Next weekend in San Francisco…

July 31, 2010 by Filed under Curious

This week I took the recumbent instead of the folding bike. Much more awkward on BART, but a hell of a lot more comfortable in the city.

Here’s what I saw:

Today I rode the recumbent instead of the folding bike. Getting it on Bart was a hassle, but I covered the whole wharf district in about half the time and in twice the comfort.
This dude is a local rock balancer. He stacked these rocks up in about half an hour, while I ate my lunch.
Kids pretending to be aeroplanes on the pier.
First stop: The farmer's market! I had to pay a buck twenty for a single orange, but what the hell, it was tasty. Besides oranges I got romaine, a cucumber, some carrots, some samosas, and a nice juicy plum which I ate right there on the sidewalk.
'Twas a nice day out.
The Golden Gate from an interesting angle. I had to hoof it waaay up a hill for this shot!
I wonder how much red paint they apply to this structure each year...

Looking up at one of the massive columns.

On the tiny pier south of Sausalito.
On the ferry boat from Sausalito back to San Francisco. You wheel your bike down a ramp to the lower deck, then purchase an eight dollar ticket during the ride itself. Lots of tourists on this boat.
I enjoy those evil looking accident icons.
Alcatraz Island. Dig those crumbly structures, yo.
Back at the big city. What a nice summer day!
Street musicians have to use whatever gear they can find. The cymbal on this stand may be busted for conventional use, but it still makes a neat sound.
This is John F King II and his drum setup. Nice fellow. He let me play along with him for a little while.
The light between the large buildings always captivates me.

Lookit all the columns, wheeeeeee!

More of that endless layering I enjoy so much.
The bus is all squished up! Heeheee!
This wall painting got a laugh.
There's somethiing about decaying victorian woodwork that brings back childhood memories in me. Must be my summer visits to Berkeley.
Yup. That's a pretty steeeeeep hill.
Colorful houses. It's like a big bowl of marshmallow cereal!
Odd light at a random intersection.

Lovely setting sun light on some flowers.

This is me, with way too much beard. I'll shave it some day, but right now I'm playing the role of a hermit.

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Return To San Francisco (Yet Again!)

July 24, 2010 by Filed under Curious

For those of you who do not know: I now live in Oakland.

Earlier this week I bought a folding bike, and yesterday I took it on Bart underneath the bay and into San Francisco, and went tooling around. Here’s what I saw:

Mr. Breakpoint poses with the folding bike. He rode with me on Bart from San Francisco to Oakland.
Starting off with the bike! My first big ride with it! The seat is a little uncomfortable, but I can probably fix that later.
The first thing I ran into was a Farmer's Market. Mmmm!
Delicious carrots!
I enjoy the name of this farm.
These folks were filming the crowds, so I decided to make it a meta-moment and photograph them filming the crowds.
This guy is on a nine-foot-tall unicycle. I reckon their show makes a lot of money with the tourist crowds.
Touring the city via Segway. Cute, but very ... American. I like the people on the rented bikes better.
This band was performing a very lackadaisical version of "Stand By Me". Blegh!
Birds perch anywhere they like, around here.
Pretty boats.
Lots and lots of seafood gets chomped here.
A neat staircase.
Cable car wires.
A park scene. Look at all those boxy houses! I like the range of pastel paints.
This is used to suspend small boats in the air for pain and barnacle scraping.

The city is so compressed together ... I really like the chaos in the layers.

More layers...
The victorian architecture is fascinating against the wispy clouds.
Another upward shot. I like the sense of space.
From the top of a big hill, looking back the way I came.
Check out that big cargo ship. There's a whole lot of resources sitting here.
This dude is about to go down Lombard street.
Lombard street is very well maintained...
... And very twisty.
Chinatown is awesome.
An amusing city shot.
So many people, doing so many errands...
The mix of textures and color and age is fascinating.
Every square yard seems to have its own character.

I've always been fascinated by the way the buildings seem layered on each other, like they form a labyrinth. I imagine the city as a giant hedge maze in a garden that winds around for eternity.

More of that awesome layer effect. You could make a neat jigsaw puzzle out of this.
I'm pretty sure this is the same fellow who hangs out around Berkeley. He sure does get around. Every 30 seconds or so he would yell out a repeated phrase, ending in, "HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!!"
A famous building.
My last photo of San Francisco for the day, right by the same Bart station where I started. It's only been about four hours, but I've seen a lot on my little folding bike!
What do you suppose this means?
My haul from the Farmer's Market. (Not shown: A container of delicious hummus.) vCarried it in my backpack the whole time ... it seems to have survived the trip.

Pretty lamps.

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