Post ~ SF
When I left San Francisco just over 4 years ago,
there were people riding bicycles,
but it was mostly racers like H
commuting in to work or headed out for a ride,
bicycle couriers in the financial district,
fixie riders going the wrong way and blasting through red lights,
and a few miscellaneous people like me.
Now everytime I return to the City
I see more and more changes ~ for the bicycle good
and it pleases me to no end.
San Francisco has the perfect weather for a bicycle culture
and the perfect people to embrace it.
Now that the great annoying weight has been lifted
things are starting to move along at a fast clip.
On my last visit I noticed people on bicycles everywhere,
Geary, Market, 3rd, you name it they were there.
This time the first impression that hit me was the view from my hotel.
As I looked down at the street - what did I see
but a number of bicycle lane markings going down Post,
it was a beautiful sight to behold indeed.
Later on in my day as I found myself retracing my steps down Battery,
past my old bus stop in the financial district,
gloriously chic bicyclists, gals and guys, were silently gliding by,
like a ballet,
they were beautifully winding their way through rush hour traffic,
the muffled silence of the City and their presence taking my breath away,
a scene that definitely did not exist when I walked these steets.
Darn it for being with my boss on a way to a meeting and not having time to take a picture!
photo: SFBC
And it hasn't, and isn't, stopping there.
When I return next time,
look what will be waiting for me!
Not only has San Francisco changed, but the world has changed.
Maybe it is the bicycle colored eyes I view my surroundings with,
but I do not entirely think so.
Bicycles are everywhere.
Banana Republic is taking full advantage of the world being round
by launching a Fall campaign plastered in bicycles.
Walking in the City I saw a HUGE billboard of this same ad I saw in my W magazine on the plane out.
And then walking into the Banana downtown,
look what greeted me - a Pashley!
mk ad in W magazine
Tgt ad in W
feature picture in Sunset
Some may say this mass marketing
of the beloved bicycle
will be a passing fancy,
likely so.
But I do not think bicycling
is a passing fancy,
because the world,
she is round...
6 comments:
"Bicycle colored eyes"...I love that. It is so true. Now I see bicycles everywhere. Love that BR had a Pashley.
hey Kara ~ I know you can relate. :) Yes, seeing the Pash front and center was quite a surprise. Happy Holiday Weekend!
Hurray for Pashley! I love the recent trend of bicycles in fashion ads. The more the better!
What a wonderful post, from the descriptions of San Francisco to the survey of the recent bicycle-themed ads. (The one that surprised me the most was Target, with the rod-brake gazelle Toer Populair... and is it sick that I can identify the bicycles in most if not all of the ads?...)
Regarding the changes in San Francisco - I think Boston has had a similar past few years. Looking at the "bicycle commuter ballet" on the main street around the corner form my house, I have to remind myself that this wasn't there even as recently as 2 years ago.
Maybe it's a mass trend. Or maybe the future is not so bad.
I think you're right! Here in the UK a TV advert of a popular high street bank is now showing the bank manager arriving at work by bike in a suit ;) and I got some advertising leaflets from my bank through the post and they had a happy couple with bikes on the front cover... all cheesy I know but I really think the bike is starting to be seen as cool and that's I think how 'we' will crack it, if the bike is seen as the thing to do, the thing to be seen in, rather than a fast expensive car, then people's perception and bike culture will change too! L x
hi Judy! agreed.
V ~ thank you! thanks for the info on the bike, your talents are not sick. i think she (the bike) is just beautiful, that rod brake is design at its best.
interesting thoughts on Boston. i'll go with "future is not so bad. "
L ~ of course everyone hops on something that will draw them business, but as long as it is seen as the thing that is favorable, it can't be bad ~ right?! well said, thanks for your comments!
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