. It'll be a hoot and a
holler, we promise.

Afternoon Ballyhoo
Two parts bike rodeo and one part circus, starting at noon, there are
fire-jumping bike acts, cycling games, live music, tasty eats and
great beer, of course - and all proceeds benefit two great
nonprofits: the SFBC & the Bay Area Ridge Trails Council!

But wait, there's more!
While at the park, look for opportunities to wrench on your bike, get
your face painted, eat some good food, have a beer and join our
cycling circus of sensory splendor.

This is one of the best events in the park in the summer to celebrate
BIKES! Don't miss it.
Free! Free! Free!

Now we know what you are thinking...how much is this grand fete going
to cost me? The answer is nothing! We are all about FREE! So....how
is this a fund raiser? All proceeds from beer sales ($5 for 16 oz.)
will benefit the San Francisco Bike Coalition, and The Bay Area Ridge
Trail Council. We'll bring the beer and you just bring your bike!
(FREE Valet bike parking provided--of course!)

John:

Brilliant photos!  It was such a great idea to group the folders.
Thanks for taking the photos and for uploading them!

Alan

> Hi, John. Where do we find the photos? I looked in the photos
> section of the FolderFest Yahoo group and didn't see anything.
> I also searched Photobucket and didn't find anything.

=v= They're at the Photobucket URL that Alan provided:

http://gs245.photobucket.com/groups/gg58/4ONVS7W9GH/

Just scroll down a bit. :^)
     <_Jym_>

Hi, John. Where do we find the photos? I looked in the photos section of
the FolderFest Yahoo group and didn't see anything. I also searched
Photobucket and didn't find anything.

Thanks,
Stuart Robinson

P.S. I just joined the group. I own a Bike Friday Tikit and ride it every
day on my commute from Oakland to SF.

On Mon, 14 Jul 2008, John Ciccarelli wrote:

> I've uploaded 38 FolderFest 2008 photos to Photobucket, processed (Auto
Levels, Unsharp
> Mask) and scaled to 800x600.  These were taken at Fort Point, and include
folding sequences
> by brand (BikeFriday, Birdy, Brompton, DaHon, Downtube, and the rest).  The
originals are
> 2048x1536 -- contact me if you want any full-res shots.
>
> John Ciccarelli
>
>

I've uploaded 38 FolderFest 2008 photos to Photobucket, processed (Auto Levels,
Unsharp
Mask) and scaled to 800x600.  These were taken at Fort Point, and include
folding sequences
by brand (BikeFriday, Birdy, Brompton, DaHon, Downtube, and the rest).  The
originals are
2048x1536 -- contact me if you want any full-res shots.

John Ciccarelli

A big THANKS goes out to Alan for taking the initiative to put the
Folder Fest together!  For a first time event, I think we had a really
good turnout, and they'll just start getting better.

Also, as David Takemoto-Weerts had suggested, I think a train/bike
ride to Davis would be an awesome idea.  There are over 50 miles of
separated bike paths and green belts, and 28 different bike bridges
and bike tunnels, so you could literally ride all day without having
to ride on surface streets.  And then there's the opportunity David
had suggested to see some very old and rare bikes from the California
Bicycle History Center.  Whatever we decide, I'm looking forward to
the next meeting and ride.

Happy Tailwinds,
Tim "There's-No-Such-Thing-As-Too-Many-Bikes" Bustos

Hi!

Since Yahoo Groups photo capabilities are somewhat limited, I have
asked some people to upload the pictures to Photobucket. So, there are
tons of pictures of our ride here:

http://gs245.photobucket.com/groups/gg58/4ONVS7W9GH/

Feel free to contribute pictures to this bucket also!  I think
everyone can upload, but if you're asked for it, the login is:
folderfest, the password is: folderfest.

Thanks!

Alan

It was great fun, and yes we should definitely do it again. I like the
idea of a train ride to Davis and then a ride around town. In SF, how
about a ride from the Ferry Building to Golden Gate Park? I have seen
maps that show a way that avoids most of the killer hills. I have not
done this myself - anyone know about this from personal experience?

Paul

=v= Things are always more fun with web links, right?  We're
already on YouTube, folding our bikes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyY4gv_KG44

One of the folks on the ride was Kash, of Warm Planet Bikes
(next to the Caltrain station), purveyor of folding bikes to
the stars:

http://www.warmplanetbikes.com/

Nan of JoyRider was there, but not with a Bike Friday:

http://joyriderclothing.blogspot.com/2008/06/bike-friday-frequents-market.html

And little old me on my Air Glide;

http://www.things.org/~jym/bicycles/folding.html

> Maybe someday you bay area types can fold 'em up, hop on the
> Capitol Corridor Amtrak and come to Davis for a day of riding.
> We'll give you a tour of our amazing antique bike collection.

=v= I can vouch for this.  Some of us in the SFBC went out to
Davis about 6 years ago, for the day of riding and tour.  Lots
of interesting bikes (though not many of them folded).
     <_Jym_>

Thanks to Alan and Tim for putting together a fun event. A slight
correction to Alan's post: there were two of us from Davis --my wife
Barbara, on the vintage Motobecane Riviera, and me on a new Downtube
FS9. I look forward to hearing about future events. Maybe someday you
bay area types can fold 'em up, hop on the Capitol Corridor Amtrak and
come to Davis for a day of riding. We'll give you a tour of our
amazing antique bike collection.

"Unfold, Ride, Fold, Repeat!"

Regards,

David Takemoto-Weerts
Bicycle Program Coordinator
Transportation & Parking Services
One Shields Avenue
University of California
Davis, CA 95616
Ph. 530/752-BIKE (2453)
Fax 530/754-9948
http://www.californiabicyclemuseum.org

Thanks Alan for organising.

The main event that day clearly was the walk for Breast Cancer, hope
we got noticed!

Nigel (Brompton S6R-X/MD).

Well, what a great day and great turnout.  We had about 40 riders show
up for the event.  One gentleman came from Sacramento (120 miles
away), another from Davis (90 miles) to participate.  We had a real
nice mix of people, both young and old.  The youngest rider was 9
years old, and there were many veterans from the SF folder community.
  It was an unusually beautiful Summer day in in San Francisco - high
60's and NO FOG.

Some of us met early at the BART station (our regional transit system)
with the BART TV crew and got filmed in various states of folder-hood.
  I got mike'd and interviewed.  Hope it all turned out well.  I'll
provide a link to the video as soon as one becomes available.

The group starting arrive at the Ferry Bldg around 10:45.  One by one,
folders started arriving - Bike Fridays, Bromptons, Downtubes, Birdys
and Dahons won the day, each with 5 or more represented.  Two
representative Moultons were there - one a 1963 AM3 and the other a
new Pashley Moulton TSR30.  The latter was the cause of much
admiration and envy (especially from me!).  What a beautiful machine!
  I had the only Strida there, (which kind of surprised me), and I had
to answer a lot of questions from members of the group as well as
passers-by.  One certainly cannot be an introvert if one wishes to own
a Strida, that's for sure.

We rode along the Fisherman's Wharf area of SF, a big tourist center.
  Traffic is always slow there, so we took a lane and gawked at
tourists as they gawked at us.  It was fun!  Picnic at Crissy Field
gave us an opportunity to admire each others' machines.  I was
originally intending to have some contests and games, but the group
was having fun chatting and admiring each others' bikes, I didn't want
to disrupt that.  After lunch, we took the opportunity for some group
shots (thanks, Chris!) and then it was off to conquer the Golden Gate
Bridge.

It was a busy Summer afternoon on the Bridge.  On weekends, bikers get
a special lane to traverse the Bridge to separate them from the
pedestrians.  Nevertheless, there were lots of tourists on rented
bikes intermingled with fully decked out roadies and the occasional
mountain biker.  Then there was us - about 20 strong at this point, on
our small wheels.  It must have been a sight.  I wish the BART TV crew
could have been there to shoot that sight, but alas, they had to go to
another shoot by this point.  Normally it's very cold and windy on the
Bridge, but today was wonderful.  Just a comfortable breeze to
accompany us on this evocative and beautiful route.

After a quick stop on the other side, the group separated again.  Some
riders continued to Sausalito for gelato and expresso.  Others turned
around for the return journey.

It was a memorable outing for me.  I was struck by the large turnout
and by how passionate the group was.  There were folks from the Bike
Friday group, the Brompton group, the Bike Forums group.  One
gentleman was there on his first folder - which he had purchased
[I][B]on the way to our gathering[/B][/I]!!!  So funny!  The gentleman
from Davis is the Bike Coordinator from UC Davis (a well regarded
University in a very bike friendly town).   Wheelguy (real name Tim),
who is a veteran of these types of bicycle events provided much
assistance in organizing the event.  BruceMetras, who is a
long-standing member of this forum (with an enviable stable of
folders) was there with his wife.  I enjoyed meeting them all.
james_swift was there on his gorgeous, sparkly blue fixie Swift.

There were tons of pictures taken (although none by me as our
household camera is in Italy with my wife at the moment).  I'm sure
others will post them up.  I am looking forward to seeing them!

Thanks again to all who participated!  Let's do it again soon.