NOPA VELO Climbed Every Mountain for a Perfect Sunday Morning Spin

41 NOPA VELO cyclists before they took to the hills of NOPA

The prospect of pedaling up a few San Francisco hills encouraged even more neighbors and friends to join the 3rd monthly NOPA VELO outing. Forty-one cyclists gathered Sunday morning for a perfect day of bicycling in the city. Manaf, the owner of Apollo Coffee, helped the biggest turnout yet get buzzed with coffee, tea and sweets. Among the cyclists were two dogs (one travelling proudly in a bike basket; the other with a steady gait the full ride), four young pedalers, and ... guest appearances by Maria von Trapp and the Storm Trooper who stepped out of the perenially playing Sound of Music.

Intrepid musicologist and cyclist John Rogers displayed perfect timing with everyone's SOM favorites (but he understandably declined to play "The Lonely Goatherd"). For the tougher climbs up Page and Parnassus Streets, "Climb Every Mountain" lifted everyone's spirits while the choice of John Coltrane's version of SOM was pure inspiration. Riders took on Alamo Square, Buena Vista, Panassus Heights, the de Young Tower, and even the steep Lone Mountain, with only a few huffs and puffs along the way. Treats at the Divisadero Farmers' Market were in springtime abundance when NOPA VELO returned to the flatlands.

Any NOPA residents identify the North Panhandle block that inspired NOPA VELO's March ride poster by designer Rick Helf? It's an imagined block with a bit of Broderick, Fulton, and Golden Gate Avenue all together.

What NOPA-lore will inspire April's ride? Clue: "TR." Last Sunday of the month;
Next up: April 25th with a kick-off breakfast and coffee at Mojo Bicycle Cafe and the
new Divisadero parklet.

Join the NOPA VELO Google Group for the latest ride and bicycling NOPA info here.