An E-Bike Tour of San Francisco
The wind roared as cars raced past, their speed accelerating to our right. To our left, the bay shimmered, deep blues melting into emeralds while white peaks formed as waves crashed onto rocks. Kirby beach peeked out from behind Hawk Hill, a dun-colored half-moon, barely visible yet beckoning. It was hard to imagine anything more beautiful, and for a moment, I thought myself brave enough to slow down and take it all in. I might even snap a photo while riding, if I felt safe enough removing my phone from its place on the handlebars. “PASSING! YOU sloww….” A thin, angry cyclist screamed at me as she whizzed past on what I must assume was some dire venture to Marin. Ah, the sounds of San Francisco!
A week prior, I’d been scrolling on Instagram and saw that my calabash cousin had posted a video of the otters in Monterey. I hadn’t seen her since staying at her place in the Tetons for my half-marathon last summer. She’d since moved into her airstream and was driving around the country with her Alaskan Klee Kai pup and Bengal cat.
Realizing how close she was, I convinced her to come to San Francisco for a few days. Unfortunately, after I convinced her, I caught a nose-stuffling cold! I had to cancel our Friday plans, but by Sunday, I was feeling well enough to leap at the chance to join her self-guided e-bike tour of the city.
Borrowing my boyfriend’s ebike, I rode into Golden Gate Park to meet her and to begin our epic tour.
Side Note: (I’m now convinced I need to trade in my beloved road bike for one of these e-bike bad boys. I’m obsessed with the amount of ground we were able to cover in the course of a single day).
Our e-Bike Tour Stops in San Francisco
Bison in Golden Gate Park
Great Highway to Sloat Skatepark
Great Highway to Lands End
Past the Legion of Honor to Baker Beach
Across the Golden Gate Bridge and Back
Down Crissy Field to Tunnel Tops in the Presidio
Up to Lombard Street
Down to Alamo Square
Along the Pan Handle to Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park
I rode into the park and found her parked at Hellman Hollow. She drives a big ol’ pick-up truck, so I was thankful that we started the day early enough for her to find parking.
Her Klee Kai doggie was wearing dog goggles (doggles), and it was so freaking cute, I completely lost my shit. He jumped into her arms, and she settled him into the basket attached to the front of her bike. I asked if we could extend our trip for a short ride down the beach to the Sloat skatepark so that my boyfriend could see the little guy in all his glory.
She agreed, and we headed down John F Kennedy Drive toward the beach.
This far in the park, the road is open to cars, but the traffic isn’t bad and the lanes are wide, so it’s easy to zoom along on bikes. We rode past the open Marx Meadow, where disc golfers hiked up the hill with their backpacks filled with discs, then past Spreckle’s Lake, where the owners of model boats practiced navigating the waters.
From there, it was a short distance to the Bison pasture. We pulled off so that the pup could look out at his brown hairy friends. Having lived in Wyoming for a couple of years, we figured he missed seeing those big guys out and about.
Then it was a straight shot down to the beach.
Riding along Great Highway
Turning left, we rode next to the parking lot for Ocean Beach which is down on the Outer Richmond District side. It was only a short ride before it turned into the Great Highway.
This road has been closed to cars for a few years now. It’s now a great multi-use path where you can walk, jog, ride, skate, or scooter along.
We moved to the left side of the highway, the designated side for travelers who choose to be on wheels. The two sides are separated by a median that has been planted in some places with native species to the area.
We rode along the wide path while skateboarders, other cyclists, families, runners, and walking groups moved with us. There were a lot of other dogs as well, and surfers peering out to the waves that grew and crashed to our right.
We rode all the way down to the end of the highway. As expected, my dude got a kick out of the pup’s goggles, and we chatted for a bit. After we demanded he show us “one of those skateboard tricks,” we set off back the way we’d come.
Neither of us (nor the dog) minded the ride back along Great Highway. It’s pretty epic to be able to cruise along the beach. We parked so that the doggie could run down to the beach at Vicente, then let him run alongside the bikes for a while to expend some of his energy.
Panting with that signature husky smile, he was then scooped up and put back into the basket when we neared the road.
Catching the Views at Lands End
I’ve never had an e-bike before, and the thought of pushing my heft up the curving hill that runs along our San Francisco coast felt daunting. I’d ridden a quarter of the way up before for a tour of San Francisco’s sewer systems (way more exciting than you might imagine), but never all the way to Lands End.
With a switch of the power mode, however, it was a fairly easy boost up the hill. As the road curved, we crossed the street to park our bikes at the bike racks outside the Visitor Center.
I ran into the bathrooms to relieve myself before rejoining my calabash cousin and doggie for a quick look down at Sutro Baths and across the endlessly churning Pacific Ocean. The abandoned outline of the baths felt haunted, in a powerful way, the ghosts of 1894 traipsing along its edges.
After a quick walk along one of the trails that winds its way around this area, we set the pup up for a “world’s end” photo. After all, this is called Lands End, and it was worth capturing a photo of him at the edge of the cliff where all that lay beyond was the vast sea.
When we’d taken in the views, we returned to our bikes. I had a bit of an oopsie. The bike was parked on a hill, and I wasn’t used to how heavy e-bikes were. It tumbled to the ground almost as soon as I unlocked it.
Baker Beach
We rode up from Lands End through the Outer Richmond District. When I go on long runs (or, more accurately, when I used to go on long runs), I would sometimes end up in this neighborhood. I’d run along Lake Street, one of the city’s “slow streets.”
Slow streets opened during the pandemic. These roads are closed off to most traffic, making them havens for pedestrians and cyclists.
We moved through the avenues, then turned left to ride past a portion of the Lincoln Park golf course. At the top of a small hill next to the golf course was the Legion of Honor museum. Its Corinthian columns and stately facade rose like an estate belonging to some gentleman in a period drama. We paused momentarily to gaze at it before heading down along the coast. We paused for a moment to take in the red frame of the Golden Gate Bridge, peeking from behind curled tree branches.
Then we flew through the bougie Sea Cliff neighborhood.
“Those are some houses,” my cousin commented as we took in the curb appeal.
The elegant residences with manicured lawns were certainly a sight to behold as we curved toward the left to hug the road closest to the ocean.
The streets narrowed, and we rode alongside the pretty houses until we arrived at a dead end where the entrance to Baker Beach was found. From this distance, the beach looked like a painting, the red bridge at the end of its shore, and the sand dotted with colorful people, blankets, and umbrellas.
We decided there was no need to walk down the beach. We’d already been to Ocean Beach, and there were a lot more miles and sights to cover before the end of the day.
We left the neighborhood and popped out on a bike path that led up along the Presidio toward the Golden Gate Bridge.
Riding e-bikes Across the Golden Gate Bridge
I’d ridden my road bike across the bridge once before to spend the afternoon in Sausalito.
I remembered it being gorgeous, views of Marin, Kirby Beach, and rocks surfacing from beneath the deep blue of the Pacific.
I also remembered the suuuuper intense cyclists who seemed to have no time to appreciate the views and got angry at anyone who was not racing as fast as they could to get across.
There are designated viewing areas where you can pull your bike all the way in and pause to admire the bay. The trouble is that getting into one of these designated viewing alcoves means risking a spandex-wearing maniac screaming at you.
I wanted to write about this aggressive cyclist culture because it’s important to prepare yourself before embarking on a bike ride through the city. You will likely be yelled at (I was yelled at again during this ride for moving too slowly), but don’t let that stop you from taking your time! Let them speed past. Let them miss out on the beauty. Enjoy the fact that you are outside, moving your body, and experiencing an iconic feat of architecture.
Once we’d reached the other side of the bridge, we pulled over so that we were out of the way, then looked up at Hawk Hill. This green stretch of incline is a well-known peak. It offers views of the city and is a popular place for hikers, visitors, and cyclists to head to. We could see all of these types of travelers in the distance, climbing or driving to the top.
Once we had taken it all in from below, we turned around and rode back the way we’d come. It’s good to know that one side of the bridge is for pedestrians while the other is designated for cyclists. If you’re facing Marin, the left side of the bridge is for bikes, and the right side is for pedestrians.
Lunch at Presidio Tunnel Tops
It was two in the afternoon by the time we crossed back over the bridge, and we were beginning to feel hungry. We turned right off the bridge and glided underneath it on a dirt path. This turned into a paved path that led us toward Crissy Field. It shot us out right behind Movement Climbing Gym (where a friend and I once shared a Membership card picture).
It’s never a bad idea to run, walk, or ride along this field. Views of the ocean and bridge glisten while the expanse of green is often littered with pups racing gleefully about. It’s hard not to feel good out there.
We rode a short distance before parking our bikes at the base of the Tunnel Tops Park in the Presidio. This is a fairly new park. It opened in 2022. It has two levels, one at the Crissy Field level and one up above where the roads of the Presidio route through. There are bathrooms and a coffee shop on the lower level, and a big open seating area on the upper level.
After giving the dog a bit of water, we walked up the park’s cement stairs. The aroma of roasted food hit our nostrils, and I was hungrier than I’d originally thought I was. We walked up past a flat area of the park where first-come, first-serve picnic tables are set up, and grassy fields look out toward the bay. On this sunnier-than-expected day, the park was filled with people picnicking and relaxing.
We rounded a corner to look into the Main Post section of the Presidio. Buildings surrounded a large grassy lawn. Their brick-red faces made you wonder what’s inside (spoiler: one is the Disney Museum and there’s also a bowling alley). On the left side of the grassy field, food trucks were lined up. I had remembered correctly that Sundays were “Off the Grid” (food trucks, breweries, coffee carts all set up), so we had a good amount of food to choose from.
I grabbed some vegan dumplings while my cousin ordered a fried chicken burger.
Then we found a bench and sat down to eat.
I couldn’t let any dumplings go to waste, but felt a little too full when it was time to return to our bikes. I, once again, ran into the bathroom before we got the dog ready to go in his little carrier.
Biking to Lombard Street
We rode along the Marina Green on the wide multi-use path. It was a sunny day (too sunny, I would later discover…) and everyone seemed to be on this path with us. We wove around them and up through Fort Mason park until we popped out on Francisco Street. This then took us up along a bike path until we hit Polk Street.
From Polk, we rode a couple of blocks until we arrived at Lombard.
Staring up the hill that we were about to climb, I wondered if this was possible, even with an e-bike motor.
After making it about halfway up, I dismounted and walked the remaining distance. My excuse is that I forgot there were still gears on the bike, and I was getting over a cold!
At the top of the hill, I stood with our bikes while my cousin and the dog ran over to see the crookidiest street. I loved this street as a kid. We visited San Francisco when I was nine (I think), and I was so excited to see this road. I still think it’s fun to look at today, especially with the stairs lined with flowers, but I’m often huffing and puffing up from Chestnut Street on a morning jog, and rarely take the time to stare across its serpentine path toward Coit Tower in the distance.
It was nice to see my cousin taking a moment to appreciate it.
Alamo Square and the Painted Ladies
The next portion of the ride was not the prettiest, but I prepared my cousin before we set off down Polk Street. This was a path I’d ridden many times before, and it’s grittier than the long stretches of green that we had ridden through earlier.
Still, it’s part of the city and something that should be experienced. We rode along the street, hoping to hit green lights until we arrived at Civic Center. On our right, the Beaux-Arts dome of City Hall made for a stunning sight against the uncommonly blue sky. Its columnade and pedimented windows were impressive, and we rode around the building, turning right onto Grove Street.
We entered Hayes Valley for just a moment before turning onto Octavia Street, then Fulton Street, and up the hill until we arrived at Alamo Square Park.
This park, similar to Presidio Tunnel Tops, was filled with people picnicking and lying out. The Painted Ladies stood like elegant figurines, and people snapped photos, gleefully pointing to these famous houses that appeared in the opening of the 1980s sitcom, Full House.
We, of course, had to get a picture of the doggo in front of these ladies, but he was more interested in rolling in the grass.
These colorful and elegant houses marked the last stop on our tour. From there, we had a quick ride back to Golden Gate Park.
Riding on the Pandhandle and Past a Dragon
We rode up from Alamo Square on Steiner Street, then made our first right onto Fell Street. Fell Street would take us all the way to Golden Gate Park.
When we first turned onto it, I accidentally kept us on the right side of this one-way street. The bike lane reappears a couple of blocks down, at Scott Street, and it’s on the left side. I should have remembered this from my era of commuting on my bike, but it’s been ten years.
To cross the street safely, I decided to stop at the crosswalk at the light (Scott Street and Fell Street).
I was on my boyfriend’s bike, which was slightly too tall for me (even with the seat at its lowest), and stumbled off when I came to a stop. I was still trying to hop back on when we crossed the street. My cousin patiently waited for me to hop back on, but was scolded by another angry cyclist who was zipping past. This angry interaction was soon forgotten when a nice man, also on his bike, decided to be kind. He took one look at me and then our little doggy, and kindly recommended that we ride through the panhandle rather than the bike lane on the road.
“It’ll be slower because people are walking, and you’ll have to wait and go around them, but the bike path isn’t paved well at all. The dog will do better in the Panhandle than in the bike lane.”
We thanked him for his advice, then took off toward the Panhandle. The Panhandle is a long, narrow extension of Golden Gate Park that runs between Fell Street and Oak Street.
I’d wanted to go on the inner path anyway because it’s fun to ride along slowly, watching as the residents of Haight Ashbury practice slack-lining (yes, it’s still a thing), play pick-up basketball, smoke weed, and relax in the shade of the trees.
We rode through and popped out at the entrance to Golden Gate Park.
When I lived on this side of the city, the streets were open to cars. Now, the first half of John F Kennedy Drive is closed to cars. There are statues, pianos, games, and more on the road now.
“This city just isn’t real,” my cousin said as she rode past a statue of a dog-man made of chrome, “like, this is a movie, right?”
I laughed. It was good to remember the magic I’d felt when I first moved here. I often forget about it, but as we passed the roller skating area on 6th Avenue (my first apartment was down the street), I couldn’t help but feel like the city was what I needed it to be again.
Just before the road opened back up to cars (Crossover Drive), we rode past a former Burning Man art piece. It’s a giant, blue water dragon, and was reassembled in a lake beneath a manmade waterfall. Its birdlike features are refined, and you can almost feel the smoke that would escape from its nostrils if it were alive.
The dog was not all that impressed, and we rode past fairly quickly.
Loading the Bike and Saying Goodbye
We arrived back at my cousin’s car, and though I tried, I was almost no help as she removed the front tire of her bike and loaded it onto a slider in the back of her giant truck.
We said our goodbyes, and I was sad to see her go.
I felt grateful to her for reminding me how invigorating it is to experience this place through the eyes of someone who is visiting for the first time. I can take myself on tours whenever I’d like. All I need is a bike, confidence that I’ll survive getting yelled at, and sunscreen.
Oh, yeah. Be sure to wear sunscreen. I got home and discovered that I had the worst sunburn on the lower half of my arms. I guess I’ll just have to buy some long gloves and tan the tops of my arms ASAP.
