NOPA VELO's Pavement-to-Parks and Parklets Ride

The pavement before at Guerrero and 28th Photos: SF Pavement to Parks

The park after

Showplace Triangle today

The North Panhandle’s only neighborhood-based bike ride is about to spin out again on Monday, May 30, Memorial Day. NOPA VELO is all about urban parks for this easy-to-moderate, nine mile ride. (See route here).

Riders will check out new green projects in the city, including the pavement-to-parks sites at Guerrero Park and Showplace Triangle as well as two parklets, starting with NOPA’s latest on Fulton at Divisadero. Route organizer and Panhandle Park Stewards leader Dale Danley reports he’s especially eager to see the how the plants are faring at Guerrero Park. “I see how much the shrubs and succulents in front of the Mojo Bike Café parklet have thrived in a year,” he said. “Now I want to see how much the plants have grown at the other sites.”

As NOPA VELO riders view the new urbanized landscaping, they’ll learn about the process of bringing more green to our city. How did the city get past the “good-studies-sitting-on-the-shelf” routine and actually start implementing innovative uses for our public space? A recent Streetsblog interview with Andres Power, Project Manager for SF Planning, gives an excellent behind-the-scenes report on how city government managed to kick-start the process. One observation by Power:

Change is always hard. Beyond the actual projects that the Pavement to Parks program has installed, I think in my mind the most beneficial change is really pushing the city family to be okay with experimentation.

And don't forget, for an even greener city: You can help green another corner of NOPA by stopping by Chile Pies, 601 Baker at Fulton, on Wednesday, May 25, 5:30 to 7:30 pm for a community party and fundraiser. Get a free pie slice, beer, wine, sodas, New Mexican hot chocolate and more with each admission. More info here.

NOPA VELO ‘s Pavement-to-Parks and Parklets Ride
Monday, May 30, Memorial Day
9:30 am - Meet at Cafe Abir, 1300 Fulton @ Divisadero
10:00 am - Ride begins
All level riders welcome. Kids on own bikes OK if with guardian.
Pets too if on bike or leash.
Info: Lenore at 415-300-6744, lmcjunker@gmail.com

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

Check out our previous rides here.

Go "Gritty" on Street Date with SFGate, Maybe to "Alamonte Square"

One of the floating ped islands on Divisadero; this one stays within the crosswalk

Residents in Divisadero's "gritty" neighborhoods love the Farmers' Market

The SF Chronicle and SFGate feature "Divisadero Street, SF" for its Street Date in its Thursday through Sunday 96 Hours pull-out today. Right in the midst of its positive, little two-line intro we get "This thoroughfare traverses gritty neighborhoods that..." Guess the Chron just can't let go of the gritty when it comes to Divis or the Western Addition. No matter the make-over of the corridor with all the street trees, landscaping, bulbouts, parklet, new bike parking, funny thumb-nail-protruding medians, and so much energy that the street throbs day and night. But hey, we get all Divisadero and its neighborhoods have to offer and gritty too? Works for me.

Thanks, Chron folks for highlighting Little Chihuahua, Yoga Garden, Swankety Swank, Mojo Bike Cafe, Plant'It Earth, Green Earth Natural Foods, and the Divis Farmers' Market.

Two suggestions though, Chron: Add biking directions to the "Getting There" column for Street Date. It's the mode many of us choose for getting around. And add "bike parking" under the Parking. Because...well, you get it.

The Chron (hard-copy, not on SFGate) adds a mini-map to locate the featured businesses. You can't miss them: they're just one block west of Alamonte Square.

"Eye on the Bay" Spins Into NOPA, Rides with Kristin of Velo Vogue and Stops at Mojo Bicycle Cafe

Kristin Tieche led Eye on the Bay crew to NOPA

CBS Channel5 broadcast a special edition of its hit Eye on the Bay last week, and the North Panhandle biking scene received camera time. Program host Liam Mayclem started out rolling along the new 2.2 mile bidirectional bicycle lane on the Bay Bridge, scheduled to open in 2013. "It's so cool to be on here and biking here," Mayclem announced. "We are the first film crew to ever film right here on the new Bay Bridge on the biking path."

In no time NOPA's Kristen Tieche of Velo Vogue, the bicycle fashion site, led Mayclem on a "noisy, kaleidoscopic adventure ride on Market Street," as the host put it. Once the pair reached Divisadero, they eased into seats on the city's first parklet outside Mojo Bicycle Cafe. Mojo owner Remy Nelson explained that his bike shop and cafe are geared to the "urban rider." Mayclem was more expansive. "It's like we're sitting in Paris or on the leafy lanes of Amsterdam." The cafe seating looks great, but Tieche stole the scene with her high spirits and enthusiasm in this first-of-four segments.

Next stop was nooworks on Valencia (formerly located in NOPA) for runway bike fashions and purchases and then off to AT&T Park where Mayclem thanked Tieche for an "awesome date" before leaving his bike with Liam Casey of SF Bicycle Coalition's valet parking service.

"Eye on the Bay" was "all about biking," and the program covered the scraper bike sensation in East Oakland that tries to "keep youth out of trouble," visited with mountain bike inventor Mike Sinyard in Morgan Hill, and then had Mayclem take trial spins with new rides at Mike's Bikes. The finale came with the bike messengers of Mission-based TCB Courier.

In the last two weeks both PBS and CBS have filmed segments in the North Panhandle. I think we're happy to share the neighborhood.

Autumn Weather, Scary Ride, Horrortrack On The Way: NOPA VELO Spins and Spooks on Halloween Sunday

You Don't Know Who Might Appear..... Flickr Photo: Steve Rhodes

Dead Man's Bones: My Body's A Zombie for You

When's the last time you biked to the accompaniment of Wayfaring Stranger, My Body's A Zombie for You, Way Down Hadestown, and People Who Died -- in your spook garb, scaring the early risers, and circling Stow Lake for the forlorn resident ghost? OK, but have you ever done it on a Halloween morning with friends and neighbors?

First-timers for a ghoul spin: mornings can be scary, especially on Halloween. It's better if you travel with your own kind. Join NOPA VELO, the North Panhandle's only bike rec ride for neighbors and friends.

NOPA VELO Monster Mash Halloween Ride
Sunday, October 31
Meet: 9:30 at Mojo Bicycle Cafe, 639 Divisadero, between Hayes & Grove
Start: 10 am sharp
(If you're running late, join the group in the Panhandle or call Lenore for location)
End: about noon with drinks and lunch at Duboce Park Cafe, corner of Duboce & Sanchez

Easy to moderate 8 mile ride
All level riders welcome; kids on own bike OK if with guardian
Spooky pets too if on leash or in bike basket
You Will Want to be in Costume! It's Halloween!
More info: Lenore @415-300-6744, lmcjunker@gmail.com

For previous rides and to appreciate again the previous posters, check the NOPA VELO Series.

NOPA VELO Does the Monster Mash Halloween Ride

Image: Rick Helf www.helf.com

NOPA VELO riders will wend their way through the candy corn for a Halloween spin like no other on Sunday, October 31st. Riders will spook the early-morning Mojo Bicycle Cafe crowd and power-up on breakfast and coffee before rolling through the streets to the Panhandle. With sleek and smooth or flapping and ominous costumes, cyclists will continue bravely on their scary mission: spot the forlorn Ghost of Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park.

For those unfamiliar with this spooky tale, the version we like best goes like this. In the late 1800s when the park was still in its early period of development, a young woman took her toddler on a boating excursion on Stow Lake. Somehow the little one fell overboard, the mother jumped in to save her child, and both drowned. Ever since, the distraught mother has been sighted by San Franciscans who all describe the same apparition: a young woman of forlorn expression in a wet and muddy white dress walking along the edge of the lake. For more than 100 years the Ghost of Stow Lake has searched for her lost child, often while wailing in despair. Our own NOPA Lore has it that the Ghost usually appears on Halloween mornings . . .

Following the very possible ghost sighting, riders will descend on JFK Drive to make the car-free zone really scary before entering the Panhandle and circling NOPA blocks -- all the while doing the Monster Mash and sporting their Ghostbusters cred. Spooks and ghosts and mashes really work up a Halloween appetite. Riders will repair to the Duboce Park Cafe and raise a toast to the Ninth NOPA VELO ride of 2010.

NOPA VELO Monster Mash Ride Halloween Ride
Sunday, October 31
Meet: 9:30 at Mojo Bicycle Cafe, 639 Divisadero, between Hayes & Grove
Start: 10 am sharp
(If you're running late, join the group in the Panhandle or call Lenore for location)
End: about noon with drinks and lunch at Duboce Park Cafe, corner of Duboce & Sanchez

Easy to moderate 8 mile ride
All level riders welcome; kids on own bike OK if with guardian
Pets too if on leash or in bike basket
Costumes of any sort really encouraged! It's Halloween!
More info: Lenore @415-300-6744, lmcjunker@gmail.com

For previous rides and to see the cool posters, check the NOPA VELO Series.

One Ride, Seven Presidents: NOPA VELO's Park and Bridge Tour This Sunday

Image: Rick Helf , www.helf.com

The President William McKinley Monument in Panhandle Park

Another Slain Ohio President, James A. Garfield, in Golden Gate Park

President Theodore Roosevelt might never have visited NOPA if the original plan to place a monument to his predecessor, William McKinley, at the intersection of Van Ness Avenue and Market Street had held. Instead, Teddy R stopped by the site of the future monument at the eastern end of the Panhandle in May of 1903, ceremoniously shoveled sod, and eulogized McKinley.

San Franciscans kicked in $30,000 for the memorial of their beloved President, and local sculptor Robert Aitken won the commission for the statue. As authors Chris Pollock and Erica Katz note in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park: A Thousand and Seventeen Acres of Stories notes, "The McKinley Monument features an inset marble bas-relief plaque of McKinley set into a 15- foot-high pedestal on a stepped granite podium 45 feet in diameter."

This upcoming Sunday NOPA VELO riders will stop by the McKinley Monument, the site of the only visit to the neighborhood by a sitting U.S. President. Then it's on through the Panhandle and into Golden Gate Park with a second stop at the President James A. Garfield Memorial along John F. Kennedy Drive. (That's four past presidents, if you're not counting). Of the three monuments erected to U.S. Presidents in Golden Gate Park, all three hailed from Ohio. As former NOPNA President Tys Sniffen, also an Ohioan, once asked, "What's up with that?"

In short order, NOPA VELO spinners will leave the park and head for the Presidio where they will encounter remembrances to Presidents Washington, Harrison, and Lincoln before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in groups. After taking in the view from Marin, riders will retrace their tracks to return to the neighborhood with enough Presidential Lore to last a good long time.

NOPA VELO Dead Presidents' Park & Bridge Ride

Sunday, April 25

Meet: 9 am for breakfast/drinks at Mojo Bicycle Cafe, 639 Divisadero

Start: 10 am sharp

(If you're running late, join the group at McKinley's Monument; even later, catch them at Garfield's)

End: about 12:30 pm, lunch at Herbivore Restaurant, 531 Divisadero

Mild to moderate climbs in the Presidio

All level riders welcome; kids on own bike OK if with guardian

Heavy rain cancels (but sun predicted!)

More info: Lenore @415-300-6744, lmcjunker@gmail.com

Join the NOPA VELO Google Group here

NOPA VELO's Ride with the Presidents, April 25

Image: Rick Helf, www.helf.com

Teddy R returns to NOPA, and you won't want to miss it. On May 13, 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt first visited the neighborhood for a stop at the east end of Panhandle Park. There the country's youngest president tossed some sod at the site of the future monument to his slain predecessor, William McKinley. Teddy recalled the grief he and the American people felt when McKinley died of bullet wounds fired by an anarchist at the Pan American Exhibition in Buffalo, New York in September of 1901.

"It is not too much to say that no man since Lincoln was as widely and universally beloved in this country as was President McKinley."

That's quite a tribute for the nation's leader who helped

launch the country into full-blown imperialism with the Spanish-

American War of 1898 and the Philippine Insurrection that followed.

For its fourth monthly ride, NOPA VELO spinners will first

fuel-up with breakfast at Mojo Bicycle Cafe and then kick-off for

a tour of presidential memorials in Golden Gate Park and the

Presidio before crossing Golden Gate Bridge. Here's your chance

if you've yet to cross on your bike. Riders will take in the views from

the Marin side and then leisurely bike back for a lunch stop at

Herbivore Restaurant on Divisadero.

Join us for a nod to seven Presidents and a great ride.

Neighbors and friends of all skill levels are welcome. Kids too

on their own bikes if with a guardian. Mild to moderate climbs

in the Presidio. Presidential attire encouraged.

9:00 am Breakfast or coffee at Mojo Bicycle Cafe

639 Divisadero, between Hayes & Grove

10:00 am Ride begins

Noon Lunch at Herbivore Restaurant

531 Divisadero, between Hayes & Fell

For more information: Lenore @ 415-300-6744;

lmcjunker@gmail.com

To get all the NOPA VELO news, join our Google group

Heavy rain cancels.

SF Great Streets Launches Block Party Guide: First of Monthly Series of Tips for Transforming Streets

Last year's bike-themed block party in NOPA

Potlucks, kids play, neighbors mingling: all in the block party mix

The San Francisco Great Streets Project has given city residents a spring-time gift: a new guide with tips and tricks for how to throw a block party. With Sunday Streets fervor in our midst -- 9 open street celebrations this year, including one this Sunday on the Great Highway -- neighbors are starting to think about special events on their own blocks. This new party guide gets them started and introduces them to the formal process of applying for a permit in the friendliest of ways. The new four-page publication includes a nod to North Panhandle neighbors: several photos from NOPA's BIKE THE BLOCK party* last year are featured. Take a look at the guide here (it's a pdf document).

The party pamphlet is the first in a monthly series called the "Great Streets Guide" that will provide residents with the tools needed to transform local streets. The Great Streets program is already a crucial partner in San Francisco's "Pavement to Parks" program that recently installed the parklet on Divisadero in front of the Mojo Bicycle Cafe. Great Streets works with the SF Bicycle Coalition, the Livable Streets Initiative, SPUR, and PPS, the Project for Public Spaces. Kit Hodge, director of Great Streets, wrote in an email that she "sincerely hopes this guide will help clarify the process for people throughout San Francisco."

The new initiative focuses on block parties as essential building blocks for communities to experience the varied uses of our public spaces. As noted in the announcement, "Block parties are low-key and local, and they're a great opportunity to turn your street into a fun, safe play area for kids -- or anyone." Cindy Shamban, SFMTA administrator for special events and permits, is excited to have the new guide. "This will help people think about block parties in clear and concise ways. I hope it will help people get the most out of their events." The pamphlet is intended as a supplement to the official permit application process.

A word to wise party planners: the sooner you start planning your own block party, the lower the permit fee and the easier the process. Why not talk to your neighbors about it this weekend?

* If you're interested in a bike-themed block party, take a look at this BIKE NOPA post from last year.

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.

Ride with NOPA VELO, SUNDAY March 28th

Haven't taken a NOPA VELO ride yet? You missed out on Patty/Tania Hearst and the Duel-t0-Death Re-enactment that gave Broderick Street it's name. But, hey, how about joining Julie/Maria and the rest of us riding the "peaks of NOPA"? We might be stretching the "Climb Every Mountain" aspect but we do include (as an option for hardy spinners) Lone Mountain just to the west of NOPA.

We meet-up at at 9:30 am at Apollo Coffee at Divisadero and Turk. Get powered up with some fine coffee or drinks and morning carbs. Manaf, the exceedingly friendly owner of Apollo, is looking forward to our group stopping by. Kick-off at 10 a.m. We'll make the ride safe and smooth and mostly easy; a few moderate climbs included.

After Alamo Square Park, the Buena Vista foothills, Parnassus Heights for the best view, and a walk or bike climb up Lone Mountain, we'll roll down to the hugely popular Divisadero Farmer's Market where all sorts of treats wait for us. Say hello to Dmitrius, market manager, and to Seni and Ryan, the great guys at SF-Grill for sandwiches you have to try. (They've also reserved three tables and seating for us). Or try Juicy-Lucy right across from the grill for a good cool-down smoothie. Pastries, fruits, nuts, Mojo coffee on the spot.

Take a stroll down the block a bit and see if you can snag a table at the new, hot parklet in front of Mojo Bicycle Cafe...or at least see what all the buzz is about.

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

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

Heavy rain cancels ride. All level riders welcome.

Kids on their own bike OK if with adult guardian.

Challenge to NOPA neighbors: can you name that block of houses in the poster above?

City Celebrates First Parklet, 100 Gather on Divisadero

Leela Gill, former president of the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association

More than 100 neighbors, city officials, and livability advocates gathered on Divisadero Street today to launch and celebrate San Francisco's first "parklet," a miniature version of the Pavement-to-Parks projects being developed in the city. Mayor Gavin Newsom hailed the installation of the sidewalk extension as well as the nearly completed Divisadero makeover with the new landscaping, median, lighting, and street paving. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi recalled that when he first took office in 2005 he predicted that Divisadero would be the "comeback kid corridor" and now that appears to be the case. "This 44 foot template is a pilot for projects that others will want in their neighborhoods," Mirkarimi suggested, establishing a new prediction with its fulfillment already in the works. Another parklet is expected to be completed in three weeks in the Mission district.

Ed Reiskin, Director of the Department of Public Works, praised the work of Synergy Construction and city staff for completing the Divisadero revitalization seven months ahead of schedule. He added that he was pleased to see the new mini-park in the North Panhandle. "My daughter goes to school two blocks from here, I ride the 24 Divisadero nearly every day, and bike through the neighborhood," he said. Rijad Ghannam, of RG-Architecture, who provided pro bono services for the design of the parklet, touted the inspiration that he feels from working on the project. "No one ever said 'Meet me at the two non-descript blocks in front of Mojo,' but now this space will be a destination."

The installation of the mini-park involved a collaboration of several city departments and the Mayor and Supervisor's office with solid input and guidance from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's Great Streets Project as well. Volunteers from the SFBC program provided essential assistance for the installation, even during a drenching rain last Friday.

With expectation of fine media coverage elsewhere today -- this was one well-covered event! -- BIKE NOPA is focusing on the remarks of former NOPNA President, Leela Gill. Leela especially praised the collaboration of NOPNA, the Alamo Square Neighborhood Association, and the Divisadero Merchants Association.

Find a good reason or none at all and take a relaxing break at NOPA's first parklet!

Mojo Bicycle Cafe's Remy Nelson and Divisadero's New Parklet

Sommer Peterson, (l), president of Divisadero Merchants Assoc., and Remy Nelson

Sunshine makes it all even better

Much-needed bike parking along Divisadero

Cooperative effort brings San Francisco's first parklet to NOPA

This morning Mayor Gavin Newsom, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, other elected officials, livability advocates, Divisadero merchants, and neighborhood leaders will celebrate the city's first "parklet" outside Mojo Bicycle Cafe. Newsom previously described the mini-pavement-to-parks initiative as a chance to "slow down the day" and allow people to "pause and reflect and connect with one another." For Remy Nelson, owner of the hot spot cafe on the busy Divisadero corridor, those ideals led him to devote the last three years to get to this point.

On a warm, sunny afternoon earlier this week, Remy recalled for BIKE NOPA how the cafe and bike shop came to be and why it had to be on Divisadero. We sat outdoors in front of the cafe but not on the new sidewalk extension, the parklet -- it was already filled with neighbors and customers chatting, reading, and texting with cups of coffee nearby.

"It all sort of started when John and I were sitting at Zeitgeist several years ago," Remy said, referring to John McDonnell, co-founder of Mojo Bicycle Cafe and one of the operation's top-notch mechanics. "We thought wouldn't it be cool to have a place like that and repair bikes for customers too." Remy completed his college studies and began his career as a hydrologist working for a large corporation. He was living at Grove and Broderick Streets then, but he wasn't happy with his everyday routine. "I got tired of the commute, the setting was too corporate," he explained, "and I didn't like never seeing how my work affected anyone."

Remy left the corporate world and the neighborhood to travel for a year in 2004. After he returned to San Francisco, a casual conversation with his dad about his plans for the future led to thoughts of starting his own business. "I thought wouldn't it be cool to be a good boss and make a difference." A realtor friend of his dad's found the building where Mojo Cafe is today. "I told them it had to be on Divisadero." Remy had returned to the North Panhandle neighborhood, and it was important to him to locate his business nearby.

The building, located on the west side of the street between Hayes and Grove, originally had a plumbing store in its storefront and later a beauty parlor and an architect's office. "It needed a lot of work," Remy recalled. "We put a year and a half into the remodeling." (Photos of the cafe and remodeling here). Today Remy says he had no idea what he was doing, but he was the architect and the project manager for the project and steered the work through all the bumps along the way, including the maze of city permits. "I thought 'how do I do the next three steps? Let me get those done and then I'll see what's next." Mojo Bicycle Cafe opened in 2007 just as a revitalized Divisadero corridor was in the works.

Both Remy and John brought related experience to Mojo. John was previously the manager of the Pacific Bike Shop on Geary Street, and, for awhile, Remy worked for him as a mechanic. Remy also undertook a cross-country bike tour and served as the mechanic for 120 other cyclists. Although he hadn't operated a business before, he had racked up a lot of experience managing people during his corporate stint.

Remy also serves as vice-president of the Divisadero Merchants Association, a group that has helped encourage new businesses on the street as well as the makeover near completion today. "I think it's fun to work with the board," Remy remarked, "but I'd like to see more cohesion among the merchants on the street."

As for today's focus on the new sidewalk extension, Remy said the main reason the wooden platform, the landscaping, and the bike racks are outside his business is because it is a good location with a cooperative business willing to maintain the space. Remy also brought to the project his work with the merchants' group, his involvement with NOPNA, the neighborhood association, and early, collaborative relationships with Supervisor Mirkarimi and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. " But Remy emphasized that anyone can sit a spell at the new mini-park, "even if you bring your coffee from somewhere else."

Remy gives a lot of credit to the city for making it all happen so quickly with cooperation from the Mayor's office, the Planning Department, the Public Utilities Commission,and the Department of Public Works, the SFBC Great Streets Project, and the generosity of RG Architecture, Bison Deck Supports, Flora Grubb Gardens, and dozens of volunteers. "Just a few months ago," Remy recalled, "Ross (Mirkarimi) pulled everyone together and said let's do it." And they did. Stop by the cafe today for the mayor's press conference at 11:30 and linger awhile "to slow down the day."

City's First "Parklet" Comes to NOPA: Construction To Be Completed This Week at Mojo Bicycle Cafe

Workers assemble platform and support for sidewalk extension at Mojo Bicycle Cafe

Temporary sidewalk extension, 40 ft x 7 ft, for cafe seating, planters, and bike parking

Rijad Ghannan of RG Architecture is donating his services for the trial extension

The installation of San Francisco's first "parklet" will be competed today or tomorrow in front of Mojo Bicycle Cafe on Divisadero Street. As part of a six-month experiment, two parking spaces will be transformed into a raised sidewalk-level wooden deck with cafe seating, planter boxes, and parking for six bikes. On Thursday and Friday of this week construction crews placed the wooden tiles and supports in place with Rijad Ghannan supervising the work. His firm, RG Architecture, is providing its services gratis to the project. Ghannan is a former board member of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and brings his appreciation for biking and innovative design to the project.

The expanded sidewalk installation at Mojo is part of the city's "Pavement to Parks" program which experiments with diverse uses for public spaces. Other projects have been larger in size such as the 17th and Castro intersection which now features tables and chairs instead of car traffic. The much smaller installation at Mojo Cafe will be assessed after six months. If successful, the permit for its operation can be extended another six months. For more information and images of the Mojo project, check the coverage here in Streetsblog.

Get Your Mojo But Park Your Bike?

Cool spin past Mojo Bicycle Cafe - but where to park the ride?

Trees, meters, rack -- still not enough parking at Mojo on Divisadero

Bike parking pile-up a half-block away from Mojo Cafe too

You can always walk to Mojo Bicycle Cafe and peds are always welcome, but, hey, it's a bicycle cafe. The always buzzing spot on Divisadero already has two basic inverted-U bike racks, but they're usually taken. And the bikes at trees and meters, and bikes locked double- and triple- wide only crunch the street's already skinny sidewalks. Something new, better, more practical, more sidewalk-friendly, more bike-on is so needed here.

So, that was the teaser lead: something new and better really is in the works, as reported today by Matthew Roth in Streetsblog with some great photo simulations of a proposed build-out along the sidewalk to accommodate pedestrians, cafe customers, and anyone who wants to sit a bit and appreciate the improvements on Divisadero. And, yes, there will be additional bike parking included in the design.

New Bike Racks Sprout in NOPA

All of a sudden new bike racks are appearing on NOPA streets. After three years of the injunction-induced bike parking drought, the ever-humble and practical inverted U's are blossoming like the plum tree outside Mojo Bicycle Cafe. From Fulton near Masonic and along Divisadero, we spotted seven new bike racks. NOPA received two of the first racks installed in the days after a partial lifting of the bike injunction, one at Pacific Primary School and another on Divisadero near Oak. Now with at least nine new racks, there's greater chance to stow your bike outside stores and cafes and homes without blocking sidewalks and without risking losing your wheels altogether.

Know of other new bike racks in NOPA? (The new ones have a city SFMTA message stenciled on the sidewalk to help position the installations). List others here in comments.

Lenore McDonald: Biking Feeds Her Soul

Lenore McDonald: "Riding is really part of what I do."

Lenore McDonald and Rick Helf: And now riding is part of what they do.

Lenore McDonald is the kind of bicyclist that makes other cyclists smile. Her bubbling-over enthusiasm combines with a history of long-haul rides and a commitment to more considerate use of city streets.

"I do love bicycling," Lenore proclaimed over night-time tea at Cafe Abir. "It's a central activity in my life that feeds my soul. This feeling, it's just a joy that spreads into me. I feel like a kid again, I just love it. I remember riding my bike as a kid. I grew up on the coast and went to the beach on my bike. I never stopped since then, although it's always been recreation riding."

When she lived in New Orleans, Lenore rode a Raleigh 10 Speed with her young daughter, Lillie, in her bike seat. "Lillie would fall asleep slumped against my back while we were riding, lulled by the constant rhythm." Considering that New Orleans streets were "not good" for cyclists and the notoriously steamy weather, a parent riding with a young child had to be an unusual sight.

Lenore moved from New Orleans to California more than 20 years ago with her husband, son Nick, and baby Lillie in tow. They settled in Marin, where one day she found an 18 gear Marin mountain bike at a garage sale. "It even had a kid carrier that came with it. I was as excited about that as I was for the bike, and it only cost $150." In 2002 Lenore took a job in San Francisco at Golden Gate University, working as a fundraiser and program coordinator for the alumni association. Workday mornings found her on a Golden Gate Transit bus (with her bike stowed on board) to get to the office and at the end of the day on her bike for the 22 mile ride home. In her free time, she volunteered with the Marin Cyclists Club.

In August of this year, Lenore moved to San Francisco. Now single with her children on their own, she first considered Oakland before friends persuaded her to look more in San Francisco. They mapped five neighborhoods for her to check: Hayes Valley, Glen Park, Bernal Heights, the Castro, and -- you know where this is going -- the North Panhandle.

She found a place on Golden Gate, a really large one bedroom with a garage. And there was no problem having a pet, her cocker spaniel. Now weekday mornings, Lenore is positioned on her customized titanium Litespeed at Golden Gate and Broderick Street, ready for the green light at Divisadero before she slaloms the descent and gets half way to her office with the momentum. But it wasn't just the apartment that sold her on NOPA. "I knew I was in the right neighborhood when I saw Mojo (Bicycle Cafe) here."

Lenore has completed a half-dozen Century rides all over California. "To have a whole day just to go out and ride is so wonderful." Lenore is especially proud that she did the Bicycle Tour of Colorado, "the grand daddy of them all," covering 450 miles in five days. It was one of her biggest physical challenges. "I had done Centuries before but I never got back on the bike the next day," Lenore said. "My legs did o.k.; it was my rear end that took it bad."

Cycling is so important to Lenore that it determined her choice of dates. "I was so insistent on meeting someone who also rides," she explained. When a mutual friend suggested she and her boyfriend, Rick Helf, meet, what really helped was learning that he rode also. "We went to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass together, and it was amazing there were so many cyclists there. Their bikes were parked everywhere; they wouldn't all fit in the bike lot. It was inspiring to see so many." Lenore fairly glowed when she added, "Riding home together in the moonlight after that ... it was magical. We were pinching ourselves, it was so great."

Lenore first met lots of NOPA bicyclists at the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's NOPA Mingle at the On the Corner Cafe in September. Now she's ready to help organize regular neighborhood rides. "I'd love to see Mojo sponsor a bike ride, meet there at ten in the morning, go for a good ride, and then hang out for a beer somewhere after."* Lenore also hopes the popular Sunday Streets will come through NOPA next year. "It was a blast this year, and it's a great way to bring communities together and get them working together."

Relatively few bicyclists fit the stereotype that many San Franciscans hold of scofflaw riders blowing through red lights and ignoring the rights of pedestrians and motorists. But most cyclists recognize that there are problems. Cyclists who don't share space, who get too impatient, and who go to fast are Lenore's pet peeves. She is especially irked with some cyclists' behavior in Golden Gate Park, at Crissy Field, on Golden Gate Bridge, and on the Panhandle Path. "I get concerned with people's safety, especially where families interact." She added, "It's not very friendly on the bridge."

Overall Lenore reported that she is pleased with the momentum underway for bicycling in the city. "I'm very interested with the changes for city streets and with what's going on with Market Street," she said referring to the mandatory right turn for vehicles at 8th Street. The work of the SF Bicycle Coalition has also caught her eye. "It's great to see the whole cause get momentum. I'm looking to see how I might get involved with the coalition."

This Saturday Lenore and Rick will join the SFBC Good Roads Crew on its monthly ride to identify and report potholes, this time on SOMA streets.** The outing is just one more way to enhance this essential element of Lenore's life. In her words, "Riding is really part of what I do."

* Interested in a monthly bike ride starting in NOPA? Contact Lenore McDonald at lmcjunker@gmail.com .

** The Good Roads Crew meets this Saturday at 10 a.m. on the sidewalk in front of the SFBC office at 995 Market @6th Street. The ride lasts for about 90 minutes, followed by drinks and lunch. Everyone on two-wheels is welcome. They're a very friendly group, and it's another of those signature only-in-San Francisco events! For more info, contact neal@sfbike.org .