Lived in 3 locations in SF for 3-4 years. I swam at the public pools and then when I lived close to USF joined the Masters program there, they have a long course setup sometimes. Otherwise my facilities were the Marin Headlands, Golden Gate Park, Great Highway, Bernal Hill, Aquatic Park, etc, etc, it's beautiful outside there!

Awesome, this is a great start. What was the facility called (do you have a link) for USF?

If you're gonna be in Potrero Hill, then def. check out the rec center at UCSF (http://campuslifeservices.ucsf.edu/fitnessrecreation/), the Mission Bay - Bakar facility will be closest. You don't have to be affiliated with the university to be a member. There is an indoor lap pool on the 2nd floor and an outdoor lap pool on the rooftop. This place has everything you'll need and it never seems crowded.

Near Portrero check out UCSF Outdoor Pool in Mission Bay. M2 Revolution does a great indoor cycling class. Lots of tri clubs (SF Tri, Golden Gate Tri, etc), running clubs (SFRRC), biking groups (the mentioned tri clubs, also many of the bike shops including Sports Basement do rides). No shortage of options here.

Welcome to SF! Be sure to check out Shift in North Beach which is an awesome Computrainer cycle studio with some top notch coaches leading the classes. You bring your own bike and the first class is free. Check them out at http://www.shift-sf.com

For pools the UCSF one is a good close option for you and there are 2 YMCAs in SF w/ pools. Lots of great outdoor swimming in Aquatic Park once the water gets up into the 60s.


Chipper

+1 on Shift -- Chipper knows this well ;-) You want a real education on a computrainer go to Tyler Stewart's class, she will whip you into shape. All of the me will for sure but she's my personal favorite... you just have to love 6am trainer rides.

UCSF Mission Bay, is great with the rooftop pool, especially on a clear day. The morning masters with Doug is awesome. He is the best master's swim coach in SF.

Long Course Pools
USF Koret (sometimes)
College of San Mateo (drop in fee is steep ~$20)
Burlingame Aquatice (weekends)

The major triclubs in town have professionally coached track programs at Kezar Stadium when it re-opens. I am partial to Golden Gate Triathlon Club, myself but SF Tri is good too.

Welcome to SF...I've lived in P-Hill for the past 3+ years and can't write enough good things about the neighborhood.

I'll second the recommendation for M2 (http://www.M2rev.net); I've been attending the AM class on Tues/Thurs for the past few years and have seen a dramatic improvement on the bike. IMO you can't beat the price (or the fact that you don't have to lug your bike back and forth) and it's easy to get to and find parking for the morning classes.

While I'm not a member of the UCSF Mission Bay gym, which is only a 10-minute walk away, I've heard the pool is great (although can be crowded at times for lap swim) and the facilities are top notch. Also, I received a thing in the mail that said they're waiving the initiation fee if you join in January; after that it's around $90/month or so. I do most of my swimming on the weekends so I'll either go down to Burlingame High School ($7 drop-in fee), which is a ~20 min drive south on 101, or up to Tam High School in Marin (same drop-in fee) on Saturday morning and then do a bike ride directly after.

All that said, there are plenty of swim/bike/run and tri-club options around here and you really can't go wrong with any of them.

Another vote for Shift. Great facility and Computrainer session instructors. A lot of the Every Man Jack guys train there.

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Joe Santos

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