Different Spokes San Francisco

Rails to Trails project in the making?

"Now that the freight trains no longer run to the Permanente plant, there’s talk of a rails-to-trails project.

At this point, it’s just idle chatter about what to do with the route, but you can be sure a recreation corridor will be considered.

The final freight train ran on Sunday, July 24, 2022, operated by Union Pacific via the Vasona Industrial Lead (Permanente branch). The cement factory shut down shortly thereafter.

If you’re not familiar with the train tracks, I’m not surprised. The trains weren’t frequent. The only other company using the trains for shipping was Economy Lumber Company in Campbell.

The UP line originates in downtown San Jose and follows Southwest Expressway, Wi******er Boulevard. It branches north at Vasona Junction where Netflix HQ is located.

The only time I saw a train running was at Prospect Road and Stelling Road (see YT video).

Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) will want to extend the Los Gatos light rail line to downtown, but that’s going to be a difficult proposition."

Full read here (link to Bay Area Bike Rides blog):
https://rayhosler.wordpress.com/2026/08/13/rails-to-trails-project-in-*the-making/



Bio:
Ray Hosler is best known for the "Bay Area Bike Rides" tour guide, in publication since 1990 by Chronicle Books. Beginning with daily newspapers in Wyoming and Colorado, he branched out to Runner's World magazine in Mountain View, California, followed by a weekly bicycle column in the San Francisco Chronicle for three years in the 1980s. He has chronicled his many bike rides in two paperback books. His other literary efforts include a novel about a San Francisco bike race in 1889, a children's book, a novel about self-driving cars, and a trilogy about a Chinese family living in 19th Century America.

It’s Dirty Work And Someone Has to Do It

Last week I rode some dirt—actually, a lot of dirt—with Valley Spokesmen, one of the other clubs I ride with. Unlike the late 1980s and 1990s, Different Spokes today has few exponents of offroad cycling. Back then a mountain bike ride would bring out anywhere from four to ten people and there were several of us who regularly led club dirt rides. The club’s annual trip to Lake Tahoe, which started out as a road tour, started to attract dirt riders due to burgeoning interest among the Spokerati who were curious about the famous Flume Trail as well as the copious trails around the lake. Alas, no more. About half the time David Millard gets no one to join his easy and convenient dirt rides in San Francisco and the Marin Headlands. Joan seems to have ridden off into the sunset since no one ever joined her for her all-day dirt escapades.

What of other clubs? There are a very few clubs with mountain bike rides including Almaden Touring, Fremont Freewheelers, and Grizzly Peak Cyclists. However the latter is noteworthy because it has two weekly “gravel bike” rides, one taking in routes in Redwood Regional Park and Sibley Volcanic, and the other Tilden and Wildcat Canyon Regional Parks. This makes it a real outlier by having two rides every week. It’s also noteworthy that these rides are called ‘mixed terrain’ rides with neither ‘gravel’ nor ‘mountain bike’ nomenclature. They’re rides that include paved and non-paved terrain and you can show up on any kind of bike.

Full read here (link to ChainLetter blog also in bio):
https://dssf.home.blog/2026/06/26/its-dirty-work-and-someone-has-to-do-it/

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Ride Recap: June Happy Hour in the East Bay

"This month we broke the mold of the HHITEB by starting in Moraga instead of Lafayette and pedaled an astounding (!) fifteen miles instead of ten. Whew. All of this epoch-breaking, era-ending change was so we could check out Canyon Club Brewery for dinner. Unfortunately Roger and I couldn’t personally vet this haunt before the ride so we were blindly treading into possibly dangerous territory. A meal at a brewery? This could end badly for all concerned. Getting blasted and fine dining, I’m not sure those two concepts go together. But when you’re toasted doesn’t everything taste delish?"

Full read here (link to ChainLetter blog also in bio):
https://dssf.home.blog/2026/06/22/ride-recap-june-happy-hour-in-the-east-bay/

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(Un)Happy Anniversary!

"We were coming up on the third anniversary of David Sexton’s death. Three years ago he was a victim of a hit-and-run in Richmond, a murder that is still unresolved. By chance we were thinking of heading up to ride Mt. Veeder since it had been three years since we last traversed that climb. We got some friends of Gordon to come along to enjoy the day and Gordon agreed to meet us for lunch. Cycling up Veeder was a near-perfect ride to honor his memory. Alas, a life stolen. The gods adore those who die young."

Full read here (link to ChainLetter blog also in bio):
https://dssf.home.blog/2026/07/08/unhappy-anniversary/

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From the ChainLetter blog: You Only Have So Many Meals Left in Life

"The eating club with a riding disorder

Alas I’m not clever enough to have coined that caption. The credit goes to Fast and Fabulous NYC, a somewhat moribund LGBTQ+ cycling club. Apropos of Roger’s and my rides I’ve stolen their motto. I don’t think that when Lance said “It’s not about the bike” that he meant it was really about the food. But maybe it is. Over many years of cycling my focus has shifted lower and lower and I’m not sure if I’ve hit bottom yet but I’m eager to find out. Over many years of cycling experiencially what I’m seeking has shifted, from PowerBars to…

I used to ride like a demon: lots of miles was never enough, fast was never fast enough, and hill intervals and big mountains were fun. Then I discovered cycle touring and it all fell apart..."

Full read here (link to ChainLetter blog also in bio):
https://dssf.home.blog/2026/05/28/you-only-have-so-many-meals-left-in-life/

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DIFFERENT SPOKES Pride Ride 2026

Time for a party!

And not just any party but a rolling party...with donuts and coffee! Come celebrate Pride 2026 with a bicycle tour of San Francisco! Our all-inclusive Pride Ride starts at the Marx Meadow in Golden Gate Park. We'll head out to the Great Highway, then circle Lake Merced, before heading back to GGP. Don't forget--the Great Highway is car-free! That's a flat 15-mile ride. What? You want more riding? Well, rise and shine a bit earlier, and we'll do a parade through the Castro and then up Twin Peaks to greet the Pink Triangle before heading back to the start to join the party people on the all-inclusive ride. That's about another 12 miles with about 1,000 ft. of climbing.

Details and register for either or both rides here:
https://dssf.org/content.aspx?page_id=4091&club_id=17789&item_id=2977325

Link in bio too.

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Ride Recap: Katsu Got Your Tongue?

"Can you sink any lower when your motivation to do a ride is just to get a great meal? Or, is it the other way around: an exquisite meal can elevate any ride? Such was the case with David’s joint desire to go to Treasure Island by bike and to get another meal at Jungdon Katsu in Emeryville. When David broached the idea of this ride with me, he admitted as much: the tonkatsu at Jungdon is ‘omigawd good and I wanna go there again’. Since David hadn’t ridden his bike to Treasure Island heretofore, that became the cover for our chow-down.

I had never heard of Jungdon Katsu but I’ve eaten my share of tonkatsu. Tonkatsu is everywhere in Japan although originally it was an importation from Europe. It’s an adaptation of a breaded veal cutlet or schnitzel given a Japanese twist and using pork instead. We don’t give a second thought about adopted foods because almost all American food dishes originate from somewhere else. But Japan has a long, autochthonous culinary history that has choosily but warmly accepted some imports from India, China, and now Europe and the Americas. Karē raisu (curry rice) is now a Japanese food even though it came from India; gyoza are nothing more than a Japanese version of potstickers; Japanese milk bread or pan is derived from Portuguese bread. What makes tonkatsu Japanese is the use of panko breading for an exquisitely crunchy crust."

Full read here (link to ChainLetter blog also in bio):
https://dssf.home.blog/2026/05/07/ride-recap-katsu-got-your-tongue/

📸: David Goldsmith


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ANNOUNCING: Join Ramping Up Red Ribbon Ride Saturday, May 23rd!

Come and join in for this fun little ride celebrating a great training season! Whether or not you've been on a Ramping Up ride before, have a red dress, red jersey, or nothing red at all, we want to see you as we make our way through San Francisco looking like a red ribbon! ??

Ramping Up is a progressive series of rides from Jan through May to prepare for multiple day rides (such as "Cycle to Zero" or "NorCal AIDS Cycle"). We start off with a 17 mile ride and build each week until we are doing a 100 mile ride. If you consistently take part in this series, you will be ready for just about any ride! Not only are the rides epic, but the scenery and the people are too. We are a warm and welcoming inclusive group of cyclist of all ages and shapes.

DETAILS:
Miles: 13.1
Elevation: 1003
Terrain: Rolling Hills
When: Saturday, May 23rd
Meetup time: 9:00 AM
Ride out time: 9:30 AM
Rain Policy: Heavy Rain Cancels
Location: McLaren Lodge, Golden Gate Park

Event Contact(s)
Reilly Andrews, Leader
Chris Starr, Co-Lead
Alex Unger, Co-Lead

Register:
https://dssf.org/red-ribbon-2026
Or go to the DSSF link in bio.

From the ChainLetter blog: The Russian River Weekend [4/28/26 update]

"I wrote the following article some years ago after attempting at least two frustrating efforts to revive the club’s Russian River Weekend. After reaching the same impass–the difficulty of finding a suitable venue–I shelved the project. After some thought I’ve come to the conclusion that not only is the Russian River not a great place to host a getaway weekend but that the concept of a getaway weekend is dated. Why isn’t Guerneville a good site? It’s très gay and has city amenities like bars and clubs. But like the Bay Area everything in G-town is expensive now. Of course ‘expensive’ is relative. If you don’t mind forking over $300 a night for a place to stay, then it’s not expensive. Members are no longer interested in camping and even camping isn’t that cheap anymore. At this point in history reviving the Guerneville/Russian River Weekend is a losing cause and like a bad high school reunion would be a feeble effort to relive past memories to everyone’s disappointment. The economics just don’t make sense anymore. Also members aren’t interested in collectively creating a shared weekend other than to Venmo the cost and expect someone else to do everything: organize, sag, cook, clean. Although the riding may be just as beautiful as it was 40 years ago, the population of the club has changed and with it the expectations. With Cycle to Zero literally decamping to the Russian River for its fundraiser there is little interest in our community for ‘replicating’ the event. Wait…who’s replicating who?"

Full read here (link to ChainLetter blog also in bio):
https://dssf.home.blog/2026/04/28/the-russian-river-weekend-4-28-26-update/

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Ride Recap: April Happy Hour in the East Bay

“After the summer-like weather in March, this month’s Happy Hour returned to normal spring temperatures much to Roger S’s disappointment. Hoping to escape another typical day in San Francisco, he scooted over to join our East Bay fun group for another short ride on the Lamorinda MUP with a concluding dinner at El Talpense in Lafayette. He wasn’t the only member from afar: Peter, who resides in San Jose, endured the commute traffic to join us! That’s the “problem” for the Happy Hour ride: unless you live in the East Bay, you are probably in for some hellish traffic to get to Lafayette and you will need that ride and the food coma afterwards to reset your mood and blood pressure.

Roger S dealt with the commuter crush by (a) coming over early, and (b) using BART. The latter is not Roger’s usual means of transport but on a weekday at commute time, the bridge is a hopeless mess. BART was the wiser choice. Plus, he was able to get in a longer ride and then met us at Moraga Common. So it was a win-win. This was also not Peter’s first rodeo. He knew the routine: head out way earlier than you think you’ll need to get somewhere at commute time. He got to Lafayette with time to spare and indulged his other interest by going into the flyfishing store next door to El Talpense to kill time.”

Full read here (link to ChainLetter blog also in bio):
https://dssf.home.blog/2026/05/01/ride-recap-april-happy-hour-in-the-east-bay/

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