Bring You Own Big Wheel 2009 came precariously close to death last week due to forces of Satan in City Hall and at the SFPD working in concert to eliminate fun. But thanks to 11th hour negotiations by the BYOBW organizers the event was resurrected by Easter Sunday, and as expected it was once again one of my favorite days of the year. I decided it was necessary to step up the energy level for my second year as a trike racer. The main thing I was lacking last year was Underberg, so I broke a few those out before the race in order to assure a calm stomach during the heat of battle. The second thing I needed was a more fun costume, so I dusted off the old and turban that I bought in Egypt back in '05. A bonus feature of the costume is that it includes sandals -- the less skin protection for these kinds of races the better, the way I see it. And indeed, I skinned up my feet a little! Pics here.
I'm already counting the days to next year's race. Most likely the organizers will have to pay thousands of dollars in permits which will have to be recouped somehow, and it will be a lot bigger than the once-small event that was held on Lombard Street. But hey, that's how these things go. I'll embrace it.
Last Friday's skate was awesome -- the splinter group did the garage near Union Square and then bombed Post Street as we often do. But the night's highlight came after hanging out at The Bar post-skate when we headed out for the rare (and cherished!) After Skate at the Banana Republic garage at Howard and Embarcadero. It's fun just getting into the garage because after hours they lock the door and you have to get security to buzz you in. So we got a sexy-voiced skater to call the guard from the phone at the garage's side door as the rest of us hid outside the field of view of the security camera. Bzzzzzt -- success!
Here's the video with special soundtrack. If you're in your car roll down the windows and blast it.
The bad news is my pal and roommate Charm is leaving us all to move some place that's not San Francisco. The good news is that as a result there's been a surplus of wacky and fun activities that have been crammed in before she goes. By far the most fun event so far was the bicycle photo scavenger hunt that she planned and organized. As you'd expect from Charm, nothing was half-assed: we brainstormed for weeks on the photo task list and scoring system, mascots were provided to the teams, prizes were procured, and witty emails were sent.
Each team had to take 10 photos with their mascot. Half were mandatory Charm-chosen photographic missions and the rest were chosen by each team from a list. The required tasks:
Most Charmaine spot
Favorite café/bar
Favorite mural/graffiti/public art
Hi-five/hug/dance/protest with a stranger
Cable car
And a sampling of my favorite optional ones:
Drink in the most inappropriate spot
Get stranger to wear a fake mustache
Photo booth photos
Top of the steepest hill
Wordplay using signs
Meet a doorman
Most romantic spot
Prettiest view of the city
Climb a tree
Easiest place to score a sex worker
Douchiest bar
Favorite ethnic neighborhood
Rainbow flag
My team's name was the CANBRARICAN HILL-O-RADICALZ (a Frank Chu-ized term meaning CANadian, BRAzilian, and ameriCAN hill lovers). Our competition was the Rainbow Warriors, Top-Notch Two-Wheeled Todger Dodgers and Business Time. Check out all of our wacky and creative photos that were taken during the three hours that we zipped around the city.
My home page was getting extremely stale. So away it went -- about 30 minutes ago I decided on a new minimalist design both in terms of graphics and content. But I did add a totally new Tunes page with MP3s of songs I've written and recorded over the years. Feel free to download away.
I've known about the San Francisco Sundial located sorta near Stern grove for years. But I never bothered to go check it out just because, frankly, I thought it might suck. It certainly wouldn't be as cool as the bad-ass Jantar Mantar which I visited in India, and isn't really on the beaten path, so I never made it out there. Well luckily my friend Charmaine got us to attempt a 49 mile ride around San Francisco so I suggested the sundial as a pit stop on our ride for no other reason than it could be interesting, it was far, and it was a destination.
Well it turned out to be one of the funnest attractions on the ride! First off, it was much bigger than I expected. Secondly, you can climb on it and there aren't even any signs posted to scold you about it! Kids and adults alike can climb up the gnomon to get a good view of the neighborhood, and then slide down the smooth surface. I'll admit that this wasn't the most mind blowing thing I've seen in SF, but it's another one of those unique things in town that make me happy to call this city home.
Apologies in advance for this uncharacteristically racy post. But there's been a lot of chatter lately about St. Mary Cathedral's (a.k.a. the St. Maytag Washer Cathedral) infamous Two O'Clock Tittie. It also appears at 10 AM in mirror image for you early risers or people who simply prefer leftward facing profiles. Fitting metaphor for catholicism or are San Franciscans just sex-crazed?
In other news, I uploaded a bunch of pictures from the last few weeks of summer. One of my fav's is the panorama from Grandview Park. In Firefox, click on the image and you can scroll around on the original image which is several screens wide. Things to see include the Golden Gate Bridge, Sutro Heights Park, the DeYoung, Transamerica, etc.
What the hell? For the last week almost every day has seen record high temps of around 70 degrees. This is AWESOME. When things like this happen I don't let it go to waste -- some recent outdoor highlights have been a night ride to Sutro Heights Park, jogging through Golden Gate Park, a lunch ride to Twin Peaks and Mt. Sutro, going to balmy Alcatraz for the first time, kicking back on Dolores Park on a blanket, and working from my favorite garden cafe sitting under a tree surrounded by blooming azaleas and drinking an iced coffee. In January! It's gunna end soon so I better get back out there and soak it up!
Magazines and newspapers are always publishing various "perfect day in San Francisco" lists. Last Saturday came pretty close to a perfect Karsty day, so here's the rundown:
8 AM: Read the weather forecast: temps in the 70s, no clouds and no wind. O-yea!
9 AM: Kicked it in Patricia's Green and watched all the beautiful hipsters sip their Blue Bottle coffees.
11 AM: Rode through the Panhandle and discovered the ritzy Ashbury Heights neighborhood on my way to the tiled Moraga Steps. A bit above the top of the steps on the top of a big hill is Grandview Park where I took in the panoramic view from the Pacific to downtown.
12 PM: From a grassy perch in the sun under a tree I read my book.
1:30 PM: Called Mom and Gramma while taking a few pictures.
2 PM: Time for a nap. I dozed off while listening to the sounds of lawmowers, cars being washed, kids playing, etc. Summertime noises in January!
3 PM: Biked home, taking a new route over Mt. Sutro.
6 PM: Met a few friends in Zeitgeist's beer garden.
7:45 PM: Walked over to Davies Hall (2 blocks from my house) to hear the San Francisco Symphony perform Brahms' Symphony #1, one of my favorite pieces. I picked up a rush ticket a few hours before for only $20 and it was front row center, right in front of the first cellist. Sweet.
10:15 PM: Walked down into the Mission for a friend's birthday party where I enjoyed a (1) calorie beer. Mmmm, it's the perfect heavenly bubbly ambrosia to cap off a full day, I generously offered a MGD EL64 to one of the party's attendees. He thanked me profusely for the gift. I felt like God.
None of the day's activities were super out of the ordinary, but they are a great sampling of some of my favorite things to do in SF. And the perfect weather was just icing on the cake!
OK I'm officially dumb for reading about Santarchy for several years and never thinking it was quite cool enough to participate in. This year I just planned on checking the scene quick-like on a bike ride, but got fully sucked in for the entire day. It's obvious that watching hundreds of drunken Santas walking around town is a good time, but what you might not know is that it doesn't get old, even after eight hours. That's because they're always doing stuff like playing kickball, having a tug of war in the middle of Grant Street, rocking out with "Ho Downs" on the sidewalk, climbing stuff, unicycling, vomiting and getting in fist fights. The real Santa should behave more like that. Maybe he does.
You can be certain that I'll be attending next year's event in full Santa attire. Until then, here are the pictures.
I don't usually get too worked up about movies, but last night I saw Milk at the Castro Theatre and I've gotta say that it was an unforgettable experience. What a way to cap off an amazing month! It was the sum of many factors that made the night:
there's the parallels of California's recent Prop 8 to the fight against Prop 6 in the movie
the vibe of seeing the film not only in the same neighborhood where much of the movie was filmed, but in the theater that figured prominently in many scenes
being surrounded by many people who were deeply and personally affected by the story (there was probably a higher percentage of men crying during the sad parts than in any other theater!)
and of course, the Castro is by far the best movie theater I've ever been in
So if you're within commuting distance to SF it's definitely worth the trip to see Milk at the Castro. When I walked out of the theater it was a bit startling to find myself right there on the movie's real-life set, as if it never ended. And that makes me want to do what I can to help the oppressed in their fight for equality until the story really is over.
