This is always fun to watch when you are not stuck in the car in the city downtown and have to wait 15 min until all the bikers have passed by. Critical Mass supposedly was started in San Francisco 16 years ago. I think if this helps to get people on bicycles then let’s keep on riding.
Watch the video from the WSJ to see how this works (or how it does not work).
After 5 years I finished the San Francisco Marathon on Sunday for the second time. This was exiting as even with a few years (and pounds) more and despite the fact that I did not practised as much as I should have (again) I still managed to shave off a few minutes of my time. Also, this was the first year for me to run the race accross the Golden Gate bridge, which I thought was very exiting.
The race itself has propelled itself from a niche event with 8,000 people in 2003 to almost 19,000 runners this year, it’s really getting popular. It is a beautiful run for sure, so if you are into running, you should consider participating yourself as well. Check out the video to get an idea about the course:
Here is a photo of the start at about 5:45 am:
Anyway, it was fairly windy, but it’s a really nice run. The 2009 San Francisco Marathon™ will take place on Sunday, July 26, 2009. Registration will open in October.
Here is a new claim to fame for San Francisco as the most walkable city among the most popular 40 cities in the U.S. Despite 42 hills total and quite a few steep ones, people love to walk around in San Francisco, as the WSJ reports. There is quite some criticism towards the results as the data leaves out relevant items such as whether there is a sidewalk or not… come on, get your hiking boots on and don’t forget the helmet 
Seems like people are waking up to leave the car at home sometimes. San Francisco already has a crital mass monthly bike ride, but with the hills we are still waiting to see something like the Tuesday night skating night in Frankfurt, the largest European skate night gathering with up to 5,000 people.