Feb 11th Slow Ride — Slow Is Where the Heart Is
Start: Balboa Park at the lawn by San Jose & Santa Ynez (Google Maps)
Meet at: 1pm
Roll at: 1:30pm
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45344532
We'll start at Balboa Park and go through Slow Cayuga, Somerset, and Minnesota streets as well as the Bayview Multimodal Corridor and the 17th St Quick Build. We'll have a 10 minute stop at Palega Rec Center and a 30 minute stop at Heron's Head Park. Both stops have bathrooms. The ride will end at In Chan Kaajal Park.
The route is just under 10 miles. There are a few hills marked on the map. This route has some car-trafficked streets, especially in the first third of the ride. It's important for us to show up and demand safe streets. We'll be cautious and stay as a tighter group around Alemany Blvd → Silver Ave and Paul Ave → 3rd St. Our pace will average a casual 7mph with nobody left behind. And while we love Critical Mass, this ride will be on the Bike Party end of the spectrum — we'll ride past confrontation and avoid conflict with cars. There will be two people directing the front of the ride and a rider in the back of the group to ensure everyone gets through.
Reminders
- It will likely be dark when riding home — please bring bike lights!
- The mid-ride 30 minute stop at Heron's Head Park is enough time to use the bathroom and eat any snacks you've brought. Remember to eat lunch beforehand and/or bring snacks.
Getting There
Our ride starts at Balboa Park (Google Maps). Notably, not the BART station. If you are coming from Balboa Park BART we recommend walking your bike to the north side (Ocean Ave side) of the BART plaza, and take the sidewalks to our meeting spot.
If you're grabbing a Baywheels or riding a folding bike that you can take on the light rail then our starting point is in front of a J Church stop. There is a large Baywheels station at Balboa Park BART station and a smaller dock on San Jose Ave in sight of our start point.
Getting Back
Our ride ends at In Chan Kaajal Park. This is very close to 16th St Mission BART, and right next to Slow Shotwell and several Muni lines: 12 Folsom, 22 Fillmore, 33 Ashbury, and the 55 Dogpatch. You can also continue west on 17th St to get to the Wiggle via Church, Noe, or Sanchez.
Inclement Weather
We'll ride this event rain or shine. If the forecast is calling for severe weather that we think may lead to unsafe conditions then we'll cancel. We'll try our best to cancel 72 hours in advance based on the forecast but of course we may cancel with shorter notice in the event of unsafe conditions. In the event of rain, please remember:
- Go slower and remember it will take a further distance to come to a complete stop. You do not have the same braking traction in the rain.
- Give other riders and road users extra space.
- Bring rain gear! Riding in the rain can be a lot of fun. Installing fenders on your bike can help as can wearing waterproof footwear, rain pants, rain jacket or rain cape, and even weatherproof gloves and socks!