A significant cluster of Bay Area Bike Share’s new planned stations are in the Mission District, and installation is expected to begin later this month. The expansion will grow the bike sharing program from 700 to 7,000 bicycles around the region. Around 35 bike sharing stations are in the works in the Mission, according to an image released by the bike share group. Participants...
Listen Local is Mission Local’s biweekly radio program. We broadcast live online at BFF.fm every other Thursday morning from 9:30 to 10:00. If you were too busy pedaling to tune in to our broadcast this week, here’s your chance to revisit. We talked with Chris Cassidy of the Bicycle Coalition about cycling resources for newbies and cycling reminders for old...
The intersection of 16th Street and South Van Ness Avenue has stories to tell. Just call the number on one of the signs affixed to the utility poles there and listen. One of the voices you will hear belongs to Julie Mitchell, whose son Dylan was killed at the intersection while riding his bike. Another is that of Paula Tejeda,...
We talked to Paul Olszewski, 64, owner and general manger of Valencia Cyclery in the Mission since June 1, 1985, about his business and it didn’t take long for the topic of the internet’s impact to come up. ML: Why the bicycle business? PO: I’ve always enjoyed bikes – ever since I got one when I was a teenager and...
Athletes, messengers, and even some professional cyclists will come pouring into the Mission District this Saturday for the fourth annual Mission Crit, a 40-minute fixed-gear bike race. The crit (short for “criterion”) sends riders around and around a triangular course from 16th to 17th streets along Treat Avenue and Harrison Street, no small feat at the speeds these cyclists reach....
Cyclists who have had their bikes stolen might be familiar with a video of a San Francisco Police Department bike theft specialist luring a bike thief with a GPS-tracked bait bike. Well, if Mission Bicycle Company has its way, that kind of tech will be standard in bicycles of the future. The Valencia Street boutique bike shop has launched a...
A somewhat blustery and slightly overcast day didn’t deter hundreds of pedestrians and cyclists from strolling or cruising along Valencia Street on Sunday. Live music in the streets and clouds of bubbles are hard to resist. But the civic engagement groups were particularly noticeable at this particular iteration of Sunday Streets as well, with both local political hopefuls and a plethora of...
After being vandalized last week, the brand-new Valencia Street bike counter is back to counting cyclists in the northbound bike lane on Valencia Street between 17th and 18th streets, just in time for Bike to Work Day. In the early afternoon, more than 1,500 cyclists had already passed the counter (give or take a few skateboarders, who also trigger the sensor). ...
Cyclist hopefuls and other interested parties bent thoughtfully over maps last Thursday night, placing stickers on potential locations for new bicycle sharing stations. Bay Area Bike Share is planning an expansion to new locations throughout San Francisco and held a meeting at the Mission Neighborhood Centers to explain its program and get feedback. Residents and visitors can currently sign up...
A towed car sparked a brawl between two cyclists on 20th and Valencia streets last week. It all started with a bullhorn-wielding cyclist accusing a tow truck driver of “property theft” and being a Nazi sympathizer, and escalated when another man, who had previously been observing the commotion while standing shirtless on his balcony, decided to get involved. There is no evidence that the...
Art-deco bikes hung from the ceiling. Paintings from around the world adorned the walls. More than a dozen bands – and one trapeze act – waited to perform. The audience? Hundreds of bike messengers. That was the scene at the SOMArts Gallery on the Labor Day weekend of 1996. The occasion was the very last Road Rash Bash – a recurring show put...
“Hey, Jesse, what’s your 20?” Heather MacKinnon, a friendly blonde woman from Boston, asks into her clunky black walkie-talkie. The sleeves of her black and red t-shirt are rolled up, exposing pale arms filled with tattoos. “Market and 9th,” Jesse Rodarte shoots back, responding to a radio code for location that dates back to the 1930’s. Our 20 is the...
Jerry moved to San Francisco from central California specifically for his job. Gabriel, as well. And no, neither are in tech. At a time when 20-somethings are moving in droves into the city for tech jobs, it’s easy to forget that there are other draws besides coding and startups. It happens that San Francisco’s weather and culture are particularly suited...
Anthony Ryan lost most of his front teeth when he was hit by a car while riding his bike. The driver was running a red light, and Ryan was in the hospital for three days, but he was found at fault in the collision. Nonetheless, he’s determined to cycle on. The co-organizer of this year’s local Ride of Silence, an...
