San Francisco bike ride guide [Ad]

I just ran across a nifty little book: Henry Kingman’s Short Bike Rides in and around San Francisco.

This book is targeted for the tourist, newcomer or occasional visitor (like me) who wants to bike in San Francisco. Unlike almost every other cycling guide I’ve read, this one tells you, “You will not need a car to do any of these rides. All routes were researched and recorded using 100% human power. Well, that and public transportation.”

The 24 rides are focused more on casual exploration of the city and nearby open spaces rather than hard core cardio workouts. Each chapter begins with a cue sheet with mileages and a map, and ends with a little bit of background and history of the route.

The book was published in 1998 and is a little dated, but the roads are mostly the same and the neighborhoods are still around. Many restaurants Kingman recommends — All You Knead on Haight Street, Chino’s Taqueria on Balboa, Sodini’s Green Valley, Beach Chalet, Greens, and so forth — still serve good food to tourists and locals.

Buy from Amazon: Short Bike Rides in and around San Francisco.

3 Comments

  1. I spent a week in SF and didn’t need a bike or a car the entire time. I would have liked a bike, but bicycle rentals are prohibitively expensive. I admittedly did a ton of walking that week, but I saw a great deal of the city and only spent about $28 on transportation. Most of that was BART from and to SFO, and the obligatory $5 Powell/Mason cable car. Yeah, I’m such a tourist.

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