THURS 5/20
Terry Carroll
Giant Value's Dena Connolly on her trusty steed.
A past "Kite Aerial Photography Workshop."
Fireworks explode at 2003's KaBoom!
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There are so many reasons to see San Francisco by bike: gorgeous views, cardiovascular benefits, and the smug feeling of never again having to wait for Muni. It would be perfect if it weren't for all the cars out there waiting to turn bicyclists into roadkill.
Help even the odds a little on "Bike to Work Day," a you-can-do-it nudge from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. Participants can pop by neighborhood "energizer stations" for free coffee, noshes, and logo-emblazoned knickknacks, or join the "Bike Pool to South City" to make the 11-mile ride to South San Francisco in good company. If you've still got energy after all that pedaling, work it off at the "Bike to Work Night" party with live music from Giant Value, Rogue Wave, and the Marginal Prophets. The "Bike Pool" takes off at 7:30 a.m. from Valencia and 17th streets; energizer stations operate from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. at multiple locations. "Bike to Work Night" begins at 7 p.m. at the DNA Lounge, 375 11th St. (at Folsom), S.F. Party admission is $10-15, and all other events are free; call 431-2453 or visit www.sfbike.org.
-- Joyce Slaton
Windsurfin' Safari
Water, wind, and you
SAT 5/22
Are we the only ones who drive by Maverick's and wonder not how is it that surfers pull off such daring moves, but rather how do they manage to stay in the freezing Pacific Ocean? We went snorkeling once on a blazing-hot day clad in full-body wet suits, the only parts of our bodies exposed being our eyeballs, and we were still so cold that the only way we could submerge was to continually pee on ourselves. Perhaps you'll try the same gambit at the "Free Learn to Windsurf Day & BBQ," a primer on the basics from local surf clubs. Bring a towel, a wet suit or bathing get-up, windsurfing gear (or $30 to rent equipment), and warm thoughts starting at 10 a.m. to Crown Beach, Eighth Street & Otis, Alameda. Admission is free; call 385-1224 or visit www.iwindsurf.com.
-- Joyce Slaton
Air Raid
Photography gets high at Crissy Field
SUN 5/23
Bird's-eye photos of San Francisco are commonplace: snapshots taken from the Golden Gate Bridge, Twin Peaks, or Coit Tower. Anything more exotic or unusual requires a pricey helicopter ride over the city. Or does it? At the "Kite Aerial Photography Workshop," CNN/Bay Area Backroads shutterbug Cris Benton (also a Cal architecture professor) teaches fledgling enthusiasts how to take magnificent pictures from hundreds of feet above the ground using just a kite and a camera. Participants can bone up on the history of the medium before producing a take-home CD full of their own aerial shots. Meet at 10 a.m. at the Presidio's Crissy Field Center, 603 Mason (at Halleck), S.F. Admission is $8-12; call 561-7752 to register or visit www.crissyfield.org.
-- Joyce Slaton
Fire in the Sky
SAT 5/22
The only thing better than fireworks is such pyrotechnics synchronized to old Pink Floyd and Police songs. Get a dose of what you crave at KFOG KaBoom!, with musical performances from the Waifs and Train followed by sparklers set to classic rock. Robert Randolph & the Family Band open at 4 p.m. at Pier 30/32, Embarcadero & Main, S.F. Admission is free; call 817-5364 or visit www.kfog.com.
-- Joyce Slaton
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