Join District 1 Supervisor Eric Mar for a Bike to Work Day this Friday, July 31. RSVP on Facebook

Meet up at the Velo Rouge Cafe at 798 Arguello (at McAllister) from 8-8:10am. Then start pedaling!

Wonder if Supervisor Mar will show up on that cool electric bike he tried out a couple of weeks ago?

Sarah B.

In its most recent issue, 7×7 magazine highlights their top 10 things to do in 10 San Francisco neighborhoods, aka “The Big To-Do SF: 10 ‘Hoods, 100 Things”. Here are the Richmond District to-dos that made their list:

1. Watch the surfers at Kelly’s Cove.

2. Browse the art books at Park Life.

3. See a double feature at the 4 Star Theatre. [Double features are also back at the Balboa Theater too.]

4. Be thankful for Green Apple Books, the ultimate independent bookstore.

5. Pick out a fish from the tank for dinner at New May Wah market [711 Clement Street].

6. Have a bowl of ramen and listen to the Shitones at Halu Restaurant [312 8th Ave near Clement].

7. Jockey for position at Pizzetta 211 [211 23rd Avenue].

8. Drop in on a seisiún (a kind of Irish open jam session held every Sunday) at the Plough & Stars [116 Clement at 2nd Ave.].

9. Bike the length of Golden Gate Park on Sunday when JFK Drive is closed to cars.

10. Check out the natural wonders at the California Academy of Sciences, or the latest exhibit at the de Young.

What would make your top 10 list for the Richmond? Leave it here in a comment.

Sarah B.

[Thanks to Green Apple Core blog for the tip.]

SF.Streetsblog.org captured some local Supervisors, including our own Eric Mar, as they checked out the new electric bikes from Trek, developed by bicycling pioneer Gary Fisher.

The 45-pound bikes, which don’t look at all like electric bikes, run on a lithium-ion battery, and can send you up some of San Francisco’s steepest hills at 14 miles an hour. Fisher said it’s the fastest way to get around the city, bar none.

“It uses the pedalic system from Panasonic and they’ve had that for over 20 years. It’s a really great, intuitive system for an electric bike because you still have to ride it. You know, you don’t get any energy out of it unless you put energy into the pedals, which is sort of a beautiful thing,” said Fisher. “In addition, the motor on this has the capability of developing energy too so it turns into a generator when you want it to.”

Fisher said the bikes on loan to [Supervisors] Chiu and Mirkarimi cost around $2,200 and Trek plans on rolling out a small inventory of them sometime in August. Both Chiu and Mirkarimi were thrilled, and said they are definitely thinking about purchasing them. They are not yet available in the U.S.

So Eric, how was the ride?

Sarah B.

[Photo courtesy of SFCitizen.com]

Flickr member andertho snapped this gorgeous Lands End hawk. “I was actually above this hawk on a hill as she gathered twigs for her nest.”

Sarah B.

[via SFist]

I’m usually so busy enjoying the view when walking out at Lands End that I completely forget to take pictures (assuming I even remembered my camera). But the next time you head out to take in the best views of the Bay, check out “How to photograph San Francisco’s Lands End” from California Photo Scout.

There’s so much to photograph at Lands End, be it the rocks that jut out from the water, the Golden Gate Bridge, the landscape or just the horizon at sunset. The article gives some great tips on how to approach the Lands End scenery, even the best times of day to get that magic shot. There are also important safety tips like this one: “Only shoot when you have sure footing and do not look through the viewfinder while you walk near an edge.”

The article has some great example photos too. And for more inspiration, check out the slideshow below of Lands End shots from Flickr users.

Sarah B.

[via Eye on Blogs]

I went to grammar school in the Richmond and have a photo of my 4th grade class sitting on the Lincoln Park steps at the end of California Street near 32nd Avenue. So when I read a story in Supervisor Eric Mar’s column in The Richmond Review newspaper about a neighborhood group’s effort to restore the steps, I was intrigued.

In use since the 1900s, decades of neglect and disrepair have resulted in cracked steps, damaged concrete and wasted landscaping that attract nighttime loitering, frequent graffiti and dumping of unwanted items.

Enter The Friends of Lincoln Park, part of the San Francisco Parks Trust. They have undertaken an effort to “restore the elegant “bone structure” of the steps in the original Beaux Arts style” using handmade tiles. The tile designs were inspired by historic photographs of Sutro Baths and buildings of the 1890 World’s Fair in San Francisco, and from the artistic vision of Aileen Barr, a renowned tile artist who has worked on many public projects in San Francisco – including the award-winning 16th Avenue Stairs in Golden Gate heights.

The restoration will be conducted over the next two years to allow for additional fundraising and community input. The project will happen in tandem with the renovation of the nearby Lincoln Park Playground by the SF Recreation & Park Department.

If you have questions about the restoration project, contact friendsoflincolnpark@yahoo.com or visit the Friends of Lincoln Park website. Want to help? Much of the project is being financed with private donations from Richmond District residents. If you would like to contribute, please donate. Every little bit helps.

Sarah B.

Pictures from this morning, around 7:15am.

- Sarah B.

A new health report card for California beaches was released this week by Heal the Bay, the non-profit watchdog for beach safety and health in our state. Their beach report card “includes an analysis of shoreline (ankle-deep) water quality data collected by more than 20 different county and city public agencies for fecal indicator bacteria. The amount of indicator bacteria present in runoff, and consequently in the surfzone, is currently the best indication of whether or not a beach is safe for recreational contact.”

The good news is that San Francisco beaches scored very well, with our own China Beach and Ocean Beach scoring A’s. See the chart below for our local rankings. Crissy Field’s western beach made the honor roll, earning an A+ score. Only 46% of Bay Area beaches are monitored on a regular basis, so it’s nice to see that in this annual report, we still score well.

You can read Heal The Bay’s full Beach Report Card report here (PDF).

On a related note, next Monday (~6:15am) and Tuesday (~7:23am) morning are the lowest annual tides for Ocean Beach. You’ll be amazed how far out the water is.

So get out and enjoy our local beaches on this holiday weekend!