Scenic Route

Today's motorcycle challenge was a ride down Market Street, from the vicinity of Union Square to the Ferry Building. I have walked this route and remembered many historic and picturesque sights (like Lotta's Fountain, where survivors and civic-minded others gather every year on April 19th to remember the 1906 Earthquake). Today I discovered that it's not a great driving route -- even at 6AM. One lane is reserved for buses. The other lane was required to turn right at 1st Street, so I never made it to the Ferry Building. Oh well, another notch on my motorcycle belt. I returned home via Mission Street, then right on 9th past the Civic Center.

My mid-week (pre-work) rides are much shorter, but this week I traveled through the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood one morning and another day discovered a great route: down 25th Avenue, right on Camino del Mar and into the Presidio where the road gently curves along the hillside with views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Veer right on Kobbe, left on Park and wind downhill to Crissy Field, past the pet cemetery and right on "Old Mason." It's hard to describe the exact route back because there are one way streets and parking lots and dead-ends as you wind your way past old canons, through the barracks and past the Officer's Club, but eventually you find your way to Moraga, then follow signs to the Arguello Gate. This leads up a gently curving road back to familiar territory of the Richmond.