Without a date. Without a street sign.
Without a person to date it back to.
With my bicycle standing between my legs, this is how this corner decided to greet me.
Completely colorless. Completely colourful. Totally fake. Totally genuine.
Pick your very own perspective. Throw your own imaginary paint on it.
Run with it.
–
Ashbury at Hayes. San Francisco 2010

Passing time

On Masonic and Fulton.

Como una flor.

I went with my good caffeinated friend to pick up my road bike from the Freewheel bike shop on Hayes. I love those guys. How can I not? -hearts-
The update this time, was to swap out the freewheel for a larger span of gears for those mean rolling hills to come (as if the hills can get any meaner than they already are here in SF…) Three of us ladies and a few of our peeps have signed up for the upcoming Marin Century in August. We have formed our very own team we like to call “the Back of the Bus”. This upcoming ride will certainly be the furthest distance for all 3 of us. Regardless we will still have a blast, we are pros at that. je jee.

So after heading to pick up the smurfette, I ended up with two bicycles, two legs and one route. A new friend holding onto my hat wanted to help, but I decided to pass this time.

Bird wants to ride bikes.

The Muni line is really one block away from the bike shop, and on the other end, three blocks away from mi casa.
Given that I had missed the first bus by about a block, why not take some pictures. It would be the first time that I had seen both of my bikes together outside my house. This mural is beautiful, you can learn more about it from a short and informational recent post from BikeNopa

So now the tricky part was putting both spoiled beauties on the bus. When one is around their bicycles so much, it becomes second nature to know how to hold them, walk them. Hold with your hip without letting it fall. Use the ATM, squeeze through BART and back out without causing a scene or a new pattern of grease on your legs. Lift them up as if they are the latest fiber glass feather-like weight up a long flight of stairs and we have those just as much as we have steep hills around here. I have also seen a number of city parents do this while also putting their kids’ bikes. Super
It’s hard to explain, but if you ride bikes for sometime, years, it just becomes like your 3 arm. Your 3rd leg. Except that now, I wish I had a 4th leg so I could ride them both home.

are we there yet?!
mi two beloved steel ladies ride muni.

Taking both bikes on Muni was not a big deal at all. I was only hoping that the bus didn’t already have a any bikes on the rack because I was ready to take over. But had that been was the case – I already had a coffee stop alternative in mind, oh but of course. Both bikes made it home safely, I dropped the smurfette off and went back out again. Let’s ride because the sun is still out. Cheers!

Home.

A few of the recent little meaningful things going on my much neglected Italian steel beauty, the smurfette. And other things. ♥Muchas gracias!!

•• Here is the saddle bag, a cute little gift by Stephen, to match my skull calaca style. Swoon.

– – –
•• A new freewheel. After hurting my knee a tad late last year, it is getting a ton of love and caring withouth spoiling it, becuase there are roads to explore. I’d like to see you riding on the gears I was… I’m *very* happy to let them go.

•• Many years ago I took the torpado for a tune up. Was returned sans quick release – “Oh you didn’t have that on there” – That shop & the specific cheesy boy get NO LOVE from me. And guess who is back:

Got this for my birthday last year. Will now be roaming with me.

•• Also for my bday. Chan clan luvz

r
r

I am very happy to announce a first guest blog post series, from a fellow San Franciscan photog – the lovely Mai /fashionist/ during her travels in Asia. We have followed our blogs for quite awhile, and finally met briefly last summer.
There will be a few guest posts featured here on Saturdays with her beautiful photos and writings from Vietnam, drop by and say hello -and- welcome Mai!! have a great vacation ♥r

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Vietnam /part one
Story, and photography by Mai

Vietnam’s Bicycle culture is inherent to its identity. Without the
bike, transportation and commerce in Vietnam would be severely
hobbled. Relatively flat terrain means bikes (and its cousins) are
part of the machinery that drive life here. Because of that, bikes are
used until they no longer can function. Making their everywhere and
everyday presence sort of beautiful.

Fun fact about the population of Vietnam’s bikes? They’re mostly
step-thru, but both men and women ride them equally.

One of my favorite places to swim and walk around in Vietnam is Con Dao (Con Son) a
southern island once used as a prison by the colonial French and later
a prison used by the South Vietnamese Army.

Con Dao (Con Son) has been host to the best swimming of my life. I
describe it as the feeling of swimming in a fish tank. In between
swimming and eating, I took pictures of bikes.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Get your free cookies tommorrow at the Mission’s favorite cookielands.
•tip hat via sf_haps•

hese are from July last year, Deep and I went on a tandem troll around the Mission and stopped by to say hello to the cool peeps of Anthony’s cookies. Keep up the sweet work and happy 1st anniversary!

anthony & his cookie helpers

tandem on the window

♥ Sunday:

NOPA VELO One ride, seven presidents
Meets at 9AM at Mojo’s cafe. Leaves at 10AM *sharp*
Via iBikeNopa blog – More info»