Biking is something that I enjoy a lot. I believe that it’s a great way to be outside, like you’re on a hike, but you get to see more because you’re going at a faster pace. Recently, my parents and I went biking in San Francisco and I found it dissimilar to what I’m used to. In Livermore, on some streets you barely see a car in the daytime. On busy streets there is usually a bike lane, and in Livermore you are allowed to ride on sidewalks if there are few people on it. San Francisco is such a large city, the place is teeming with people and the streets are packed with cars. Even though it was weird for me to see people biking in places where it was so packed, there are many people who bike in the city every day. Commuters bike to their jobs, regardless of traffic conditions and on Amazon I saw an advertisement saying that in San Francisco there is a 6 hour Amazon delivery service which uses cyclists to deliver the items! Pedicabs have also sprung up as a pretty big business from all the tourism.

When you hear about people biking in San Francisco, you’re probably thinking, what about the 50 plus hills within the city limits? Well, people do bike those hills, but usually they are the commuters or the bike messengers. The downtown section of San Francisco is one of the more hilly areas, and most streets are traffic heavy with no bike lanes. The waterfront however, is a relatively flat section of the city, and has many of the tourist attractions. It’s no surprise that, that’s where all the bike rental companies are. They usually advertise biking up and down the waterfront, or across the Golden Gate Bridge. I enjoy biking the waterfront because in my opinion, when you are biking across the Golden Gate Bridge the scenery doesn’t really change.

One of the reasons that people come to California is for the exceptional weather we have year round. San Francisco is a perfect example. During the summer, there is usually a breeze so it ends up being nice and cool compared to farther inland. In the winter, the warm air coming up off the ocean heats up the city. When I was there in the winter once, we were in shorts and T-shirts at 10pm. When we biked up and back the waterfront recently, I thought it was a cool experience and would do it again any time. Even though there are lots of people, its a fun challenge to navigate through them. I would recommend for other people to do it if they can get the chance. If you forget or can’t bring your bike, well, you know where to find one!