This weekend, my wife and I are going up to visit out daughter, who recently moved to SF. She apparently lives near the Presidio. Since I"m ramping up for Kona, I need some training. any good places to ride safely around there? What about swimming pools? Or, should I just bring my wetsuit and hop in the bay over by Crissie Fields, if that’s safe?
The presidio ymca pool is on gorgas ave in the presidio (ymcasf.org/presidio), and you’ll be right near the gg bridge. there are a bunch of group rides that leave from the bridge, saturday 8am roadies leave for 4.5 hours (will be well over 5 if you get dropped and go it alone though), and lots of other smaller groups that head out for rides. If you’re looking for a nice hilly ride in the 3.5hr range, try the alpine dam loop (http://www.touchstoneclimbing.com/pdf/alpine.pdf). If that’s not long enough, when you get to fairfax, keep heading north to nicasio, then over to pt. reyes station before heading south. If you want open water swimming, go do that at aquatic park (right near fisherman’s wharf), it’s enclosed. You really don’t want to jump in for a swim off of crissy field. Lots of kiteboarders/windsurfers and strong currents.
Docfuel–
A couple posts of mine from a few months ago that might help.
A nice long run route, and a GMap of some area pools (not all though, I left some off for various reasons).
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1327402;search_string=san;#1327402
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1351997;search_string=san;#1351997
Of course, ironclm is a great SFO resource as well.
Enjoy!
Andy
Thanks! I’ll google the Y. I’d rather not hassle with the wetsuit if I can help it.
Glad to know there are some good rides out there.
Thanks for the pool info. I’ll PM Cathy, too.
I looked at the directions. So it’s SAFE to cross the Golden Gate bridge on a bike?
It’s been years since I’ve been across it and I didn’t pay attention to the details, since I was worried about getting into an accident.
Yes, but go early. The more tourists, the less safe. You’re not riding with vehicular traffic, but a family on rented cruisers are often more interested in the view than where they are going.
For swimming:
http://www.ymcasf.org/Embarcadero/ (my pool–when will you be here? If during the week and you want to swim at 7:30 AM, you can come swim with me and my group.)
http://www.ymcasf.org/Presidio/ (Katy’s pool)
http://www.usfca.edu/koret/aquaticsdetails.html#Lap (very nice pool, but limited hours; need to call)
http://www.baymasters.org/ (not sure they do drop in masters, but an excellent coach)
Bike: How far/long do you need to ride? And what kind of ride? Tons of routes over the bridge and if you are near the Presidio, you’ll be right there. I can ask the boys what they are doing and see if there is a ride you could go along on. I’d offer, but I think I’d rather drink beer and sleep in than ride. 
Run: Excellent options out the door! Great trail running over the bridge in the Marin Headlands and there is a 100 mile race going on over there on Saturday. I’ll be there to volunteer.
clm
Yes, the bike path on the bridge is separate from the traffic lanes, just follow the path that turns right (off off the road up to the bridge, if you’re coming from crissy field) just after the gravel parking lot. Follow the path under the bridge to the west side of the bridge. You’ll have lots of tourists with no handling skills on the path later in the day, so watch yourself. It also gets pretty wet in the mornings because of the fog, very slippery around the towers so go slow.
Hi! Cathy,
I’m still sorting out what my schedule will be, but tentatively I’ll ride early on Saturday. I’ll probably swim on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. My achilles is acting up so I’m having so much fun seeing the scenery while aquarunning at the rose bowl pool Too bad I can’t run, such great places to see and run. :^(
I’ll only be there on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. I’ll leave on Sunday afternoon.
Thanks! I’ll check the maps.
Anyone riding REALLY early?
Define “really early”.
Don’t forget to bring arm warmers and vest. It’s cold in the AM.
Down here I usually start at 6 or 6:30. In years past it was 5:30. I’m getting lazy and old.
Man, it’s barely light at 6AM!
So what’s EARLY for SF? Actually, I probably won’t ride all that long, so I can start a little later, like 8ish.
Don’t start too late if you’re heading across the bridge. It will be a tourist gauntlet.
Sounds like I’d better be crossing before 8.
BTW, it’s gantlet.
http://www.cjr.org/resources/lc/stanch.php
gant·let 1 (gônt
l
t, gänt-)n. A section of double railroad tracks formed by the temporary convergence of two parallel tracks in such a way that each set remains independent while traversing the same ground, affording passage at a narrow place without need of switching.tr.v. gant·let·ed, gant·let·ing, gant·lets To converge (railroad tracks) to form a gantlet.gant·let 2 (gôntlt, gänt-)n. Variant of gauntlet1.The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words AntonymsNoun****1.
gantlet - to offer or accept a challenge; “threw down the gauntlet”; "took up the gauntlet"gauntletchallenge - a call to engage in a contest or fight
So how long are you looking at riding? Someone here needs to get out on the bike.
Someone is supposed to ride in Nicasio on Saturday, but someone has a ton of school work to do and won’t get to have any fun/pain until its done.