MOVIES!! Tour of San Francisco on a Scooter

[San Francisco]

Here is a video I made, in 2005. I strapped a Minolta Dimage Xi digital camera around my neck, put it on movie mode and rode around town.

Great film to play when you are stuck inside because of the rain.

Enjoy.

Sidenote: this is on my server and it is virus free, so download with confidence.

Tip: Simply right click the link with your mouse, then save the file to your hard disk.

http://www.heartinsanfrancisco.com/SanF ... erTour.avi

Here is a larger, better resolution file.

http://www.heartinsanfrancisco.com/SanF ... erTour.wmv

[SteMer]

Great ride video. I grew up down the peninsula (Menlo Park) so it's fun to see the City again. Thanks!

(Nice job avoiding the tourist drivers!)

[weaseltamer]

wowzas!! scootin in Ks is much differant!

[mlee10018]

I would love to see a video of all the different riding styles in the different areas.

[peabody99]

great video. In fact it was a trip to SF last year at this time that pushed me over the edge as far as getting scooter. Those hills must be killer. We have a few steep ones where I am but not so many. I am suprised how bad the drivers are there given the amount of scooters on the road. I would think they would be used to looking out for them. The lane splitting was a little much for me...I can go between a few stopped cars but after that I start thinking the odds against me. I was bummed you did not go down Lombard- was that where the van pulled out (or was it before)?
Next time take a drive by my favorite bar in the world The Toronado.

[San Francisco]

great video. In fact it was a trip to SF last year at this time that pushed me over the edge as far as getting scooter. Those hills must be killer. We have a few steep ones where I am but not so many. I am suprised how bad the drivers are there given the amount of scooters on the road. I would think they would be used to looking out for them. The lane splitting was a little much for me...I can go between a few stopped cars but after that I start thinking the odds against me. I was bummed you did not go down Lombard- was that where the van pulled out (or was it before)?
Next time take a drive by my favorite bar in the world The Toronado.

The bad drivers are typically tourists who can't handle hills, one-way streets, and the commotion/excitement of being in San Francisco. All my close calls have been against tourists [as evidenced by their reading road maps, bolting through red lights, lots of people in the vehicle, and dressed like tourists].

As you can see in the video, if I did not lane split, etc., I would be stuck in traffic most of the time [talk about a boring video]. One of the major benefits of having a scooter in San Francisco is the ability to go around or otherwise maneuver through traffic. [And being able to park on sidewalks].

That a%#hole who would have hit me was after Lombard, the crooked street. Note I say "crooked" because Lombard is NOT the crookedest street. PayPal me $100 and I will tell you which street is.

I did NOT go down Lombard because 1) the traffic is horrible on it; and 2) been there and done that too many times. The thrill is not there. Next time, when on the Italia.

[JuliaGrace]

That video was awesome! Obviously, familiar turf for me.

I've only ridden up the scary cable car tracks (Powell Street) once - in the rain. A very scary experience (no, I didn't spill, fortunately), that I'd rather not repeat. Though, in hindsight, that wasn't half as scary as the date I was on that night.

I too have had multiple near-misses with tourist types, so any time I see an unfolded map being looked at (even from the passenger seat), I steer clear.

And, I've only been down Lombard on two wheels once - I was riding bitch on a Aprilia Atlantic 500. I'm just glad I wasn't "driving" on that trip. Now that I think about it, I should take Spike over there and see how he does.

- Julie

[San Francisco]

That video was awesome! Obviously, familiar turf for me.

I've only ridden up the scary cable car tracks (Powell Street) once - in the
rain. A very scary experience (no, I didn't spill, fortunately), that I'd
ather not repeat. ...- Julie

In the video you can see that the scariest and most careless thing I do is
to pass stopped traffic, on the right. I do that because otherwise I would
be stuck behind the cars.

What is super hazardous is that someone will open their driver side door
on to me. So when I do that I go super slow and look into all the cars to
see if there are occupants who might be opening the doors.

If I ever get whacked there will be no sympathy, not even from me. I'll
just swear to myself.

I don't do it too often, but all it takes is once.