Next NOPA VELO Ride Sunday Feb. 27: Think World's Fairs, Maidens and Lions

NOPA VELO riders ready to roll

NOPA VELO, the North Panhandle's own neighborhood biking group, will spin off on its first ride of 2011 on Sunday February 27th. For newcomers to NOPA VELO: we started last year with monthly rides for neighbors and friends from all over. We meet mid-morning on the last Sunday of every other month at a local cafe to power-up and then head out for a special theme ride, pursuing an eclectic mix of tall tales, histories, and haunts -- we call it "NOPA lore." And sometimes we do it in costume.

Last year saw riders re-enact the deadly duel between a U.S. Senator and a Supreme Court Judge at Lake Merced with a nod to our NOPA street named for Senator Broderick. We stopped by the NOPA building where Patty Hearst was held captive, toured the tall trees of the Panhandle and Presidio, and scarily spotted the ghostly maiden of Stowe Lake for our Halloween Ride. Cyclists can expect even more surprises this year as we tour the city's World's Fairs, honor this year's California Woman Suffrage centennial, and much more.

NOPA VELO welcome all level riders, and most outings are easy to moderate. Kids on their own bikes are encouraged if with a guardian. Pets on leash or on partner's bike join us all the time. Only heavy rain deters us.

NOPA VELO encourages all riders with a romance-seeking bent, to check out the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's fave party Love on Wheels Feb. 9th (sfbike.org/love) . If all works out well for you and someone new, join us for our Feb. 27th ride. (And if not, maybe someone special with NOPA VELO is waiting to meet you). Thanks for the nod to BIKE NOPA this morning, Michael Tanner of SF Chronicle.

For more information: Lenore@ 415-300-6744, lmcjunker@gmail.com

Join the NOPA VELO Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/nopa-velo

Check here for pics and stories of previous NOPA VELO rides.

Please do visit BIKE NOPA regularly for ride announcements and more about biking and livability in San Francisco.

Cyclists Report Seeing the Ghost of Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park

Forlorn ghost known to haunt Stow Lake searching for lost child

NOPA VELO bikers catch glimpse of ghost across the lake Sunday morning

For more than 100 years visitors to Golden Gate Park have spotted a ghostly apparition hovering around Stow Lake. Sunday morning a group of cyclists observed the woman-in-white during a ride through the park. Rick Helf, one of the organizers of the NOPA VELO cycling troupe, said they decided to circle Stow Lake off JFK Drive at about 10:30 in the morning when the sighting occurred.

Once we were half-way around the lake, someone shouted, 'There's the ghost, across the water near the pagoda.' We all stopped and sure enough a woman in a white flowing gown was pushing through the reeds like she was looking for something. We all heard a distinctive, eerie wailing as if someone was in deep distress or mourning. We knew the lake was supposed to be haunted, but we had no idea we'd actually see the ghost!

Helf said his group called out to the eerie woman who kept wailing and gesturing. They also saw tourists with small children approach the pagoda only to make a quick retreat once they saw the distraught ethereal presence. One child ran up the hillside for safety. After another ten minutes the ghost disappeared into the shadows.

The NOPA VELO cyclists spun out for Ocean Beach and munched on Twix bars in the sunshine to calm their nerves. Even Lenore McDonald was spooked, although she has a reputation among the group for disguising herself as a scary Patty Hearst and a chilling Maria von Trapp. The other cyclists -- including a new rider named simply Wolverine -- returned to the North Panhandle but purposefully avoided the lake. John Rogers, a cyclist who played Halloween tunes on his customized Rock the Bike ride, said no one wanted to re-visit The Ghost of Stow Lake. "It's distressing enough to play Thriller one more time."

NOPA VELO Launches with Patty Hearst/Presidio Ride

33 meet at Central Coffee, Tea & Spice for NOPA VELO's First Ride

NOPA VELO Ride Leaders: Rick Boardman & Lenore McDonald

More than 30 North Panhandle cyclists and their friends gathered around a popular local cafe Sunday morning for the inaugural NOPA VELO ride through the neighborhood, into Golden Gate Park and through the Presidio. "We're excited so many riders turned out," said Patty Hearst...er...Lenore McDonald, one of the organizers who was in full Patty/Tania Hearst attire for the special themed ride. The NOPA area cycling group will offer special "NOPA Lore" for each of its monthly rides. Sunday's outing commemorated the 1974 kidnapping of San Francisco heiress Patty Hearst by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a radical organization that held her captive in a NOPA area apartment for several months.

Each NOPA VELO ride will also introduce cyclists to the neighborhood's fine eating and drinking spots with power-up starts at one location and cool-down drinks and lunches at another. Sunday morning riders met at Central Coffee, Tea, and Spice at Central and Hayes Streets. Riders kept gathering for a full half-hour before the ride began. One neighbor, Michael Varner, changed his leisurely Sunday morning coffee ritual at the cafe and instead dashed home to get his gear and join the ride. Long-time Central Coffee owner -- known to all simply as "Alli" -- beamed at the number of riders. "I didn't think so many would show up!"

First stop for NOPA VELO was the site of Patty Hearst's captivity, 1827 Golden Gate Avenue near Baker Street where Lenore McDonald recounted highlights of Hearst's life. The 19 year old Patty was the daughter of the wealthy editor of the San Francisco Examiner* and grand-daughter of the legendary publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst. (His story was the inspiration for Citizen Kane, the classic 1941 film by Orson Welles). Patty was kidnapped from her Berkeley apartment on February 4, 1974.

The SLA demanded, and received, more than $2 million from the Hearst family to buy food for the poor. But, during her captivity, Patty was either brainwashed, as she later stated, or radicalized and adopted the name Tania after a protege of Che Guevara, the South American revolutionary. Tania joined SLA members in an armed robberty of a Hibernia Bank branch at 1450 Noriega. She later posed wielding the rifle she used in the hold-up. (Thus the infamous poster of Tania which NOPA VELO's expert designer Rick Helf re-imagined as Tania wielding a threating ... bicycle).

The FBI placed Patty Hearst on its "Ten Most Wanted" list, and the search for her became a national fixation. FBI agents captured her at a Mission District house and charged her with armed robbery and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Famed attorney F. Lee Bailey represented Hearst -- none too well she later claimed -- and a jury found her guilty. Hearst was sentenced to seven years in prison. President Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence in 1979 after she had served two years. President Bill Clinton pardoned Patty Hearst at the end of his terms in office. Two months out of prison, Hearst married her bodyguard and they settled in Connecticut where they raised two daughters.

Patty Hearst wasn't out of the limelight yet. Filmmaker John Waters was impressed with Hearst's story after seeing the film of her life, Patty Hearst, with the late Natasha Richardson playing the part of the heiress. He cast Patty herself in his film Cry Baby in 1990, followed by appearances in three more of his movies: Serial Mom, Pecker, and Cecil B. Demented. Patty later reflected on her life, "There's always been this fascination with what happened to me."

That's this month's NOPA lore; now back to the ride. The skies cleared, the sun appeared, and Patty/Tania/Lenore led the riders into the Panhandle and onto JFK Drive bound for the Great Highway. Co-organizer Rick Boardman assumed the sweeper role at the back of the pack. Everyone handled the moderate climb up the Great Highway to the Cliff House, including 6 year old Benjamin Stevens who accompanied his father, Peter. Afterwards Benjamin said going up that hill was his favorite part of the ride. Benjamin has been bicycling for three years, and tomorrow is his birthday.

The Presidio was chilly with morning fog, and a stop at the Warming Hut at Crissy Field came just at the right time. After the uphill ride to Inspiration Point, National Park Service volunteer Dale Danley, aka Ranger Dale, provided an update on the removal of Army-era landfills in the Tennessee Hollow. The group left the park via the Arguello Gate with half the riders stopping for drinks and lunch at Jannah restaurant in NOPA where owner Yahya Slih greeted them with special seating, great Middle Eastern/Californian food, and complimentary desserts with puffs on a hookah. He was thrilled to see many new faces. "Now people are getting used to us in the neighborhood," Salih said. "We're no longer the strangers here."

Look for news of upcoming NOPA VELO rides here on BIKE NOPA. Cyclists can also encouraged to join the NOPA VELO Google group for email updates on the rides: http://groups.google.com/group/nopa-velo .

* A touch of irony, perhaps, that Friday's edition of the San Francisco Examiner featured the NOPA VELO ride with the poster of Patty/Tania Hearst wielding a bicycle. What might William Randolph Hearst think of that?

NOPA VELO to Roll Sunday Jan. 31

Image by Rick Helf

Seen while walking NOPA: Patty Hearst returns

The Patty Hearst / Presidio Ride spins through NOPA this upcoming Sunday, Jan. 31st. Meet up at Central Coffee, Tea and Spice for Ali's finest brews and a brief account of the travails of Tania/Patty Hearst by NOPA's own Lenore McDonald. Kick off from there for a stop at the

Golden Gate Avenue apartment building where the heiress-turned-radical was held captive in 1974 by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

With thoughts of life in a small closet, NOPA VELO cyclists and friends will then glide through Panhandle Park and onto JFK Drive for one of the first group rides on the repaved section of the park boulevard.

Ranger Dale will accompany the cyclists and present an update on recent changes in the Presidio including the national park's ambitious habitat restoration program. A stop at the Warming Hut for a quick break and then everyone returns to NOPA for a hearty welcome at Jannah, NOPA's new restaurant offering exotic Middle Eastern/Californian specialties at good prices, on Fulton Street for drinks and/or lunch.

Can't pedal the whole route? Check out the route map in this previous post and meet us at the start, along the way, or join us for celebration at the end. Patty/Tania and Park Ranger attire encouraged.

Ride stats:

Meet 9:30 am at Central Coffee, Tea & Spice, corner of Central & Hayes

Begin ride at 10:00 am

Return to NOPA and stop for drinks & lunch at Jannah, 1775 Fulton, between Central and Masonic at 2 pm

About 15 miles, two moderate climbs

All biking abilities welcome, walking the climbs is more than fine

Kids with own bikes and an adult guardian welcome to join us

Questions? contact Lenore at lmcjunker@gmail.com

NOPA VELO Spins Out with Inaugural Ride

Design by Rick Helf

NOPA VELO, the North Panhandle’s new bicycling group for neighbors and friends, will launch its inaugural monthly outing on Sunday morning, January 31. Ride organizers announced that each ride will accommodate bikers of all levels with an emphasis on exercise and fine times with neighbors and friends. In addition, the outings will begin and end at NOPA's cool cafes and restaurants, making it one of the few neighborhood-focused, regular rides.

NOPA VELO also creates its own niche among the dozens of specialty bike rides in San Francisco by including NOPA LORE with each outing. What might that mean? Consider the inaugural excursion: “NOPA VELO’S Patty Hearst Presidio Ride” that starts with a brief recounting of NOPA's most famous captive-turned-revolutionary followed by a stop at the Golden Gate Avenue building where Patty/Tania Hearst was held hostage in 1974. Later in the ride NOPA’s own Ranger Dale will give an insider’s view of habitat restoration and new developments at the Presidio. Patty/Tania or Park Ranger attire encouraged for the ride.

Ranger Dale restores Presidio habitats

Future NOPA LORE will feature the neighborhood’s three historical landmark buildings with a story of how NOPNA helped keep one of them from becoming a Burger King outlet; a bicycle re-creation of President Teddy Roosevelt’s 1903 visit to NOPA, and the residence of the woman companion of Portland’s "Queen of the Bolsheviks."

NOPA VELO organizers – Lenore McDonald, Rick Boardman, and Michael Helquist – were inspired by the enthusiastic turnout for the Bike, Meet, and Mingle events sponsored by NOPNA, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC), and BIKE NOPA last September and December. On both occasions, bicycle networking spun off toward NOPA-focused biking.

Lenore and Rick are veteran cyclists with experience organizing rides. Before finding her current home on Golden Gate, Lenore organized century rides in Marin. BIKE NOPA profiled Lenore in this previous post. Rick is originally from the UK but has been living, cycling and working in the Bay Area for five years. In London, he led the Hammersmith and Fulham group of the London Cycling Campaign for several years. He especially enjoyed leading sometimes muddy, but always fun rides along the Thames.

For ongoing info about the rides and more, join the NOPA VELO Google group here. News and photos will also appear regularly at BIKE NOPA.

View Larger Map

The first ride announcement follows:

NOPA VELO's Patty Hearst Presidio Ride ~ Sun., Jan 31 10am - 2 pm

Meet: 9:30 @ Central Coffee, Tea & Spice @ corner, Central & Hayes for NOPA lore on the Patty Hearst kidnapping and captivity in NOPA.

Depart: 10:00 am for swing by Patty Hearst building and then into the Panhandle

• Stops along the way: the newly repaved JFK Drive west of Transverse Drive
• new viewpoint above Sutro Baths
• quick break at the Warming Hut near Crissy Field and brief update on Presidio habitat restoration from Ranger Dale
• Yoda Fountain at Lucasfilm
• Return to NOPA via 15th Avenue

2pm: Drinks and lunch at Jannah Restaurant, across from Lucky's on Fulton Street

All level riders are welcome and no rider will be left behind. Kids who can ride this distance on their own bike are welcome, if accompanied by a guardian.

The ride is approximately 15 miles with one medium climb to Sutro baths and another medium climb heading home on 15th Avenue. Heavy rain cancels ride, otherwise we're on! Next ride: Feb. 27 or 28.

Questions? Contact Lenore at 415-300-6744, lmcjunker@gmail.com or Rick at 650 714 7425, rickschmoo@gmail.com